The 42nd "Rainbow" Division Memorial

The 42nd "Rainbow" Division Memorial , This memorial is the work of James Butler R.A. , Bronze casting by Black Isle Bronze Foundry Ltd., Nairn, Scotland, The US 42nd "Rainbow" Division , The "Rainbow Division, a National Guard Division, represented the entire American people. In provenance it "covered America like a rainbow.” In France it committed Americans from throughout the United States to a mighty battle for Democracy., It crossed the Atlantic in November and December, 1917 and trained in Eastern France. At Baccarat, in Lorraine, it was twinned in the trenches with the French 12th, 14th , 164th and 4th Regiments of the Vith French Corps. In Champagne-Marne it was in General Gouraud's IVth French Army and helped turn back the German "Peace Assault” on Paris on July 15, 1918. In the Aisne-Marne campaign it fought here at Croix Rouge Farm and on the Ourcq River in the American I Corps under General Degoutte’s VIth French Army. At St. Mihiel in September, 1918 it participated in the biggest American operation of the war up to then while under the command of General John J. Pershing's 1st US Army. In the Argonne in October, 1918 as part of the same command and an even larger force, it penetrated the Hindenburg Line at the Kriemhilde Stellung. Part of the Sedan Drive in November, it was in the Drive to the Rhine when the war ended. From November, 1918 until April, 1919 it remained in Germany in the Army of Occupation. Major General Charles T. Menoher was Division Commander throughout the War and Colonel Douglas MacArthur was Chief of Staff until August, 1918 when he became commander of the Division's 8th Brigade and was promoted to Brigadier General., The 42nd Division saw more days of combat than any other American Division during the Great War and suffered 14,683 casualties., The Battle of Croix Rouge Farm , July 25-26, 1918 , At dusk on July 25th, the Rainbow Division's 167th (Alabama) Infantry Regiment, commanded by Colonel William Preston Screws, replaced troops of the 26th Division on a skirmish line in the woods to the west. Germans from the 4th Guards, an elite unit, and the 10th Landwehr Division opposed them. German artillery fired intermittently into the Alabama troops throughout the night., On the morning of July 26th, the Rainbow's 168th (Iowa) Infantry Regiment moved up to align in the woods on the south. It was cold and raining. Both regiments had served for months in the trenches of Lorraine before joining General Gouraud's 4th French Army on the Champagne Front in the defense of Paris. Colonel Douglas MacArthur was Rainbow Division Chief of Staff. Without artillery, support, the 1st Battalion of "Alabama" attacked at 4:50 in the afternoon into the open from the woods on the west. The 3rd Battalion jumped off at the same time from the south and southwest. In the first force, elements of C and D Companies attacked through A and B Companies, quickly losing all mortars and machine guns. They were nearly wiped out by the Germans in open field fighting lasting little more than fifteen minutes. The day appeared lost as the field went quiet and remained quiet for more than an hour. A second effort was launched by remnants of D Company and C Company, a force of about 100. Bounding across the open field, they lost more than half their men but defeated the Germans before them, killing and wounding by ruthlessly using rifles, bayonets and rifle butts., At the same time the 3rd Battalion filtered through the woods south and southwest of here. On coming out of the trees, platoon after platoon was stopped by German fire from the farmhouse and prepared positions in the open field and along the road to the south. The 3rd Battallion appeared doomed until a thrown together platoon of infantrymen and machine gunners from Companies K and I, supported by a single mortar, charged the farmhouse from the south. They were joined by another mixed force from K and L Companies that had taken out German machine gunners east of the farmhouse. With both 3rd Battalion forces attacking under heavy fire, the remains of a platoon from Company L, along with two men left from Company F of the 168th Infantry, swept forward to reach this place by eight o’clock in the evening. German artillery continued throughout the night., Dawn on July 27th found the battlefield covered with German and American dead and wounded. Aid Stations had treated more than 1,100, including Germans. Among 162 Alabama dead were three lieutenants and two captains. The 1st and 3rd Battalions were merged into one to join the 2nd Battalion for the march to the Ourcq River, which was reached at nightfall., On the morning of July 28, 1918 all "Rainbow" Division Regiments, the 165th (New York), the 166th (Ohio), the 167th (Alabama) and the 168th (Iowa) were spread left to right to pursue Germans on the east bank of the Ourcq River. The "Rainbow" continued the drive east until the night of August 2nd, having advanced 18 kilometers in eight days and suffered nearly 6,500 casualties. During that fighting the Alabama regiment had 1,785 casualties, about 55% of its strength., The U.S. line (167th and 168th regiments) was about 1,000 yards to the west and south of the farmhouse. The tree lines and road bordering the farmhouse have not changed since 1918., This wall to the right is the only remain of the destroyed Croix Rouge Farm. ,