eets on the north side
of the river. The American machine gunners went into position in the
windows of houses on the south bank and in gardens between the houses,
and from these positions it was possible to command all of the bridge
approaches and streets leading to the river on the opposite side.

During the night, Lieutenant John T. Bissell, a young Pittsburgher but
recently graduated from West Point, started across one of the bridges
and reached the north bank with a squad of a dozen men and two machine
guns. This little unit went into position in a place commanding the
forked highways which converged not far from the northern approach of
the iron bridge crossing the river. It was this unit's function to
prevent the enemy advance from this direction. The unit was separated
from its comrades on the south bank by the river and about two hundred
yards. In spite of the fact that the enemy artillery intensified its
shelling of the south bank, the American machine gunners remained at
their posts without firing and played a waiting game.

With the coming of dawn the Germans began to make their rushes for the
bridges. Small compact forces would dart forward carrying light machine
guns and ammunition with them. They encountered a terrific burst of
American fire and wilted in front of it. Those that survived crawled
back to the shelter of protecting walls, where they were re-enforced
with fresh units, and again the massed formations charged down the
streets toward the bridges. The slaughter of Germans increased until the
approaches were dotted with bodies of the enemy slain.

On June 1st, the Germans having consolidated positions on the hills
commanding the city from the north, they directed a terrific artillery
and machine gun fire into our exposed positions on the south bank, as
well as the small posts still held on the north bank by Lieutenant
Bissell and his machine gunners. Although the position held by the
little American group had long been considered untenable, the members of
it stuck it out until nightfall, when they received orders to retire to
the south bank. At the same time, French colonials which had held a
position throughout the day on the north bank on the edge of the town,
withdrew in accordance with the same plan. The retirement of both
parties was covered by our machine gunners on the south bank, who poured
a hot fire into the evacuated areas as the Germans began occupying them.

By 10:30 that night the