track in
rear of the Bolo train.

The Red Guard listening posts and his big tower on the flank now stand
him in good stead. He sees the little platoon of Franco-Americans
approaching in line, and sends out a superior force to meet the attack.
Ten minutes of stiff fire fight ensues during which the other attacking
platoons strive to get up to their positions in rear and rear flank. But
our comrades are evidently out-numbered and being worsted. We must
spring our attack to save them.

Oh, those bugles! Who ever heard of a half mile charge? And such a
melee. Firing and yelling and tooting like ten thousand the main party
goes in. What would the first "old man" of the 339th, our beloved
Colonel John W. Craig, have said at sight of that confused swarm of
soldiers heading straight for the Bolo positions. Lucky for us the Bolo
does not hold his fire till we swarm out of the woods. As it is in his
panic he blazes away into the woods pointblank with his artillery
mounted on the trains and with his machine guns, two of which only are
on ground positions. And his excited aim is characteristically high,
Slavo Bogga. We surge in. He jumps to his troop trains, tries to cover
his withdrawal by the two machine guns, and gets away, but with hundreds
of casualties from our fire that we pour into the moving trains.
Marvellous luck, we have monkeyed with a buzz saw and suffered only
slight casualties, one American killed and four wounded. Two French
wounded.

The surprise at 455 threw "the wind" up the Bolo's back at his forward
positions, 457 and 457-1/2, and Lieuts. Primm and Soyer's amalgamated
French-American attacking party won a quick victory. The armored train
came on through over the precious bridge at Verst 458, the track was
repaired and our artillery came up to 455 and answered the Red armored
train that was shelling us while we consolidated the position. Lieut.
Anselmi's resolute American signal men unmindful of the straggling Bolos
who were working south in the woods along the railroad, "ran" the
railway telephone lines back to field headquarters at 458 and
established communications with Major Nichols.

As soon as transportation was open "I" Company and Apsche's company of
French moved up and went on through to battle the Reds in the same
afternoon out of their position at Verst 450 where they had rallied and
to advance on the fifteenth to a position at 448, where the Americans
dug in. Trouble with the French battalion w