e, therefore, the peculiar thrill of every man when about
September 11, it was announced officially that the division was to be
ready for an immediate move. The boys were to be "stripped" for
action. Every unnecessary thing was thrown into the salvage pile.
Military trains were placed on the sidings in the railway yards at
Baccarat to be loaded with men, horses, and equipment. These trains to
move off on schedule time, about two hours apart, until the last had
taken its departure.

For two nights steady streams of French troops, ammunition wagons,
guns, and army trucks had poured into Baccarat on their way to relieve
the various units of the Ohio Division. Four horses, two abreast,
would be hitched to an artillery wagon on which was mounted a
camouflaged '75 (three-inch gun). The heavy guns were drawn by six or
eight horses, two abreast, with a rider for every two horses.

The Y.M.C.A. headquarters were on the corner where the two main
streets of the town crossed. One night about ten o'clock we stood on
the curb watching two lines of men and wagons, one from the south and
one from the west, as they came together at this corner and flowed on
through the town. It was a fascinating and weird night scene. Suddenly
we heard a Boche plane. When it passed overhead it dropped a star
shell which lighted up that whole section of the town and revealed the
long lines of French infantry and artillery. The burned out shell
dropped just across the street from us. Evidently, German spies had
given notice of the movements of troops and scouting planes had come
over to get information and take pictures. These were closely followed
by bombing planes which tried to destroy the bridge over the Meurthe
and thus hinder the movement of troops, but their bombs went wide of
their mark and our anti-aircraft guns made it so hot for them that
they could not get near enough to do any material damage.

Many Chinese troops in French uniforms passed through Baccarat the
next day. With military precision our boys, relieved by these French
and Chinese troops, poured into the town and were quickly loaded on
the troop trains.

Three days before the move a secret order had come to the chief of our
"Y" division to be ready to move with the troops. Immediately all our
secretaries were notified to close their huts and prepare their stock
for removal. "Y" trucks were dispatched to bring the secretaries and
all stock on hand in to the central warehouse. Wher