OneManGang
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Tennessee vs The Maxims vs UTEP
As your scribe observed the events Saturday, he could have sworn he heard the theme to an old Spaghetti Western. The Good: holding ANY Division 1 (or whatever they call it this week) opponent scoreless is quite the achievement. The Bad: Tennessee came out of the gate listless and “flat,” the problem is that the Vols are in no position to take any opponent lightly. The Ugly: Tennessee's offense is light years behind the defense. The first half was a succession of what the commentators termed “unforced errors” methinks they got their sports confused, but the analogy is accurate. More on that later.
* * * * * * * * *
The French 6th Army was collapsing. The French soldiers were melting away, wandering back toward the rear, joining the masses of refugees fleeing along the Paris-Metz Highway. The great crisis of 1918 had arrived for the French.
"Late in the evening on 30 May, we learned we were going to move out at daybreak," recalled Don Paradis, a member of the 80th Company in Major Tom Holcomb's 2nd Bn, 6th Marines, "though we weren't told where we were going. There was no sleep that night. We cleaned and packed equipment, cleaned our billets, and wrote last minute letters. In the morning when we were loaded into French trucks, we were more like a bunch of kids going on a picnic than a company of battle-destined Marines. It was impossible for us to imagine that within a few days, 50% of us would be lying in hospitals or in the poppy fields around Belleau Wood."
The camions rolled up to the assembly area of the 5th Marine Regiment on May 31. The Marines would grow to hate these rickety French trucks and their Annamite (Vietnamese) drivers. (In one of history's many ironies the descendants of these Marines and their Vietnamese "chauffeurs" would face each other in the jungles of Southeast Asia some fifty years later.) Whenever the camions showed up they always went toward the fighting. The troops walked back - if they could.
Lt. Lemuel Shepherd, of Norfolk, VA and a graduate of VMI recalled that journey years later, "My God, what a ride, crammed into those little trucks, bumping over those roads, and most of us with our overcoats on. Hell, this was the first of June; it was hot. And the dust - we could hardly breathe."
All the Marines knew was that the French were collapsing and the Americans were needed to stem the German tide that threatened to lap across the Marne River and threaten Paris for the first time since 1914. As the Marines moved toward the front the they heard the retreating Poilus still muttering "La guerre finis!" The confident leathernecks shot back "Pas finis!" ("Not over!")
LTC Frederick Wise's 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines was ordered to establish a line between Hill 142 and the Bois Veuilly. "The Germans have broken through and are advancing on Paris at the rate of about fifteen miles a day," was the way it was put to LTC Wise on the evening of June 1. The line was roughly centered on a group of structures known as les Mares Ferme (Farm).
As Capt. John Blanchfield was leading his 55th Co. into position on 2 June they stopped at about 1600 near the village of Champillon. Going forward to reconnoiter with Lt. Shepherd, Blanchfield was treated to the spectacle of small groups of retreating French moving toward him, closely followed by a creeping German barrage. He asked the French if there were any more behind them, "Non." He double-quicked his men up into line with his left anchored on Les Mares Farm itself and dug in. Pvt. John C. Geiger later recalled, "We got orders to dig in. We used the lids of our mess gear and bayonets for tools. Say, you'd be surprised to know just how much digging you can do under those circumstances."
German shells began falling throughout the 2nd battalion sector. Lacking any artillery support the Marines could only huddle in their foxholes and take it. At some point during these proceedings a French staff officer showed up, presenting written orders to withdraw to Capt. Lloyd Williams who snorted, "Retreat, Hell! We just got here!" As this story got around, another entry was made in the lore of the Marine Corps.
A small knoll in front of the 55th Company's positions provided an excellent view for a forward position. On the morning of 3 June Lt. Shepherd ordered a ten man patrol to occupy the knoll. The Germans spotted this development and began shelling the knoll. The shelling became a rolling barrage and someone sang out, "There come the Boches!" The Germans were advancing in open order and as soon as they were within range, Shepherd's men opened up, firing their Springfields as fast as they could work the bolts. Endless hours on the firing range paid off and the accuracy gained there caused the herrenvolk to pause.
Shepherd went forward to find out what was going on. “When I reached the outpost the enemy was within rifle ranger and a fire fight was going on,” Shepherd recalled later. He took shelter in some trees to observe. “I was leaning against one of them when a German machine gun bullet struck me in the neck. It was a glancing blow but the force of impact turned me half around.” Fortunately the bullet missed his jugular vein by about a half inch. Shepherd refused evacuation and had the Corpsman tend to his wound. “The scar made by the heated bullet … remains with me to this day.”
With his position clearly untenable Shepherd ordered his command to the rear as soon as darkness allowed movement. For his gallant defense of that nameless knoll Shepherd received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross and the Croix de Guerre.
Shepherd had this to say about the medals, “I have always felt I did no more than what is expected of a United States Marine.”
Meanwhile the rest of the 55th Company was repulsing another German attack aimed at the farm. The German troops were again stymied by rifle fire and, after two attempts, withdrew to allow their artillery to continue working over the American line. Col. Albertus Catlin of the 6th Marines had a grandstand view of the proceedings, "First I saw the French coming back through the wheat, fighting as they came. Then the Germans, in two columns, steady as machines ... On they came, never wavering, never faltering, apparently irresistable."
"At the right moment the Americans opened up with a slashing barrage. Shrapnel, machine gun and rifle fire poured into those advancing lines. It was terrible in its effectiveness. ... Three times they tried to reform and break through that barrage,but they had to stop at last. The United States Marines had stopped them."
"It was a terrible slaughter; ... But we had whipped the Hun."
Since the French had been retreating faster than the Germans could advance, the latter were somewhat disorganized and the attacks were not pressed to the fullest. None of this changes the fact that 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines held off most of a German division in its determined stand at les Mares Farm.
Lt. Shepherd remained in the Corps. He served with distinction in WWII and Korea.
On 1 January 1952, President Harry Truman signed orders appointing General Lemuel Shepherd as the 20th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.
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So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?
1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
Five major penalties and two turnovers in the first half meant the Vols left at least twenty-one points on the field. Should they do something like that against Florida or (shudders) Alabama, they could see a 35-0 deficit at halftime.
2. Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way … SCORE!
That includes not reaching out with the ball when one is still two yards or more away from the goal line.
3. If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don’t let up … PUT ON MORE STEAM!
The offense seemed to perk up a bit after halftime. This writer was pleased to see Guarantano begin to show flashes of leadership as the game went along. He also made some nifty throws.
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.
The defense certainly earned its keep Saturday. Again, holding ANY opponent scoreless is quite the achievement.
5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle … THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.
For the most part, UT's blocking flat out sucks. When a second-tier school like UTEP is getting pressure on the quarterback, Tennessee needs to up the amount of “Wheaties” available at training table. And, yes, your scribe is aware that Pruitt is recruiting offensive linemen like a man possessed, but they aren't here yet.
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.
It would seem HeadVol Pruitt is taking this one to heart. Not only are UT's kickers doing well, the coverage and return teams seem to be improved over last year.
7. Carry the fight to ETSU and keep it there for sixty minutes.
Just as last week with ETSU, Saturday's win is one of those, “Yeah, BUT...” times.
The preliminaries are over. The Giant Water Lizards are coming. Will Our Beloved Vols respond as the Marines did at les Mares Farm or will they revert to 2017? Stay tuned.
MAXOMG
© 2018 Keeping Your Stories Alive
Suggested Reading:
Robert B. Asprey, At Belleau Wood
Col. Albertus Catlin, With the Help of God and a Few Marines
William E. Moore, "The 'Bloody Angle' of the A.E.F." - American Legion Weekly: Feb. 24, 1922
Gen. Lemuel Shepherd, Memoirs (unpublished. Available online through the VMI Library)
Captain Lemuel Shepherd during WWI. (VMI)
