OneManGang
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Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Georgia
Your scribe has a couple of questions: How does a Tennessee team come out “flat” against an SEC opponent, let alone a traditional rival such as Georgia?
From last year: Does pride still matter?
* * * * * * * * *
Napoleon's engineers had found themselves faced by a masif or hill complex directly astride the St. Quentin Canal's path near the village of Bellicourt. It would take years of effort and millions of francs to dig and blast through this with picks, shovels and gunpowder. The engineers took a different approach and went under the hill. Their tunnel stretched for some five kilometers - about three miles.
A century later the German Army had seen the defensive potential of the canal and used it as the basis for their "Hindenburg Line" fortifications designed to stop any British advance dead in its tracks. The Germans had taken this area in 1914 and had used the intervening time to dig a defensive line like no other. Capt. Reese Amis of the 30th recalled that the Hindenburg Line had been, “fortified accordingly with all the ingenuity and Deviltry of the Hun,” It featured concrete bunkers and machine-gun nests and miles of trenches behind thousands of acres of barbed-wire entanglements.
The American II Corps, consisting of the 27th and 30th Divisions was assigned to British Fourth Army and soon plans were underway to use them as the center-piece of an offensive aimed at breaking the Hindenburg Line. The 27th Division was made up of New York National Guardsmen while the 30th was assembled from National Guard units from North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
To even get to the Hindenburg Line in the Fourth Army sector, the attackers would have to cross the St. Quentin Canal. The ridge now presented the Germans with a threat to their entire defensive system. They made this apparent weakness into a strength and fortified the area west of Bellicourt so extensively that they believed nobody would be foolish enough to attack there. The Germans sealed the entrances to the tunnel itself with concrete and steel and converted it into a vast barracks impervious to any artillery fire. They then dug connecting tunnels to key points so troops could be sent there without being exposed to fire.
The plan was simple: the two divisions of Americans would attack into the teeth of the Hindenburg Line over the St. Quentin Tunnel and capture Bellicourt. After that the Australian 5th Division would pass through and carry on the attack. The Americans would occupy the length of the St. Quentin tunnel area with the 27th Division on the left and the 30th on the right.
The 30th Division was already in the front lines and on the night of 27-28 September the 60th Brigade rotated in to relieve the 59th and prepared for the assault. The 60th Brigade's component regiments, the 119th and 120th Infantry would jump off at 0550 on 29 September and the 117th and 118th of the 59th would follow closely. On the left, the 27th Division detailed its 54th Brigade to carry out the assault.
As the artillery pounded the German lines a thick fog rolled in along the St. Quentin Canal. A rolling barrage was planned. A “rolling barrage” was a brief bombardment 100 yards in front of the front of the advance which would then lift and move another 100 yards every five minutes or so, the idea being that the shelling would keep the Germans' heads down until the assault troops were on top of them and also cut through the thick barbed wire protecting the German trenches. Smoke shells would be included in this barrage to conceal the attackers.
The commander of the 30th Division, General E. M. Lewis, ordered the 60th Brigade to lead off with the 59th following closely. Brigadier General Lawrence Tyson arrayed his 59th brigade. The 117th, raised from the old 3rd Tennessee headquartered in Knoxville, would lead and the 118th would be in reserve, “L” Company of the 117th was assigned to the 120th Infantry and would make the initial assault with them.
The combination of smoke, dust and fog made the attack doubly difficult and many doughboys reported not being able to see more than a few feet in any direction and some platoons actually linked hands to avoid becoming separated in gloom. Captain Reese Amis wrote later, “During the morning hours it was impossible for a man to see his hand more than a few inches in front of him. … The atmosphere did not clear completely until after the canal had been crossed.”
The 117th cleared out German positions south and west of the canal entrance. One company mistook a large German trench for the canal and turned early but fought its way to the entrance itself and cleared out a pocket of German machine guns which would have caused a lot of problems later on. The tanks got separated from the infantry early on, but continued on like huge steel elephants and did yeomanry service by crushing barbed wire the artillery had missed. However, by noon most of the tanks had broken down or were otherwise immobilized.
This mattered little as by that time the 30th Division was in control of Bellicourt and was digging in. On the left though, it was a different story, The 27th Division had run into determined German resistance and was about lagging about 1000 yards behind the the 30th's advance. Most of the afternoon of 29 September was spent by the boys of the 117th Regiment digging in and extending their lines south and west to link up with the 27th Division before the Germans could take advantage of the situation.
By 3pm the Australian 5th Division had arrived and passed through the American lines and pushed on another 1000 yards or so before nightfall.
No doubt about it, the Old Hickory boys had broken the Hindenburg Line and took a big step toward forcing an end to the war. In capturing Bellicourt, the 117th Infantry also seized seven artillery pieces, 99 machine guns and seven anti-tank rifles along with many small arms and 592 prisoners.
There was a price to be paid and it was steep. The 117th Infantry alone lost 26 officers and 366 enlisted men in the operation.
Two boys from Tennessee earned the Medal of Honor that day. Sgt. Joe Atkison of C Company, 119th Infantry, swam the canal, climbed the steep hill on the other side and led his men against the German line. They came under machine gun fire and Atkison charged the German gun, and KICKED the 150lb weapon into the hole on top of the shocked gunners When his men caught up with him, he was forcing the Germans at bayonet point to turn the gun around and open fire on their own men.
1st Sgt. Milo Lemert of Crossville was leading the men of G Company, 119th, after all of the company officers had either been killed or wounded. As they advanced, his men came under fire from several German machine guns. Lemert personally took out three of the guns before being killed while attacking a fourth.
His brother and fellow 119th soldier, Nathan, wrote to their mother, "There is no use to grieve, tho Mama...He died like a man and hero. No one can die a braver death than he did...Every man in the company loved him and would do anything for him...His last words were, ‘I am finished, boys, give them hell.’... I helped bury him. We put him with the rest of our boys who were killed."
If you can read that without a lump in your throat, seek help.
The 30th Division was withdrawn for a few days' rest. This time was needed to prepare for an even larger assault on 8 October. The butcher's bill for that one would dwarf the slaughter at Bellicourt.
*********
So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?
1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.
The Vol offense managed THREE first downs in the first half. Run blocking was once again atrocious and pass protection seemed to consist mainly of “lookout” blocks. For their part, the Dawgs were no example of offensive prowess either but they did enough.
2. Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way … SCORE!
Tennessee forced four fumbles and recovered exactly zero. In one case, the Vol defender was more interested in laying his shoulder into the Georgia back instead of picking up the ball on the ground. In another, the ball bounced right into the hands of a Georgia player who was next seen in the end zone. And so it goes.
3. If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don’t let up … PUT ON MORE STEAM!
The offense finally got its collective head out of its collective posterior long enough to score two touchdowns in the second half but by then Tennessee's defense had been on the field for roughly a week and two more Dawg touchdowns settled the Vols' hash.
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.
Methinks the above reference to lookout blocks covers this.
5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle … THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.
For three of those Georgia fumbles there were at least two Vols standing around switching thumbs while the ball bounced on the turf. Watching the Coach Pruitt show I got the impression he was happy sometimes when there was a Vol player in the same frame with a Dawg receiver.
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.
As stated previously, Tennessee's kickers are performing beyond expectations.
7. Carry the fight to Georgia and keep it there for sixty minutes.
The defense, despite some blown coverages and still too much standing around tearing the grass, kept the Vols in the game until they finally ran out of gas. Is it really too much to ask the offense to string together a couple of first downs early in the game?
Tennessee's upcoming bye week comes at a very good time. HeadVol Pruitt has an opportunity to get back to some basics with guys who have now actually been in the games. He also has a chance to evaluate other players with an eye toward replacing some under performers.
As with last week, though, teams have to learn how to win big games. The Vols are still at the back of the classroom on that one.
MAXOMG
© 2018 Keeping Your Stories Alive
Suggested Reading:
Capt Reese T. Amis, Knox County in the World War
Dr. Michael Birdwell, Old Hickory and the Hindenburg Line, Journal of East Tennessee History, Number 74
Dale Blair, The Battle of the Bellicourt Tunnel
German prisoners taken at Bellicourt. (TSLA)
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