Barrage at the Crater Nest night was Dilworth's turn and the follwing mine again. It was a wet ^night, drizzle and rain alternating. Took three carts loaded with food one for each of the three battalions. At Appremont I stopped at Brigade Headquarters in a cellar under a battered down church and from Maj. Rhoads, whom I well knew from Camp Hancock, I learned that our regiment now had taken Chatel Chehery several kilometers ahead on the left side of the Aire River. He showed me on his map the road leading there. He failed to tell me that the road was not open all the way. He did not know. We went on our way following the road out of Appremont, {passed} a stone quarry and then on over the open road ^with the broad river flood plain on our right and hills on our left. At last we came to a small ravine where to our dismay we were stopped by a large crater. The Germans had blown up the road making it impossible to get horses and carts any further. Our carts had made plenty of noise on the [Page]way creaking and thumping over stones. I told the sergeants to find their battalions and have the food carried the rest of the way. Just then a shell whined and exploded in the ravine below us. I at once realized that the enemy artillery ^had this spot marked and an observer had probably heard us coming up but waited until we had arrived at the crater before giving the signal to fire. I quickly ordered the drivers to move back along the road for 100 yards and wait there. Before this was executed fully a barrage of shells was upon us. Blinding flashes of exploding shells, buzzing splinters, the air full of dirt thrown up, and smoke made the darkness a fury of hell. Prompt execution of my orders to pull away saved the horses and carts. The barrage stopped. We checked up on our men. A sergeant had been badly wounded, and one man lay apparently dead, and several others slightly injured. We loaded the injured including and dead on a cart ^{which we had unloaded} and sent them back to a dressing station in Appremont. Now to find the regiment in[Page]or about the town ahead. I took a sergeant with me and set out to find them. It started to rain and the darkness now was so thick you could almost feel it. We groped our way along and came to a road fork which I could not recall having seen on the map. One led northward and the other northwestward. There was practically no firing now and we were puzzled as to which way to go. After my experience{of few} night before, having about gone over through our thin lines to the Germans, I did not relish taking a chance. So we waited at the roadside for some sign of life. Soon were we heard some low conversation above us to our left in the woods. We listened to hear what language was spoken. At first we could not tell whether it was English or German. We did not have to wait long before we heard it was mostly profane and we ^could understand it so they were Americans.

⟨Chatel-Chehery⟩ The sergeant and I then took the road to the left and soon came to outskirts of the town. Just then a heavy shower of rain let loose. It was hard to see anything