US Army Corpsof Engineers

. Combat and Construction m

W’. Army Engineem in World War I

by Charles Hendricks

of HistoryU.S. Army Corps of EngineersFort Belvoir, Virginia1993

US. Army engineer recruiting poste1:

On the cover:

US Army engineers construct a corduruy road used to carry supplies to the front lines during ~'-brld War l

Office

Foreword

As the United States commemorates the 75th anmversary ofthe end of World War I, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recallsthe dedication and sacrifices of its engineer soldiers, officers,and civilians.

The United States was not involved at f& when the great warbroke out in Europe in the summer of 1914. Not until 1917 did thiscountry determine that its vital national interests were at stake inthe conflict. America then committed its powerful human and =.technological resources to support the West European democraciesengaged in the struggle.

Within two years, American military forces tipped the balance ofpower in Europe The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was essentialto this effort-engineers fought on the front lines and constructedfacilities needed to transport and supply American troops. Comb&urzd Con.struction honors the contributions of these engineers whofought to protect democracy and restore peace

ARTHUR E. WILLJAMSLieutenant General, USACommanding <

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1 Services of Supply of the American Expeditionary Forces 1.

S P A I Ni-_,

-7b--l;Q 100 200 Miles

@ General Headquarters A. E. F. @Headquarters S. 0. S. l Port used by S. 0. S.0 Important Town -Line of Jan. 1918 -f?ailroad

- - - - - - - S e c t i o n B o u n d a r y Numbers indicate base sections

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Combat and ConstructionU.S. Army Engineers in World War I-

The U.S. Army Corps of- Engineers provided diverse militaryservices during World War I. TheCorps formed the large 1,660-manengineer regiments of the Americancombat divisions. Army engineersbuilt port facilities, roads, andrailroads essential to moving warmateriel to the battlefront. Theyalso harvested timber for militaryconstruction and operated search-lights in anti-aircraft defense.

The engineers organized the firstU.S. Army tank units and developedchemical warfare munitions anddefensive equipment. Armored unitsand chemical warfare became soimportant that the Army in 1918created a separate Tank Corpsand a Chemical Warfare Service.Brigadier General Amos Fries, acareer engineer officer, headed theChemical Warfare Service in France.

Paster seeks recruits fbr the 11th Eng~necmThe US. Army recruited many state andregional enginwr uniti.

Engineer oficers reuim plans for a lght railway near the battL+ont in France

The Engineers

The U.S. Army engineers whoserved in World War I brought withthem varied military experience,

Most senior officers were graduatesof the US, Military Academy.These Regular Army engineershad devoted most of their careersto supervising domestic river andharbor improvements, althoughmany had also served with U.S.Army units abroad, primarily inCuba or the Philippines.

Other commanders who hadbeen civilian engineers joinedthe National Guard or Officers’Reserve Corps shortly before theUnited States entered the war.

But most of the 240,000 engineerswho served in Europe during the war

Afiuxxn-Americun engineer constructiontroops.

Recruiting poster

had no prior experience withmilitary service. Some 40,000 ofthem were African-Americans.

Recruiting poster

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Review of engineer troops ut Camp Dix, New Jersey

First &itsAfter the United States declared

war on Germany on April 6, 1917,the British and French governmentsasked this country to give top priorityto deploying American engineers toFrance. By the end of August, ninenewly organized engineer railwayregiments and the combat engineerregiment of the 1st Division hadcrossed the Atlantic. Several of therailway regiments were assigned toBritish or French military formationspending the arrival of more Americancombat troops in the summer andautumn of 1918.

First CasualtiesSergeant Matthew Calderwood

and Private William Branigan,11th Engineers, became the war’sfirst, front-line U.S. Army casualties.They were wounded by Germanartillery fire on September 5, 1917,while serving with the BritishThird Army near the village ofGouzeaucourt in northern France.

In late November the 1 lth Engineersabandoned its railway work andhelped the British construct newdefensive positions, stopping aGerman effort to regain territorynear Cambrai.

Buglers of Company C, 5th Engineers,7th Diuision.

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ConstructionU.S. Army engineers made

their most visible contributionsin France behind the front lines.Nearly 2 million fresh Americantroops, who joined a larger Ententeforce drawn from various nationsand territories around the world,could fight successfully only if theyhad adequate logistical support.

Engineer officers and troopsdominated the construction effortin France that was essential tomoving and supplying the AmericanExpeditionary Forces (AEF).

Edgar Jadwin.

William Langfitt.

L,eadershipMajor General William Langfitt

served as the AEF’s Chief Engineer.

Brigadier General Edgar Jadwinwas the AEF’s Director ofConstruction and Forestry. Helater became Chief of Engineers.

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George Goethals.

Major General George W. Goethalsheaded the War Department’slogistical efforts in the United States.He was a career engineer officer andchief builder of the Panama Canal.

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Lumber

Timber was the engineers’basic raw material in World War I.The 20th Engineers, the U.S.

- Army’s largest regiment, andother American forestry troops inFrance produced some 200 millionboard feet of lumber, 4 millionrailroad ties, and thousands oftimber piles. Lieutenant ColonelHenry Graves, on leave as theChief Forester of the U.S. ForestService, helped organize the effort.By October 1918 American forestryengineers were operating 107sawmills, primarily in southernand central France.

Troops of the 20th Engineers bringin logs from forests in the Vosges,France.

The 107th Engineers,32d Division, construct a bridgein Cierges (Aisne), France, onAugust 2,1918, three days a/?erthe division drove the Germansfrom the town.

While training atGondrecourt (Meuse), France,

in January 1918, soldiers ofthe 1st Engineers, 1st Division,

use sandbags to test a bridgethey hkve built.

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Port ConstructionAmerican soldiers, under the

technical supervision of engineers,used these timber products toconstruct new and exnanded nort

Engineer officers commanded mixedcrews of engineer, cavalry, marine,and labor troops; prisoners of war;and Spanish and Chinese civilians,who built a lo-berth pile dock atBassens below Bordeaux. A 3-berth

facilities for American troop and pier built at Montoir on thesupply ships. Because British Loire River, together with itsvessels clogged French ports on rail connection to shore, requiredthe English Channel, American 6.8 million board feet of lumber.ships had to dock at Atlantic Dredging by French contractorsports from Brest to Bordeaux made the docks at Montoir andor at the Mediterranean port Brest available to vessels withof Marseilles. 25-foot drafts.

The 33d Engineers carry a 30~fbot mast fir a stevedore derrickat the port of Brest (Finis&e), France, in October 1918.

The derricks at this American-built dock at Bassens couldlif? cargo from ship holds and place it directly in waitingrailroad cars.

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RailroadsFrench railroads were largely

adequate to transport Americanmilitary supplies to the battlefront,but the use of American engines androlling stock and the construction ofrail yards and repair facilities wasrequired. Most of the 1.5 million tonsof engineer equipment the Americansbrought to France related to railwayconstruction or operation.

Before the Armistice, the engineersbuilt 937 miles of standard-gaugerailroad tracks in France, primarilyat docks and storage facilities.A notable addition to France’srail lines was a Smile cutoff theAmerican engineers built to avoid arail bottleneck in Nevers. The cutoffincluded a 2,190-foot bridge overthe Loire River, the longest bridgebuilt by the Americans in France.

Engineers work on a narrow-gaugerailway built to carry supplies ti fieldartillery positions.

Eight engineer regiments builtnarrow-gauge railroads between therailheads of standard-gauge lines andthe battlefront. American-operatedlight railroads hauled 860,000 tonsofmateriel and personnel.’

The 316th Engineers,9lst Diuision, repairrailroad tracksdamaged in thewar at Waregem(West Flanders),Belgium.

A neti’ nurrow-gaugerailroad bridge crosses

the old standard-gauge tracks at Sorcy

(Meuse), south ofSaint-Mihiel, France.

RoadsRoad construction employed

even more forward troops, althoughpioneer infantry regiments providedmore labor than did engineerunits. A quarry operated by the

28th Engineers supported theroad-building effort, producingmore than 10,000 cubic yards ofcrushed stone in 1918.

A creu~ from the 1Olst Engineers,26th Diuision, fills a road-cutting cruter

made by an American artillery shellbefbre the area UJCLS ruptured during

the Saint&Mihiel campaign,September 1918.

The 4th Engineersrebuilt the healai1.y .shelledroad between Esnes andMalancourt nor~huwst ofVerdun t/w night before theMeusc-Argonne ofrensitvbegan. They operated undwthe protection of L heac.vAmerican ar~ille~ barrageThis photo LS from fhescrapbook of an officer z/ithe 4th Engineers.

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DepotsAs American military materiel

moved to the battlefront, it wasstored in 15 million square feet ofcovered storage space erected bythe engineers. Requiring quickresults, the engineers constructedmost depot buildings withcorrugated-iron roofs and wallsattached to simple wooden frames.Noteworthy was the RomorantinAir Service Depot, which boasted1.3 million square feet of shopsand 765,000 square feet ofstorehouses and hangars.

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FoodThe war had hurt European

agriculture, so the U.S. Armyimported American food to its troopsin France. The engineers assured that

- the food was well preserved en route.They used 100,000 cubic feet oflocally obtained cork to insulate a4,000-ton-capacity refrigeration plantat the port of Bassens. The beefstorage warehouse that ColonelErnest Graves built at the G&r-esDepot in central France had a

capacity of 5,200 tons. It was cooledby ammonia circulating through35 miles of two-inch pipe. A nearbyice-making plant produced 500 tonsof ice daily.

Closer to the front lines, at theIs-sur-Tille Depot, the engineersbuilt an electrically operatedbakery that produced up to 400tons of bread daily. Americantroops would not go hungry.

The refrigeration plant builtby the Americans at G&-esKuir-et-Cher) was the largestLIZ France in 1918.

Soldiers line up fbr a meal.important engmeer fknction

Constructing facilities to bring fiod to the troops was anUI France.

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Other SupportThe engineers sought to in central France. A switch-

provide as much physical support yard at the Montoir Depot on theas U.S. troops might need. The Loire River could repair 18 largePontanezen Barracks built at locomotives simultaneously. FourBrest could house 55,000 men. large storage tanks could holdEngineers oversaw the construction 2 million gallons of gasoline.of hospital facilities for 141,000 men, Having just completed the Panamaincluding the 20,000-bed Mars Canal, the engineers knew how toand Mesves hospitals near Nevers think big.

Engineers lay thefbundation for a field hospital

building at M&&la-Tour(Meurthe-et-Moselle), France.

Base hospital with masonrywalls built by Americanengineers at Pei-igueux(Dordogne), France.

Transportation options ata field engineer’s ofice.

Other Military Specialties~~Camouflage

American engineers also Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Employingprovided special military services 900 women garment workers, theto the AEF. The engineers’ section produced more than 3 millionCamouflage Section opened a square yards of camouflage materialworkshop in an old dance hall including airplane hangar covers,in Paris in September 1917 and fish nets, painted burlap, andcommissioned several American sniper suits. The camouflageartists resident in that city. One products were most helpful inof the senior camouflage officers moving artillery forward withoutwas Captain Homer Saint-Gaudens, drawing the attention ofson of the great American sculptor German gunners.

SearchlightsThe 56th Engineers operated raids. Engineers also provided

36-inch and 60~inch searchlights searchlight service for the Frenchto help artillery units protect First and Tenth Armies, since theAmerican troops from night air French did not develop this specialty.

American paraboloid and searchlight in position to track and illuminate attackingenemy aircraf?.

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TopographicEngineer Colonel and troop dispositions and the

Roger Alexander led the production of Army maps. The U.S.Topographical Division of the Army base printing plant at LangresIntelligence Section of the AEF produced 22 million maps in 1918.General Staff. He coordinated the Colonel Alexander also oversawuse of aerial photographs to obtain the use of sound and flash ranginginformation on German trenches to locate enemy artillery positions.

Americcms print mapsin the gruining room.

The 29th Engineers producemaps in the lithographicpress room of the baseprinting plant, Langres(Haute-Marne), France.

Trucks of the 29th Engineers’ mobile topogruphie unit, Stenuy, France, April 1919

CombatU.S. Army engineer units

engaged in combat from the. Vosges Mountains near the Swiss

border north to Oudenaarde,Belgium. One battalion of the310th Engineers even served in theArchangel area of northern Russiaafter the Russian Revolution.

AmiensNoteworthy among engineer

combat service was the action ofAmiens. Together they successfullydefended the line before that

two companies of the 6th Engineers.They stopped building heavy steel

historic city from a heavy German

bridges to join British and Canadianassault in March and April 1918.

forces in front-line trenches beforeThese two engineer companiessuffered 77 casualties.

BelIeau WoodDuring June and July 1918, of Vaux in the Aisne-Marne

troops of the 2d Engineers fought campaign. This regiment sufferedas infantry in their divisionsbitterly contested capture of

casualties of nearly 13 percent,

the Belleau Wood and the hamletthe highest for an engineer unitof its size.

Brigadier General Benjamin I%ore andhis adjutant examine a map of the Aisne-

Soldiers of the 6th Engineers, 3d Division,

Marne battlefield at Ch&yChartrewebuild a trestle-crib bridge over theMarne Riuer at M&y fAisne), eo,.st of

(Aisne), France, August 9, 1918. Chcteau-Thierty, France,

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Hindenburg LineA battalion of the 1st Engineers, blocked the American advance.

fighting as infantry, joined the He used a captured German grenadeAmerican forces assaulting Hill 269 to kill one enemy machine-gunner.in the Romagne Heights along the Colyer then turned that GermanHindenburg Line on October 8,1918. machine gun against the otherEnaineer Sergeant Wilbur E. Colver enemv nests and silenced them.of South Ozoie, New York, ”volunteered to locate a group ofGerman machine-gun nests that

The 11th Engineers build a roadaround the town of Boureuilles (Meuse),

destroyed by German shelling during thewac at the start of the Meuse-Argonne

offensive, September 26, 1918.

Colyer received the medal of honorfor his actions.

Men of the 1Olst Engineers workon a road in the Argonne Forest,

October 1918.

Meuse RiverSoldiers from the 7th Engineers,

5th Division, won recognition forbridging the Meuse River.

Major William Hoge, Jr., earned- a distinguished service cross for

his heroism in reconnoitering asite for a ponton bridge across thatwell-defended waterway north ofBrieulles, France. While underenemy observation and artilleryfire, Hoge selected the bridgesite during the daylight hours ofNovember 4, 1918, and directedconstruction of the bridgethat night.

After German artillerists destroyedthree ponton boats supporting thebridge, Sergeant Eugene Walker;Corporal Robert Crawford; andPrivates Noah Gump, John Hoggle,and Stanley Murnane jumped intothe icy river and held up the deckof the bridge until replacementpontons were launched and installed.These enlisted men also receivedthe distinguished service cross.

This bridge was one of 38constructed by U.S. Army engineersduring the critical Meuse-Argonneoffensive, which ended withGermany’s surrender.

Engineer troopsbuild a pontonbridge in France

A bridge built by U.S. Armyengineers at Stenay, France.

This town on the Meuse Riuerwas taken by the Americuns

on the morning ofNovember 11, 1918.

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Mission AccomplishedDuring World War I the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. redirected its efforts from

improving rivers and harbors inthe United States to providingstructures and services needed totransport, supply, and assist over amillion American combat troops onthe battlefield in France. Engineerofficers quickly developed a diversegroup of troop units that provideda broad range of support servicesto the American ExpeditionaryForces.

The engineers combined courageunder fire with critically neededtechnical skills. Their contributionwas essential to the success of theU.S. Army in World War I.

Mobile engineer searchlightequipment in the Neu YorkCi& victory parade.

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Suggestions for Further Reading

Boughton, Van TuyI. History of the Eleventh Engineers, United StatesArmy, February 3, 1917, to May 8, 1919. New York, J. J. Littleand Ives Company, 1926.

Columbia to the Rhine, Being a Brief History of the Fourth Engineers,and Their Trip from the Columbia Riven in the State ofWashingtan, US.A., to the Rhine River in Germany. WaId,Germany, Westdeutsche Grossdruckexei G.M.B.H., 1919.

Graves, Ernest. Construction in War: Lessons Taught by the WorldWq 1917-1919. Occasional Paper No. 64, The Engineer School,U.S. Army. Washington, Government Printing Of&x, 1921.

Parsons, William B. The American Engineers in France New York,

U.S.

Appleton, 1920.

b-my. American Expeditionary Forces, 1917-1920. EngineerDepartment. Historical Report of the Chief Engineen Including allOperations of the Engineer Department, American ExpeditionaryForces, 1917-1919. Washington, Government Printing Oflice,1919.

U.S. Army. First Army. Engineer Section. Report of the Chief EngineenFirst Arm% American Expeditionary Forces, on the EngineerOperatians in the St. Mihiel and Meuse+Argonne Offensives,1918. Occasional Papers No. 69, The Engineer School, U.S. Army.Washington, Government Printing OfTice, 1929.

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About the Author

Charles Hendricks obtained a Ph.D. in history fromCornell University in 1976. He has been a historianwith the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 1981.

Marilyn Hunter, editor, supervised production of thispublication.

All photographs were drawn from the National Archivesand the collections of the Office of History, Headquarters,U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Additional Copies of Combat and Construction

Copies of Combat and Constructiorc US. Army Engineersin World Whr I are available without charge Write thepublications depot and ask for EP 870-1-47.

U.S. Army Corps of EngineersPublications Depot2803 52nd AvenueHyattsville, MD 20781-1102

EP 870-1-47 November 1993

US Army Corps of Engineers