The Iron Division, National Guard of Pennsylvania, in the World War: The authentic and comprehensive narrative of the gallant; deeds and glorious achievements of the 28th division in; the world's greatest warProctor, H. G. (Harry George)
History
The Iron Division, National Guard of Pennsylvania, in the World War: The authentic and comprehensive narrative of the gallant; deeds and glorious achievements of the 28th division in; the world's greatest war
Proctor, H. G. (Harry George)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- United States -- 28th (Iron) division
It is an odd coincidence that the Twenty-eighth Division of the German
army should have been one of the most frequently mentioned organizations
of the Kaiser's forces during the war and that it, too, should have
acquired, by its exploits, a title all its own. It was known as "the
Flying Shock Division," and on frequent occasions it was disclosed,
through the capture of prisoners, that the two Twenty-eighth Divisions
were opposing each other--a fact eloquent in itself of the esteem in
which the enemy held our Pennsylvania lads as foemen, for the "Flying
Shock Division" was shunted from one end of the Western Front to the
other, wherever a desperate situation for the Germans called for
desperate fighting.
In the heroic stand of the Pennsylvania Guardsmen may be traced one more
instance of the truth of the adage that "history repeats itself." On the
field of Gettysburg a handsome monument marks the crest of Pickett's
charge, the farthest point to which Confederate fighting men penetrated
in their efforts to break through the Union lines. Here they were met
and stopped by Pennsylvania troops (the Philadelphia Brigade). Had they
not been stopped, military authorities have agreed, the battle of
Gettysburg almost certainly would have been lost to the Union. The whole
course of the war probably would have been changed and the Confederacy
would have been within sight of ultimate victory.
But they were met and stopped by the Pennsylvania troops. From that time
the cause of the Confederacy was a losing one, and for that reason the
monument is inscribed as marking "The High Water Mark of the
Rebellion."
It is not inconceivable that, when the time comes to erect monuments on
the battlefields of the Great War, one will stand at or near the tiny
village of St. Agnan, in the Department of the Aisne, France, fixing the
"high-water mark" of the German bid for world domination.
Here it was, at this village and its vicinity, that Pennsylvania troops
met and defeated the flower of the German army, halted the drive and
sent the Huns staggering backward in what turned, within a few days, to
wild flight. The Germans, in their first rush through Belgium and France
in 1914, came closer than that to Paris, but with less chance of
success. Then virtually everything was against them except the
tremendous impetus of their forward movement. In July, 1918, everything
favored them, and the entire world awaited with bated breath and
agonized heart the news that Paris was invested.
When it seemed that nothing could prevent this crowning blow to our
beloved Ally, the advancing Germans struck a portion of the line held by
Pennsylvania's erstwhile despised National Guardsmen. Instead of news
that Paris lay under the invader's heel came the gloriously thrilling
tidings that the German was in retreat before our very own men, and that
it was again Pennsylvania troops which had turned the tide.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account