A Machine-Gunner in France

A Machine-Gunner In France: The Memoirs of Ward Schrantz, 35th Division, 1917-1919. Ward Schrantz, Jeffrey L. Patric, ed. Denton, TX: University Of North Texas Press, 2019.

In A Machine-Gunner In France, Captain Ward Schrantz has written a detailed account of his personal experiences during a 22-month deployment covering his mobilization in the United States, his combat involvement on The Western Front, and his demobilization back to the United States during the First World War. Schrantz’s memoir was written with the goal of leaving a record of Company A, 128th Machine Gun Battalion (MGB), 35th Infantry Division’s involvement in the First World War. Editor Jeffrey L. Patrick should be commended for compiling Schrantz’s unfinished memoir and adding research material from archival sources, newspapers, and other memoirs to produce a well-rounded account of the 128th MGB.  Schrantz’s account was executed with minute details that highlight the sacrifices and hardships endured by the soldiers of Company A, and a general reader with limited knowledge of the 35th Infantry Division’s role in the First World War may not benefit as much from the elaborate detail left by Schrantz or the archival work added by Patrick. But this is ultimately a book about one soldier before, during, and after the First World War.

Captain Schrantz served as the company commander of A CO, 128th MGB, 35th Infantry Division, a National Guard unit before and during the First World War. Along with most of the soldiers serving with him, Schrantz was born and raised in Carthage, Missouri, and began his military career in 1909.[1] When the United States declared war on Germany, Schrantz was voted to the rank of Captain, a position he maintained throughout the war.

Readers looking for a detailed account of the 35th Infantry Division’s involvement during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive will only find Schrantz’s personal viewpoint as a company commander, not a strategic view of the campaign. Schrantz purposely refrained from discussing the failures of the 35th Infantry Division. Academic researchers looking for supporting material, however, will find beneficial research material that warrants reading.

Academic researchers or general readers looking for a story about military camp life will find precise and specific detail in Schrantz’s book. Nearly one-third of the book deals with mobilization and troop movements prior to the unit entering the trenches. Readers interested in the weather faced by the soldiers at Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma, will find a detailed account of the  living conditions faced by the 128th.[2] Army camp life and cultural observation with troop movements were well documented.

As early as June 1918, Schrantz was promoted to divisional machine gun officer.[3] Yet, Schrantz only learned of the promotion some days after the former acting divisional machine gun officer was relieved from that position. Schrantz had to track down the orders himself. While this promotion was temporary, it was a clear example that communication between division, brigade, and even the regimental units was flawed. Once the 128th MGB entered into the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in September 1918, combat communications became non-existent. Clearly, effective communication was an issue for the 128th before they entered the battlefield.

BUY ON AMAZON

There was a dynamic relationship between medical and command officers. Schrantz stated that the relationship with his surgeon, a First Lieutenant, was not “cordial.”[4] At Camp Doniphan when the first wave of influenza began, the medical officer issued orders to change the sleeping arrangements of the enlisted soldiers.[5] Schrantz interpreted this as an infringement on his command authority, ignored the advice from the medical officer, and, in doing so, unwittingly contributed to the influenza epidemic that surrounded the soldiers under his command. Historian Carol Byerly covered the challenges and opportunities medical officers dealt with because their rank was not equal to their position or responsibility in her book, Fever of War: The Influenza Epidemic in the U.S. Army During World War I. There are a few examples throughout the book that cover the cold war that the medical officer and Schrantz engaged in. The tension in the relationship was mostly derived from the medical officer’s lower rank and misperceptions of authority and intent by Schrantz.

Schrantz devoted a considerable amount of time to describing the British Vickers .303MG.[6] The French Hotchkiss gun and its equipment were detailed many times, along with tactical firing schedules.[7] Schrantz detailed the various machine gun equipment, how the weapons handled, what the training—both physical and from the written manuals—was like, and the British and French training officers. Overall, the first part of the book was a treasure trove of information on the various French, British, and American armaments used by Company A, 128th MGB.

Researchers interested in airpower will also find a well-articulated observation on German airpower throughout the book. Schrantz helpfully wrote detailed notes with dates and sometimes even the day of the week and time of day. In the village of Le Paire, Schrantz stated that “frequent German planes in the air showed the present interest of the enemy in this zone.”[8] The overall viewpoint of German airpower does not reflect a favorable opinion of American or allied airpower. As far as Captain Schrantz was concerned, German air power was a constant threat requiring constant vigilance. Right or wrong, these were Schrantz’s observations of air dominance during the war.

A German Hannover CL IIIa plane brought down in the Argonne by American machine gunners, between Montfaucon and Cierges, France, on 4 October 1918. (Pvt. J. E. Gibbon/U.S. Army/Wikimedia)

After the armistice, Schrantz spent much of his free time going over the battlefield at St. Mihiel. The result was a tactical reconstruction of the German machine gun emplacements.[9] A few pages are dedicated to what modern academics would call peer-to-peer learning. Schrantz’s descriptions of walking the battlefield with a machine gunner's tactical eye made for superb analysis.

In conclusion, Captain Schrantz’s book is quite lengthy and not meant for a quick weekend read. Regardless, there is valuable research in this book. The average reader will want to know more about the 35th Infantry Division before diving into Schwartz’s book. Readers should understand above all else that this book is a personal memoir of one individual and the history of a single unit, Company A of the 128th Machine Gun Battalion.

David Retherford earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and two master’s degrees from the University of Birmingham. David’s area of research is centered around American intelligence gathering during the First World War. David is a member of The Strategy Bridge Communications Team. Follow him on Twitter @HistorianDavid.

This article appeared originally at Strategy Bridge.

[1] Ward Schrantz, A Machine-Gunner in France, ed. Jeffery L. Patrick (Denton, Texas: University of North Texas Press, 2019), 2.

[2] Schrantz, A Machine-Gunner in France, 61.

[3] Schrantz, A Machine-Gunner in France, 124-131.

[4] Schrantz, A Machine-Gunner in France, 240.

[5] Schrantz, A Machine-Gunner in France, 240.

[6]Schrantz, A Machine-Gunner in France, 110-115.

[7] Schrantz, A Machine-Gunner in France, 268-272.

[8] Schrantz, A Machine-Gunner in France, 214.

[9] Schrantz, A Machine-Gunner in France, 466.