AERO SQUAD BEGINS SUPPLY DROP & EFFORT TO LOCATE LOST BATTALION
Argonne Forest, France (JFK+50) On October 5, 1918, the "first sustained aerial resupply" effort was begun by the 50th Aero Squad which also worked to help locate the "Lost Battalion"*.
The battalion, a part of the 77th Division with more than 550 infantry soldiers, had been cut off from the Allied attack.
Major General Robert Alexander** said..."We are not going back but forward."
Eventually, 194 of the soldiers were rescued but 197 had been killed with 150 more missing or captured.
*The Lost Battalion was a group of World War I American infantry soldiers who were part of an attack on German positions in the Argonne Forest in France in October 1918. After having been cut off from other Allied forces, they held their positions under intense pressure resulting in an Allied break through forcing a German retreat.
**Major General Robert Alexander (1863-1941) was born in Baltimore, Maryland & studied law before enlisting in the U.S. Army. RA became commander of the 77th Infantry Division during WWI. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
SOURCE
"October 5, 1918", Air Force Historical Foundation, www.afhistory.org/
Men of the Lost Battalion
308th Infantry 77th Division
Oct 29, 1918
War Department Photo
NARA Image
