Corporal Andrew J Kosch Jr
Andrew Joseph Kosch Jr was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 4th, 1895 to Andrew Kosch and Lottie Gindel, both Hungarian immigrants. After completing high school, Andrew got a job as a local bookkeeper before he was handed a draft notice in June of 1917, just three months after the United States entered World War One which had been raging abroad for three years. Nearly a year later, Andrew was finally drafted into the US Army on May 25th, 1918 and sent to Camp Gordon for two months of basic training, where he would be promoted to Corporal. On July 21st, 1918, Corporal Kosch left the United States aboard the Canopic with the Camp Gordon Automatic Replacement Draft Company, 15th Infantry, to supplement casualties sustained overseas. Once his company arrived in France, he was quickly transferred to Headquarters, 83rd Infantry Division, a Depot Division whose men were used as replacements to front line units. After a brief period of waiting, Corporal Kosch and many others from the 83rd Division were reassigned to the 1st Infantry Division which had suffered seven thousand casualties at Soissons just a few weeks prior, with Kosch joining Company F, 26th Infantry Regiment on August 15th, 1918.
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At the time, the division was stationed in the Saizerais Sector northeast of Toul, which had been relatively quiet since the heavy fighting experienced there in 1915. Still, German patrols were very active in the sector, and an especially vicious one occurred two days after Corporal Kosch entered the line with his new unit. Nevertheless, the Saizerais Sector was considered an “era of good feeling” for the veterans of the 1st Division who were allowed short vacations off the line and the men as a whole regained their morale and bonded with the new replacements. Due to the division’s impressive combat record, they were relieved from the sector between August 23rd-24th and assembled in Vaucouleurs to train for the upcoming St. Mihiel Offensive. Corporal Kosch’s 26th Infantry and the 1st Division underwent rigorous instruction in wire cutting and infantry movements, including a complete rehearsal of their future advance. On September 1st, the division began the journey to their positions which extended from Xivray to Seicheprey, marching during the night and resting in forests during the day to hide their movements. Corporal Kosch and his unit arrived after a week of walking, immediately took up their positions, and were briefed about the plan of attack. A preliminary bombardment of only four hours would then be followed by infantry with detachments of engineers tasked with cutting through the enemy wire. Corporal Kosch’s 2nd Battalion would be the supporting line for the 26th Infantry’s advance towards the enemy.
St Mihiel
At 1:00 AM on the morning of September 12th, the American artillery suddenly lit up the sky with a terrific barrage, pounding away at the German lines until switching to a rolling barrage at 5:00 AM to cover the swarm of infantry going over the top. Corporal Kosch, the 1st Division, and all other American units involved advanced in perfect formation towards the enemy line, sustaining minimal casualties. Their first objective, a line running along the southern bank of the Rupt de Mad to Richecourt, was reached in thirty minutes and they crossed the river shortly after. The second objective was also reached quickly, but once the troops reached the southern edge of the Quart de Reserve, they were met with the first determined resistance of the offensive in the form of well concealed machine gun nests and woods filled with new barbed wire. Ignoring these new dangers, Corporal Kosch and the 1st Division, supported by allied tanks, surged forward and crushed the German line. At 11:00 AM, the advance resumed with the attacking battalions rotating with the support battalions, who captured the third objective one hour and twenty minutes later. Corporal Kosch and the men quickly dug in and organized a defence in preparation for a German counterattack.
Losses had been far less than expected because the attack had caught the Germans in the process of retreating, so the American command ordered the 1st Division to continue their advance towards the second day’s objective. By the end of the day, the division had reached as far as the Bois de la Belle Oziere and continued pursuing the enemy back the next day, capturing Hattonchatel, St. Meurice, and Bois de Nonsard among others. During the night of September 13th, Corporal Kosch and the 1st Division were relieved from the sector and regrouped as a reserve force in the area the next day. During the operation, they advanced fourteen kilometers in nineteen hours and suffered around 500 casualties, a remarkable feat that was highly commended by General Pershing. As the men enjoyed a period of rest, another large operation was being planned as the final blow to the Germans and end the war. To support the attack dubbed the Meuse Argonne Offensive, 1st Division was transferred to the Third Army Corps as their reserve force on September 19th, and if the assault went well, would cross the Meuse River and continue the attack eastward.
Meuse Argonne Offensive
In the early morning hours of September 26th, Corporal Kosch awoke to the violent sound of the preliminary bombardment that marked the beginning of the offensive. As the day progressed, reports brought back the news that the attack was becoming increasingly more difficult, and fresh units would be needed to continue its ferocity. So the division marched a grueling twelve hours to the vicinity of Nixeville and then to Neuvilly two days later. Finally, they entered the line on the night of September 30th to relieve the 35th Infantry Division whose positions spanned from Baulny to near the Apremont-Epinonville Road. Corporal Kosch’s 26th Infantry Regiment was located on the far right flank of the line. The area had experienced extremely heavy German counter attacks and artillery which had annihilated the landscape and the men residing in it. Three ravines located in front of the lines needed to be captured, and the men advanced towards them on October 1st, with Kosch’s 2nd Battalion once again in support. Once they took fire from the farthest ravine, the men quickly dug foxholes and prepared themselves for what lay ahead. “For three days and nights the men were doomed to lie in their fox-holes while the enemy’s artillery mercilessly pounded the area...the ground was so...impregnated with gas that almost one entire company was evacuated...there was constant rifle and machine gun activity and...the casualties averaged five hundred men each day.”
At 5:25 AM on October 4th, Corporal Kosch and the 1st Division jumped out of their shallow foxholes and advanced towards the enemy under the cover of a rolling barrage. They were immediately met with a continuous hail of enemy bullets and artillery, but even as the men were struck down at an alarming rate, they continued to dash forward and were soon engaged in hand to hand combat. The assault battalion of the 26th Infantry was so badly mangled that Corporal Kosch’s support battalion had to continue the assault through heavy flank fire from La Neuville-le-Comte Farm on the right and the woods to the east, which were eventually taken by the combined efforts of Kosch’s 2nd Battalion and the already exhausted 1st Battalion, who dug in there for the day. The next day was the scene of even more fighting, and the 26th Infantry successfully captured Hill 212, Bois de Moncy, Arietal Fam, while the other regiments completed their objective of capturing Montrefagne with the loss of many men. This action completed the objective of flanking the Argonne forest, which enabled it to be cleared by the 82nd Division. The next two days saw minimal advances until October 8th, when the 26th Infantry and the 1st Engineers captured Hill 269. Now terribly weakened, the 26th Infantry did not spearhead the attack with the rest of the division that began the following day and continued until October 11th, when the weary and exhausted men of the 1st Division were finally relieved from the line and sent to the Vavincourt Area. Corporal Kosch and the division succeeded in pushing the Germans back to the Kriemhilde Stellung and flanked the Argonne forest at the cost of 7,500 casualties. One German officer commented on the ferocity and determination of the division, saying “I saw them forge ahead and I knew that all was lost… Yesterday I knew that the First Division was opposite me and I knew that we would have our hardest fight of the war...We did not believe that within five years the Americans could develop a division like the First.”
While in Vavincourt, the division was given eight thousand replacements who, like Corporal Kosch when he joined, lacked solid training. The veterans taught the newcomers as much as they could before the division was mobilized once again to the woods around Gesnes and Cierges on October 31st to act as the Fifth Army Corps reserve for the November 1st attack. The assault was to be preceded by two hours of artillery fired from six hundred and eight guns. At 3:30 AM, the barrage began and smothered the German line with as much firepower as possible as the infantry advanced and captured their objective of Barricourt. Corporal Kosch’s 1st Division was not needed due to the success of the drive, so they followed the advance and patiently waited for their turn on the line, which came on November 5th. The division took up positions along the Stonne-Beaumont road and was ordered to attack the next day at 5:30 AM. Kosch’s 2nd Battalion was located on the far right of the advancing force, and by noon they had reached the Meuse River, then captured Mouzon and Villemontry. The regiment reached Chemery by the morning of the 7th and captured Omicourt and St. Aignan until being redirected near Yoncq. During the three days of battle, Corporal Kosch and the 26th Infantry had marched seventy one kilometers without sleep and once they arrived in the rest area, threw themselves to the ground for some much needed rest.
As luck would have it, they did not return to the front line and the men had just restored their strength when the Armistice was called on November 11th, 1918, ending the war and the bloody combat lineage of the 1st Infantry Division. During his time with Company F, 26th Infantry Regiment in combat, Corporal Kosch was awarded a Citation Star (later converted to a Silver Star in 1932), but it is unknown the date it was awarded or for what action. Shortly afterwards, the division marched to the Rhine River and crossed into Germany for occupational duties, and Corporal Kosch was transferred to Headquarters Company of the 26th Infantry for the occupation.
After fifteen long months overseas, Kosch left Europe in early August of 1919, returned home to his family in Ohio, and was honorably discharged on August 19th. After the war, Andrew returned to his job as a bookkeeper for a local tailoring company, married Louise Tenhagen in 1927, and later worked for the John Hancock Insurance Company. He passed away on March 20th, 1981 at the age of 86 and is buried at West Park Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.
St Mihiel
At 1:00 AM on the morning of September 12th, the American artillery suddenly lit up the sky with a terrific barrage, pounding away at the German lines until switching to a rolling barrage at 5:00 AM to cover the swarm of infantry going over the top. Corporal Kosch, the 1st Division, and all other American units involved advanced in perfect formation towards the enemy line, sustaining minimal casualties. Their first objective, a line running along the southern bank of the Rupt de Mad to Richecourt, was reached in thirty minutes and they crossed the river shortly after. The second objective was also reached quickly, but once the troops reached the southern edge of the Quart de Reserve, they were met with the first determined resistance of the offensive in the form of well concealed machine gun nests and woods filled with new barbed wire. Ignoring these new dangers, Corporal Kosch and the 1st Division, supported by allied tanks, surged forward and crushed the German line. At 11:00 AM, the advance resumed with the attacking battalions rotating with the support battalions, who captured the third objective one hour and twenty minutes later. Corporal Kosch and the men quickly dug in and organized a defence in preparation for a German counterattack.
Losses had been far less than expected because the attack had caught the Germans in the process of retreating, so the American command ordered the 1st Division to continue their advance towards the second day’s objective. By the end of the day, the division had reached as far as the Bois de la Belle Oziere and continued pursuing the enemy back the next day, capturing Hattonchatel, St. Meurice, and Bois de Nonsard among others. During the night of September 13th, Corporal Kosch and the 1st Division were relieved from the sector and regrouped as a reserve force in the area the next day. During the operation, they advanced fourteen kilometers in nineteen hours and suffered around 500 casualties, a remarkable feat that was highly commended by General Pershing. As the men enjoyed a period of rest, another large operation was being planned as the final blow to the Germans and end the war. To support the attack dubbed the Meuse Argonne Offensive, 1st Division was transferred to the Third Army Corps as their reserve force on September 19th, and if the assault went well, would cross the Meuse River and continue the attack eastward.
Meuse Argonne Offensive
In the early morning hours of September 26th, Corporal Kosch awoke to the violent sound of the preliminary bombardment that marked the beginning of the offensive. As the day progressed, reports brought back the news that the attack was becoming increasingly more difficult, and fresh units would be needed to continue its ferocity. So the division marched a grueling twelve hours to the vicinity of Nixeville and then to Neuvilly two days later. Finally, they entered the line on the night of September 30th to relieve the 35th Infantry Division whose positions spanned from Baulny to near the Apremont-Epinonville Road. Corporal Kosch’s 26th Infantry Regiment was located on the far right flank of the line. The area had experienced extremely heavy German counter attacks and artillery which had annihilated the landscape and the men residing in it. Three ravines located in front of the lines needed to be captured, and the men advanced towards them on October 1st, with Kosch’s 2nd Battalion once again in support. Once they took fire from the farthest ravine, the men quickly dug foxholes and prepared themselves for what lay ahead. “For three days and nights the men were doomed to lie in their fox-holes while the enemy’s artillery mercilessly pounded the area...the ground was so...impregnated with gas that almost one entire company was evacuated...there was constant rifle and machine gun activity and...the casualties averaged five hundred men each day.”
At 5:25 AM on October 4th, Corporal Kosch and the 1st Division jumped out of their shallow foxholes and advanced towards the enemy under the cover of a rolling barrage. They were immediately met with a continuous hail of enemy bullets and artillery, but even as the men were struck down at an alarming rate, they continued to dash forward and were soon engaged in hand to hand combat. The assault battalion of the 26th Infantry was so badly mangled that Corporal Kosch’s support battalion had to continue the assault through heavy flank fire from La Neuville-le-Comte Farm on the right and the woods to the east, which were eventually taken by the combined efforts of Kosch’s 2nd Battalion and the already exhausted 1st Battalion, who dug in there for the day. The next day was the scene of even more fighting, and the 26th Infantry successfully captured Hill 212, Bois de Moncy, Arietal Fam, while the other regiments completed their objective of capturing Montrefagne with the loss of many men. This action completed the objective of flanking the Argonne forest, which enabled it to be cleared by the 82nd Division. The next two days saw minimal advances until October 8th, when the 26th Infantry and the 1st Engineers captured Hill 269. Now terribly weakened, the 26th Infantry did not spearhead the attack with the rest of the division that began the following day and continued until October 11th, when the weary and exhausted men of the 1st Division were finally relieved from the line and sent to the Vavincourt Area. Corporal Kosch and the division succeeded in pushing the Germans back to the Kriemhilde Stellung and flanked the Argonne forest at the cost of 7,500 casualties. One German officer commented on the ferocity and determination of the division, saying “I saw them forge ahead and I knew that all was lost… Yesterday I knew that the First Division was opposite me and I knew that we would have our hardest fight of the war...We did not believe that within five years the Americans could develop a division like the First.”
While in Vavincourt, the division was given eight thousand replacements who, like Corporal Kosch when he joined, lacked solid training. The veterans taught the newcomers as much as they could before the division was mobilized once again to the woods around Gesnes and Cierges on October 31st to act as the Fifth Army Corps reserve for the November 1st attack. The assault was to be preceded by two hours of artillery fired from six hundred and eight guns. At 3:30 AM, the barrage began and smothered the German line with as much firepower as possible as the infantry advanced and captured their objective of Barricourt. Corporal Kosch’s 1st Division was not needed due to the success of the drive, so they followed the advance and patiently waited for their turn on the line, which came on November 5th. The division took up positions along the Stonne-Beaumont road and was ordered to attack the next day at 5:30 AM. Kosch’s 2nd Battalion was located on the far right of the advancing force, and by noon they had reached the Meuse River, then captured Mouzon and Villemontry. The regiment reached Chemery by the morning of the 7th and captured Omicourt and St. Aignan until being redirected near Yoncq. During the three days of battle, Corporal Kosch and the 26th Infantry had marched seventy one kilometers without sleep and once they arrived in the rest area, threw themselves to the ground for some much needed rest.
As luck would have it, they did not return to the front line and the men had just restored their strength when the Armistice was called on November 11th, 1918, ending the war and the bloody combat lineage of the 1st Infantry Division. During his time with Company F, 26th Infantry Regiment in combat, Corporal Kosch was awarded a Citation Star (later converted to a Silver Star in 1932), but it is unknown the date it was awarded or for what action. Shortly afterwards, the division marched to the Rhine River and crossed into Germany for occupational duties, and Corporal Kosch was transferred to Headquarters Company of the 26th Infantry for the occupation.
After fifteen long months overseas, Kosch left Europe in early August of 1919, returned home to his family in Ohio, and was honorably discharged on August 19th. After the war, Andrew returned to his job as a bookkeeper for a local tailoring company, married Louise Tenhagen in 1927, and later worked for the John Hancock Insurance Company. He passed away on March 20th, 1981 at the age of 86 and is buried at West Park Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.