On U.S. 27th Division and the U.S. 30th Division, attached to the British Second Army when it appeared that the Germans had abandoned Mount Kemel in front of them. They were supported by the British 34th Division. The advance soon demonstrated that while the Germans had in large withdrawn, they had left behind machineguns to cover their withdrawal in dug in positions. These slowed the Allied advance but the Americans none the less took their objections by 17:30.
Insignia of the 27th Division.
The attack resumed the following morning at 07:00 and carried through September 3.
The 27th Division was a unit made up entirely of New York National Guardsmen, making it one of three U.S. Divisions that were comprised of National Guardsmen entirely from a single state. At the time of the battle of Vierstaat Ridge it was commanded by John F. O'Ryan, a New York City lawyer who had been in the New York National Guard since 1900.
John F. O'Ryan.
After World War One he pursued commercial pursuits and was active in protesting the German treatment of the Jews as early as 1933.
Shoulder patch of the 30th Division.
The 30th Division was also a National Guard Division, and had originally been designated the 9th Division after being mustered and assembled. it was made up of National Guardsmen from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. It was commanded at this time by Maj. Gen. Edward Mann Lewis, a career office in the U.S. Army.
Maj. Gen. Edward Mann Lewis.
