Troy H. Middleton - World War I - Occupation of Germany

Occupation of Germany

In late November 1918 the 4th Division began a road march of more than 125 miles from the French city of Metz toward the German city of Koblenz, on the Rhine River. The final destination of Middleton's 47th Regiment would be the town of Adenau, 35 miles due west of Koblenz. The road trip took fifteen days of moving through almost incessant rain and ended in a driving snowstorm on 15 December. During the march, Middleton broke character and rode a horse during most of each day, surveying his troops and occasionally dismounting to talk with them. The formation marched for fifty minutes of each hour, and rested for ten, with a full hour for lunch.

Once in Adenau, the regiment dispersed to many villages in the area, while Colonel Middleton stayed in a large home in Adenau where the owners continued to live as well. During the stay in Adenau, the 47th continued with its training, building a rifle range, running combat problems, and practicing lessons learned from its recent combat operations. In early March 1919, after nearly four months in Adenau, the 47th was ordered to the area of Remagen on the Rhine. On the morning of the move, Middleton had breakfast with General Pershing's aide, Colonel George C. Marshall, who had come to Adenau the day before to inform Middleton of his regiment's new orders.

At Remagen the 47th Regiment was given the mission of guarding the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River. Twenty five years later the 47th would once again guard this bridge during World War II. The regiment remained here until given orders to return home in mid-summer 1919. Before his departure from Europe, Middleton was summoned to report to the Third Army Chief of Staff in Koblenz. Here he was informed that he and other senior officers were being assigned to Camp Benning, Georgia to form the first faculty of the Infantry School that was being established there. Middleton sailed out of Brest in mid-July, met his wife in New York, and together they traveled to Columbus, Georgia by way of Washington, D.C. and Atlanta.