Trench Commander Blog Post #1
Joseph L. Bachus spent the better part of four decades in nearly every branch of the U.S. military, but his combat experience in the trenches of France during WW I solidified his decision to dedicate his life to professional soldiering.
His men called him “Smokey Joe” — not only for the smoldering pipe that was his constant companion, but for his fiery method for turning a rabble of undisciplined recruits into a tough fighting force. Some may have hated him back home during the rigors of training in Michigan and Texas, but he was “the idol of his men” by the time his unit reached the fighting in France.
Joe served with the 126th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd Division for most of 1918. As a 1st Lt., Joe took command of E Company for his unit’s first month of combat duty in the “Quiet Sector” of the trenches in the Diefmatten area of Alsace-Lorraine. His company endured countless artillery shellings, gas attacks, and regular raids, sniping, and strafing from the German forces across No Man’s Land.
When Gen. Pershing came to inspect the regiment …
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