This included living on the British Tommy's relatively scanty rations. The 27th Division initially served in the around Ypres alongside the British from July to September 1918. In September, the New Yorkers joined the British Fourth Army in the infamous Somme region, facing the Germans' formidable Hindenburg Line. Ordered to advance on 27 September, the 27th Division was unable to hold its gains. Several members of the 108th Infantry Regiment were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions in the area of Ronssoy on 28–29 September: Private Daniel Moskowitz, Co. F, Private Morris Silverberg, Co. G, Private (First Class) Edward P. Pierce, Co. D, Corporal James Paul Clark, Co. F, and Sgt. Martin M. Smith, Co. G. The 54th Brigade attacked as part of the Hundred Days Offensive on 29 September. German artillery, poison gas, and machine guns took a heavy toll as the Americans struggled through barbed wire and shell holes to reach the Hindenburg Line. The 108th penetrated the German defenses at Quennemont Farm, although they were stalled by severe casualties and an enemy counterattack, and Australian units were sent in to complete the assault. Many leaderless Americans joined in the Australian attack without orders. This engagement is officially called the Battle of St. Quentin Canal. Private First Class Frank Gaffney of Company G later received a Medal of Honor for his heroism. The 108th joined in the pursuit of the retreating Germans, engaging them at Jonc de Mer Ridge, the Selle River, and Catillon. The 500 survivors still on duty were pulled out of the line to rest on 21 October, three weeks before the Armistice ended the fighting. The 108th Infantry suffered 1,763 casualties—including 331 dead—in three months of combat out of 3,056 men in the ranks. Most of these casualties occurred in the Hindenburg Line attack. Reasons for the heavy losses included a lack of experienced leadership and the eagerness of the Doughboys, who often made frontal assaults on enemy machine gun nests. Additionally, Allied artillery did not "soften up" the Germans with a preparatory bombardment before the attack, for fear of hitting Americans lying wounded from an earlier assault. Nevertheless, as 27th Division commander Major General John F. O'Ryan remarked: "That the 108th Infantry ... should have broken through the maze of wire that existed and in the face of machine guns firing from every trench and nest, lodged one battalion in the main position, now seems an extraordinary feat."