Battle of Cantigny
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Cantigny, fought on 28 May 1918 was the first American offensive of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The U.S. 1st Division, the most experienced of the seven American divisions then in France and in reserve for the French Army near the village of Cantigny
Cantigny, Somme
Cantigny is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.- History :During World War I, a battle liberated the town from German forces. Major-General Robert Lee Bullard commanded the US First Division in the United States' first victory of the war. About 10 years later, Colonel...

, was selected for the attack. The objective of the attack was both to reduce a small salient
Salient
Salient may refer to:* See Salients, re-entrants and pockets for the battlefield feature* Salient , part of a discrete territory projecting out of the main portion, bordered by foreign territory on three sides, into which it projects...

 made by the German army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...

 in the front lines but also to instill confidence among the French and British allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

 in the ability of the inexperienced American Expeditionary Force
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...

.

Background

The Americans desired to make a show of strength after the U.S. 26th Division
26th Infantry Division (United States)
The 26th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army. As a major formation of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, it was based in Boston, Massachusetts for most of its history...

 was surprised in the line by a raid on Seicheprey
Seicheprey
Seicheprey is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department*Parc naturel régional de Lorraine...

 on April 20–22. A division attack to retake Montdidier
Montdidier
Montdidier is the name of several communes in France:* Montdidier, in the Moselle département* Montdidier, in the Somme département...

 was contemplated but ruled out because it would also involve supporting attacks by French divisions on either side. Instead a single regiment was tasked to take and hold Cantigny, which was located relatively close behind the front, but also subject to intense counter-attack. Jump-off trenches were dug in preparation, resulting in a massive gas attack on the Americans by the Germans on the day before the planned attack, in which 15,000 gas shells were fired, cutting off all communication with the forward positions. When German probes had been found to have been repulsed,the attack was ordered to go forward as planned.

Cantigny was the point of a salient into the Allied lines approximately 5 kilometers deep, and was thought to be held by a battalion of entrenched German infantry, but on the planned day of the attack, a relief was in progress and the attack actually encountered two battalions.

Capture of Cantigny

At its 06:45 H Hour, American troops left their jump-off trenches following an hour-long preparatory artillery barrage
Barrage (artillery)
A barrage is a line or barrier of exploding artillery shells, created by the co-ordinated aiming of a large number of guns firing continuously. Its purpose is to deny or hamper enemy passage through the line of the barrage, to attack a linear position such as a line of trenches or to neutralize...

 in which German counter-battery fire nullified the location of German artillery positions. A rolling barrage advancing approximately 25 meters a minute preceded the attacking troops.

The 28th Infantry Regiment
28th Infantry Regiment (United States)
Since the establishment of the United States Army in 1775, three regiments have held the designation 28th Infantry Regiment. The first was a Provisional unit that was constituted on 29 January 1813 and served during The War of 1812. The second was a reorganization and redesignation of 2nd...

 (Col. Hansen Ely, commanding) of the 1st Division (3,564 troops), under Major-General Robert Lee Bullard
Robert Lee Bullard
Robert Lee Bullard was a United States General.General Bullard attended the United States Military Academy and graduated in 1885...

, captured Cantigny from the German Eighteenth Army
German Eighteenth Army
The 18th Army was a World War I and World War II field army.-World War I:The 18th Army was formed in 1918 by the German OHL and commanded by General Oskar von Hutier.-World War II:...

 commanded by von Hutier
Oskar von Hutier
Oskar von Hutier was one of Imperial Germany's most successful and innovative generals of World War I.-Biography:Hutier was born in Erfurt, in the Prussian Province of Saxony...

. The village was situated on high ground surrounded by woods, making it an ideal target for German artillery.

Aiding the capture, the French provided air cover, 368 heavy guns, trench mortars, and flamethrowers. The advancing American infantry was aided by twelve Schneider tanks of the French 5th Tank battalion, used to eliminate German machine gun positions. With this support, and advancing much more audaciously than expected, the 28th Infantry took the village in 45 minutes. It then continued on to its final objective, positions two kilometers from its jump-off point, just as the rolling barrage reached its final line, at 08:13.

Defense against German counterattacks

The first German counterattack, a small attack at 08:30 against the extreme right of the new American position , was easily repulsed, but German artillery bombarded the 28th Infantry for most of the day. At 17:10 the first large-scale counterattack took place, and a battalion of the 26th Infantry commanded by Major Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
Theodore D. Roosevelt, Jr. , was an American political and business leader, a Medal of Honor recipient who fought in both of the 20th century's world wars. He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt from his second wife Edith Roosevelt...

 was used to reinforce a weak spot in the American line. Another German counterattack at 1840 was also repulsed by a combination of artillery and Infantry defensive fire. A series of counterattacks the next morning were also defeated by both American regiments, and the position held.

The Americans reduced the salient and expanded their front by approximately a mile. A minor success, its significance was overshadowed by the battle underway along the Aisne. The U.S. forces held their position with the loss of 1,603 casualties including 199 killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...

; they captured 250 German prisoners. Matthew B. Juan
Matthew B. Juan
Mathew B. Juan - was a Native American hero of World War I who died in the Battle of Cantigny. Juan was the first Arizonan to die in the war.-Biography:...

, a Native American war hero, was killed during this battle.

The American success at Cantigny assured the French that American divisions could be entrusted in the line against the German offensive to take Paris. The victory at Cantigny was followed by attacks at Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry is a commune in northern France about east-northeast of Paris. It is a sub-prefecture of the Aisne department in Picardy.-History:...

 and Belleau Wood
Battle of Belleau Wood
The Battle of Belleau Wood occurred during the German 1918 Spring Offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S...

 in the first half of June.

Battle

The American Battle Monuments Commission
American Battle Monuments Commission
The American Battle Monuments Commission is a small independent agency of the United States government. Established by Congress in 1923, it is responsible for:...

 erected a monument in the village of Cantigny that was dedicated on 9 August 1937 with a speech given (at the invitation of General John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...

) by Col. Robert R. McCormick
Robert R. McCormick
Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick was a member of the McCormick family of Chicago who became owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper...

, who had commanded the 1st Battalion of the 5th Field Artillery regiment at the battle.
on one side of the memorial appears the inscription:
ERECTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO COMMEMORATE THE FIRST ATTACK BY AN AMERICAN DIVISION IN THE WORLD WAR.

On another side of the memorial appears the inscription:
THE FIRST DIVISION UNITED STATES ARMY OPERATING UNDER THE X FRENCH CORPS CAPTURED THE TOWN OF CANTIGNY ON MAY 28 1918 AND HELD IT AGAINST NUMEROUS COUNTERATTACKS.

French translations of these inscriptions appears on the opposite sides of the monument.

First Division

A First Division Monument located along the road ½ mile southeast of Cantigny, is one of five erected by the First Division itself in 1919. The names of dead in the vicinity of Cantigny are engraved on the bronze plates. The monument is like a small concrete shaft, surmounted by a carved eagle of stone.

McCormick

In the center of Cantigny, a small monument was dedicated in 2005 by the McCormick Foundation
McCormick Foundation
McCormick Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit charitable trust established in 1955, upon the death of "Colonel" Robert R. McCormick. it had more than US$1 billion in assets.-History:...

 to commemorate the participation of Major Robert R. McCormick
Robert R. McCormick
Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick was a member of the McCormick family of Chicago who became owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper...

 in the historic 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, the oldest American military unit on continuous active duty (dating back to the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

), then part of the First Division.

Black Lions

On May 28, 2008, the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cantigny, the McCormick Foundation
McCormick Foundation
McCormick Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit charitable trust established in 1955, upon the death of "Colonel" Robert R. McCormick. it had more than US$1 billion in assets.-History:...

 and the Association of the 28th Infantry Regiment dedicated the statue "The Lion of Cantigny," an original bronze work by Stephen Spears depicting a doughboy
Doughboy
Doughboy is an informal term for an American soldier, especially members of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The term dates back to the Mexican–American War of 1846–48....

 of the regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 advancing through the village. The 28th Infantry was the assault regiment in the First Divisoin's attack, the first major US battle of World War I. The regimental coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 is based on the lions in the heraldic arms of Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...

, where Cantigny is; the regiment's nickname is Black Lions.

External links

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