|
|
|
|
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
|
| |
|
| |
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I (and known as the Grand Offensive) that stretched along the entire western front and also involved troops from Britain, its dominion/commonwealth armies (mainly Canada, Australia and New Zealand), Belgium and France in other major attacks in other sectors. The whole offensive was planned by Marshall Ferdinand Foch to breach the Hindenburg line and ultimately force the opposing German forces to capitulate.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Meuse-Argonne Offensive' Start a new discussion about 'Meuse-Argonne Offensive' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I (and known as the Grand Offensive) that stretched along the entire western front and also involved troops from Britain, its dominion/commonwealth armies (mainly Canada, Australia and New Zealand), Belgium and France in other major attacks in other sectors. The whole offensive was planned by Marshall Ferdinand Foch to breach the Hindenburg line and ultimately force the opposing German forces to capitulate. The big British breakthrough in the north, along with the French and British armies' ability to fight unbroken over the whole four years of the war in what amounted to a bloody stalemate, is credited by some historians with breaking the spirit of the German Army, but it was the offensive as a whole that really led to the Armistice on November 11. On September 26, the Americans - the first to move - began their strike towards Sedan in the south; British and Belgian divisions drove towards Ghent (Belgium) on the 27th, and then British and French armies attacked across northern France on the 28th. The scale of the overall offensive, heavily bolstered by the fresh and eager but largely untried and inexperienced U.S. troops (soon to experience their real baptism of fire around Verdun and Sedan), signaled the end of any German hope for victory. The Argonne effort, with the indispensable assistance of the French 4th Army on the left (as shown on the accompanying map and armistice), was the biggest operation and victory in that war of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). The bulk of the AEF had not gone into action until 1918, but it should be remembered in any discussion of this offensive that the U.S. attack, while a significant victory and a coming of age for the U.S. military on the world stage under General Pershing, was only part of the overall push that finally smashed the German will to continue a hopeless fight. The main U.S. effort of the offensive took place in the Verdun Sector, immediately north and northwest of the town of Verdun, between 26 September and 11 November 1918. A little-remembered but interesting feature of the overall offensive was that in one sector, U.S. troops of the 27th and 30th divisions of the II Corps AEF fought in a spearhead attack on the Hindenburg Line directly alongside exhausted veteran Australian divisions of the Australian Corps of the First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF). With artillery and British tanks, the combined three-nation force, despite some early setbacks, attacked and captured their objectives (including Montbrehain village) along a six-kilometre section of the Line between Bellicourt and Vendhuille, which was centred around an underground section of the St Quentin Canal and came to be known as the Battle of St. Quentin Canal. Of the two battles involving U.S. troops in the final offensive, this was the more significant in terms of the overall result and a pivotal point in the whole offensive with the capture of the heights above the Beaurevoir Line by October 10 making a complete breach in the Hindenburg Line. It seems largely forgotten in the US, despite the key American input, probably because the Argonne battle to the right of the French, where the fighting was also very heavy and quite mobile in WWI terms, was all-American. The big September/October Allied breakthroughs (north, centre and south) across the length of the Hindenburg Line - including the Battle of the Argonne Forest - are now lumped together as part of what is generally remembered as the huge Hundred Days Offensive by the Allies.
Opposing forces in the U.S. sector (Argonne; southern)
The forces consisted of nine divisions (Paterson, 2005) of the U.S. First Army commanded by General John J. Pershing until October 16 and then by Lt. General Hunter Liggett. More than 1,300,000 U.S. troops eventually took part in the battle. The logistics were planned and directed by Col. George Marshall. During this period of the war, German divisions procured only 50 percent or less of their initial strength. The 117th Division which opposed the U.S. 79th Division during the offensives first phase had only 3,300 men in its ranks. In these units morale varied. For example, divisions that served on the Eastern front would have high morale while conversely divisions that that were just on the western front had poor morale. Resistance grew to approximately 450,000 German troops from the Fifth Army of Group Gallwitz commanded by General Georg von der Marwitz. The Americans estimated that they opposed 44 Divisions.
Objective
Its objective was the capture of the railroad hub at Sedan which would break the rail net supporting the German Army in France and Flanders and force the enemy's withdrawal from the occupied territories. The French offensive met temporary confusion when one of its generals died.
First phase: September 26 to October 3
The American attack began at 5:30 a.m. on September 26 with V and III Corps meeting most of their objectives and the 79th failing to capture Monfuncton and the 28th "Keystone "division being virtually ground to a halt by formidable German resistance,and the 91st "wild West" Division were compelled to evacuate the village of Epinonville (though it did advance five miles). Montfaucon d'Argonne was captured on the first day by the green 37th "Buckeye" Division. The subsequent day, September 27 most of 1st Army failed to make any gains. The 79th, which finally captured Monfuncton and the 35th "Sante Fe" Division captured the village of Baulny, Hill 218, and Charpentry. On September 29, six new German divisions were deployed to oppose the American attack, and the 5th Guards and 52nd Divisions launched an attack on the debacle that was the 35th "Sante Fe" Division. It made significant gains at first but was barely repulsed by the Division's 110th engineers, 128th machine gun battalion and Harry Truman's battery D, 129th Field Artillery. In the words of General Pershing, "We were no longer engaged in a maneuver for the pinching out of a salient, but were necessarily committed, generally speaking, to a direct frontal attack against strong, hostile positions fully manned by a determined enemy."
Second phase: October 4 to October 28
The second phase of the battle began on 4 October, during which time all of the original phase one assault divisions of the I and V Corps were replaced by divisions from reserve. The Americans launched a series of costly frontal assaults that finally broke through the main German defences (the Kriemhilde Stellung of the Hindenburg Line) between 14-17 October. By the end of October the Americans had advanced ten miles and had finally cleared the Argonne Forest. On their left the French had advanced twenty miles, reaching the Aisne River. It was during the opening of this operation that Corporal (later Sergeant) Alvin York made his famous capture of 132 German prisoners.
Third phase: October 26 to November 10
The American forces reorganized into two armies. The First, led by General Ligett, would continue to move to the Carignan-Sedan-Mezieres Railroad. The Second Army, led by Lieutenant General Robert L. Bullard, was directed to move eastward towards Metz. The two armies faced 31 German divisions.
The battle's place in history
Although the battle was "probably the bloodiest single battle in U.S. history," the battle is little remembered today; its battleground memorials are neglected by most American visitors to Europe. According to the American view, the battle's pressure on the Germans was an important factor in their agreeing to the armistice: "Until the last, this battle had worried German commanders most; unlike other sectors of the front, here they had little space short of a vital objective that they could afford to trade for time."
|
| |
|
|
