The Americans in the Argonne.
America officially entered the Great War on 6th April 1917 as a result of the German’s decision to re-start unrestricted submarine warfare which saw neutral American transporters sunk and as a result of the so called Zimmerman Telegrams.
The German Foreign Minister, Arthur Zimmerman, sent a coded telegram to the German minister in Mexico proposing an alliance with Mexico against the USA. The British intercepted and decoded this telegram before submitting it to President Wilson. The emergence of such a telegram enabled Wilson to receive approval from the Senate for a declaration of war against Germany.
In early 1917, the American army was very small, lacked heavy arms and had no experience in fighting an industrialised modern war. However, what they did have was unlimited fresh manpower and with a rapid draft, the American army grew quickly and trained until eventually, fresh drafts of men were arriving in France every month.
The commander of the American forces was John ‘Black Jack’ Pershing, a forthright and aggressive commander who refused point blank to allow his troops to be embedded with the British and French armies. He, backed by his government, insisted that the American army would stand alone and fight as a complete unit, albeit with heavy artillery and tanks supplied by Britain and France.
Two companies of Americans did fight alongside the Australians at the battle of Hamel in July 1918, and two divisions of Americans fought alongside the Australians and the British 46th Division at the breaking of the Hindenburg Line in late September 1918, but the vast majority of American troops under Pershing’s overall command took over the line of the Western Front east of Paris between Belleau Wood and the St. Mihiel salient.
Their tactics in the final seven weeks of the war, September to November 11th, could be described as naïve, they opted for the full frontal attacks that the British Army had attempted in 1915/16, but with large divisions of strong brave men, they suffered their casualties but carried on regardless making rapid advances against the now often demoralised but resistant Germans. Firstly, at St. Mihiel and then in the Argonne Forest region, the American gains were quicker and more successful, and way beyond Pershing’s and Generalissimo Foch’s expectations.
Pershing proved himself to be a ruthless and dogmatic leader, a man who would sack any of his high ranking commanders on the spot if he believed they weren’t being aggressive enough and pushing their men to the limit.
On my recent trip, I did not visit the St. Mihiel salient, that is for the next time, but we covered the major actions and stories of the Argonne offensive. If you want to read in more detail the actions of the Americans, I can recommend this book which I have on my shelves; ‘Forty-Seven Days’ by Mitchell Yockelson. ISBN 97 80451 466 952.
Our first stop was at Montfaucon (Mount Falcon). At 1,200 feet, the village loomed over the Argonne providing the Germans with first class artillery observation. The village had been in German hands since 1914 and was well fortified with concrete bunkers and machine gun posts. Pershing wanted this high point capturing first as it blocked the AEF’s advance on Cunel and Romagne where the Hindenburg Line first line of trenches started. Explaining his battle plan to the French, Petain said to Pershing that he wouldn’t capture Montfaucon until Christmas, but Pershing insisted it would be captured on the opening day!
Commencing on September 25th, Montfaucon, Vaquois Hill, Varennes and Cheppy had all fallen to the Americans by the 29th but with a high number of casualties including battalion commanders who went over the top with their men.
Today, Montfaucon is a site of great reverence for the Americans. A US Army Staff College trip was at the site as we arrived. The US monument and tower sits alongside the remains of the medieval monastery and today, the modern village of Montfaucon sits at the bottom of the hill. You can climb to the top of the tower to look out over the battlefield with a 360-degree panoramic view.
The Americans, including General Patton both in 1918 and in 1944, were here and have left a Sherman tank in the modern village as a memorial.
Leaving Montfaucon, we drove to the immaculate US Cemetery at Romagne. Here lie the bodies of 14,426 Doughboys in the largest US cemetery in Europe.
There is a visitor centre, museum and public rest rooms on site and you can easily spend more than an hour taking in the cemetery and its 130 acres of grounds, monuments and chapel.
Click here Romagne-sous-Montfaucon American Cemetery
Feeling peckish we picked the nearby village of Dun sur Meuse for a lunch stop. After buying filled baguettes we found the village war memorial which sits by the ‘war memorial bridge’ over the Meuse, the village having been liberated by the Americans in October 1918.
Never let anyone tell you that war memorials are ‘boring’. The memorial in Dun sur Meuse featured a Poilu on a stone plinth with plaques listing the men of the village who died in the Great War. One side featured a memorial stone to the American 5th Division who fought in the area, but the plaque to the rear of the memorial, was the stand out one for me.
This plaque listed the civilian victims of the Nazi occupation of 1939-44 but had originally, in what I can only assume was an act of cowardice mixed with guilt, or maybe anti-semitism?, had initially omitted the names of the Jewish civilians who had been deported. Their names had been added on an additional stone plaque at a later date.
In 1941, Gary Cooper played Corporal Alvin York in a film about York’s life and actions in WWI where he won the Medal of Honor. The film, titled Sergeant York, [He wasn’t promoted to sergeant until after his famous action – Ed], depicts in a fictionalised way the remarkable story of York’s achievements.
York was born into a large and very poor family in Tennessee. His parents were teetotal Methodists but York, who learned great field craft and shooting skills providing meat for the family table, left home to work as a railway labourer.
Here he became a womaniser and heavy drinker, until one day he witnessed the death of a friend in a bar room brawl. This led York to give up drinking and seek redemption in the church.
In 1917 he was called up and initially asked to be accepted as a Conscientious Objector. The tribunal did not see his church as been an officially recognised branch of the Anglican church, they were a quasi-Quaker like sect, and York duly arrived in France, where his prodigious shooting skills had been recognised.
During the fighting in the Meuse-Argonne forest, York’s section was held up by a German machine gun nest, which was steadily inflicting casualties on his men. Taking his rifle and Colt pistol, York single handedly stalked and shot the gun team, before taking on the next line of resistance until he had killed over 20 Germans. So overawed by his prowess, the Germans in his front surrendered en-masse. As his men came up to assist, the third line of German resistance opened fire killing Americans and German prisoners. Again, York went forward alone shooting down the enemy until they eventually surrendered the position.
York and the survivors of his section escorted 132 German prisoners back to the US lines. Initially, York’s bravery was not recognised, but as the story spread, the news reached higher authority and in due course, Alvin York was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Click here Biography of Alvin C. York, Hero of World War I
Today, you can visit the site of York’s action by parking in the village of Chatel-Chehery and following the marker boards around a 2-mile circular walk. Each board has a description of York’s actions and it is a most enjoyable leg stretch and not overly difficult.
Another enduring tale from the American offensive in the Meuse-Argonne, is that of the famous ‘Lost battalion’. In reality, it was a conglomeration of men from more than one battalion, and the title, the Lost Battalion, came from a newspaper headline, but a substantial pocket of men commanded by Major Whittlesey, pushed forward into the forest north-east of the village of Binarville and found themselves cut off for several days.
The Americans did attempt to re-supply the men, but from the 550 men who were cut off, 107 were killed, 190 were wounded with many taken prisoner, 63 were missing and only 194 eventually returned to the US lines.
We had time to visit the memorial, but a walk in the forest will have to wait until the next visit.
Major Charles Whittlesey was so affected by his wartime experiences that he committed suicide by jumping overboard from a ship in 1921.
Click here The Lost Battalion of World War I – Pieces of History
Passing through the village of Varennes-Argonne, we stopped at the Pennsylvania Monument, built in the Greek Classical style and unveiled in 1927, it is a fitting tribute to the men from Pennsylvania who fought in the Meuse-Argonne in 1918.
The final stop for the day was at Hill 210, otherwise known as Blanc Mont (White Mountain – due to the chalky ground). We drove the road from Sommepy that follows the right flank of the attacking US Marine Brigade – see map below.
Blanc Mont was an L shaped ridge protected by three lines of German trenches, concrete bunkers, machine gun posts and deep underground caverns built into the chalky limestone and the Germans had sat here since late 1914, and he French had not been able to move them in over three years.
On the morning of October 3rd 1918, combined French and American artillery opened an immense bombardment of the German positions, the infantry and Marines attacked under cover of a creeping barrage and with support from French tanks, captured the position the same day. Knowing that they would face a German counter-attack, the Americans supported on their flanks by French troops, attacked again the following day and drove the Germans off the entire ridge until Hindenburg had no option but to order a general retreat to the river Aisne.
Today there is a wonderful US monument on Hill 210 and you can walk around the depressions in the ground that indicate the lines of the German trenches. Again, it is a must see location.
