The Offensive in the Meuse Argonne — An Overview
In six short months in 1917 the American Army was transformed from ranking seventeenth in the size of world armies to laying the embryo for military strength that by March 1918 would elevate it to world leader.
318,000 men were in France, 1.3 million would be deployed by August. From her early reticence to enter the War, America had made a total commitment to it. Nearly eighty divisions would provide a cataclysmic psychological effect on an already demoralised German Army leading to her eventual demise in November 1918.
The American Expeditionary Forces were involved in several Operations in France. These were:
- the Aisne-Marne Operations between June 2 and August 6,
- St. Mihel Operations between September 12 and 16
- The Meuse/Argonne Operations between September 26 and Nov 10
- Battle Operations in the Champagne region east of Reims September 26 and October 27
- Operations in the Somme Offensive September 24 to October 30
- Operations in Ypres-Lys Offensive Oct 30 to November 11
On September 26 1918 the massive Meuse Argonne Offensive began, preceded by a massive artillery bombardment involving 3,298 guns of different calibers.
At dawn over 100,000 American soldiers, many of them hitherto inexperienced in battle, attacked. This was to be an offensive conducted over a 72 miles front and would last for 47 days.
The three phases of battle as it came to be known, eventually involved three quarters of a million Allied troops, of which 120,000 Americans became casualties.
The first phase was from September 26 to October 3 between the Meuse River and the Argonne forest.
The second phase lasted between October 4 and October 31.
The third and last phase was from November 1 until Armistice on 11 November.
The Sergeant York Project 2006 Team have explored the area around Châtel Chéhéry and the fighting that took place there on 8 October 1918, it may be linked with the exploits of the ‘Lost Battalion’ at Charlevaux who were relieved from their heroic efforts on that same morning. Charlevaux is only 6 kilometers from Châtel Chéhéry.
Sergeant York Project EBook
© 2007 Worldwide Copyright Reserved Tom Nolan, M. Kelly
Top
Add to your Favorites
