The Meuse Argonne Offense

833 Words2 Pages

Throughout the years we have heard stories of the Meuse Argonne Offense and all the casualties it created, but it has never been specific facts of the events that happen. There were approximate 600,000 troops for the offense. That is without counting the artillery part which it was an extra 3,980 personnel. This was part of the movement towards the offense that was implemented by General Pershing. Meanwhile they were in route and arrive to the offense General Pershing was not counting in the weather, which it started raining and the soldiers walked the route implemented which it was about 60 miles of mud that did not help the movement to Meuse Argonne and made them an easier target because of their limited mobility and their lack of knowledge of the area (Clodfelter, 2007). The York battalion joins the battle to help with General Pershing’s plan. The Argonne was a valley flanked by thick forest to one side and the Meuse River on the other. This terrain provided an excellent defensive position for five divisions from General Pershing. Flush with victory, Pershing's objectives for the first day of the attack were extremely optimistic and called for his men to break through two major defensive lines dubbed Giselher and Kreimhilde by the Germans. In addition, American forces were hampered by the fact that the majority of the soldiers that were about to participate in the battle had not yet seen combat.

Meuse Argonne Offense 4

Attacking at 5:30 AM on September 26 after a prolonged bombardment by 2,700 guns, the final goal of the offensive was the capture of Sedan which would cripple the German rail network. The initial assault made so...

... middle of paper ...

... Expeditionary Force. American losses were exacerbated by the inexperience of many of the troops and tactics used during the early phases of the operation. Germans losses numbered 28,000 killed and 92,250 wounded. Coupled with British and French offensives elsewhere on the

Meuse Argonne 6
Western Front, the assault through the Argonne was critical in breaking German resistance and bringing World War I to an end (Clodfelter, 2007).
Throughout this period it makes me thing that the start of a new era of tactics started like METT-TC and similar types of methods use now day for the advantage of battle. Implementing those TTP’s will had help with the Argonne battle and would help midi gate with the amount of casualties that this battle created.

Open Document