Stephen Kosaka
Professor Jacob Jones
HIST 157, Term 2
3 December 2006

WWI: The Battle of Meuse-Argonne

World War 1 had begun in 1914, in response to an assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand who was the heir to the throne of Austria. He was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist that triggered the countries of Austria, France, Germany, Russia, and Serbia to declare war between each other. France was soon invaded by the Germans who were trying to capture the city of Paris, and eventually were pushed back by the resilient forces of the French Armies. With the fierce fighting between the two countries and numerous other battles that has taken place, the United States eventually entered the war in 1917 due to the “Zimmerman note” and several sinking of U.S. cargo ships. Was the battle of the Meuse-Argonne necessary for the stability of the European nation? What was the American’s role in accomplishing peace in the region? The American allies, both the French and British, presumed that the U.S. was not able to muster, train, and equip a large force to effectively fight the enemy. The French’s plan was to try and bolster their sagging morale from all the fighting that they requested an American Division be sent to show their support in the war. The French offered to help train but were cautious because they wanted the Americans to eventually have their own army. The British on the other hand wanted the Americans to be trained, equipped and integrated with the British armies. Both plans were weighed and was determined and rejected by President Wilson, that having American soldiers serve under another countries flag was not an option; however, he did agree to send a Division of American soldiers to assist the French military. President Wilson had appointed General John Pershing as Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), who led the offensive battle of the Meuse-Argonne. General Pershing sternly objected the use of American soldiers to be used as replacements but agreed to fight and serve under another allied command. During the battle between France and Germany which lasted about four years with fighting in the Meuse-Argonne area of operation and several skirmishes in the city of Verdun that left devastation to several villages, some were even completely destroyed. On 2 September 1918, with an agreement from the two allied commanders, Marshal Foch and General Petain, the U.S. Meuse-Argonne offensive that was mastermind and led by General Pershing was to take shape. General Pershing’s goal was to penetrate and break through the Germans fortified positions, and to cut off the supply and evacuation routes that run through the north and one through the south. These routes were important to the Germans, it provided supplies for the defending forces, and because “no other important lines were available”. (John) The mountains of the Ardennes were difficult to pass making the construction of east to west impracticable. The battle of the Meuse-Argonne was a battle that tested the capabilities of the nations involved. Nations like Germany, France, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Austria, Russia, Italy, Turkey, and Hungary were near exhausted of their supplies and had lost millions of their men through terrible fighting that ensued. By the time the Americans entered the war, the number of American soldiers were not quite sufficient to make any impact in the war. The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) that was led by General Pershing only had several thousand soldiers but eventually grew to several million within a short time. After the last attack by the Germans to try and over take the allied forces – General Pershing and the AEF were ready for more serious action where the soldiers were willing to take the battle out of the trenches and to the enemy. The U.S. led offensive was a huge and “complex operation involving a majority of the AEF ground forces fighting through rough, hilly terrain” (Big Show) that the German had spent years fortifying. With the AEF forces being realigned from east to west which extended about thirty miles northwest above the village of Verdun proved to be a great accomplishment. Moving thousands of soldiers and supplies in a few weeks were the responsibilities of Colonel George C. Marshall who planned and directed the massive move. This massive move to the area between the Meuse River and the Argonne Forest by the AEF was significant because it was a critical portion of the German front that they could not afford to lose. One of the major problems that the AEF faced was the limited trails and roadways that were available. They were forced to move during the hours of darkness along trails that were congested with supplies and reinforcements which made the operation a huge logistic problem during the war. At the start of the battle, the Germans were comprised with “10 division in line and 10 in reserve along the front between Fresnes-en-Woevre and the Argonne Forest”. (Pershing) The Meuse-Argonne Offensive operation led by General Pershing while in command of the First Army comprised of three American and one French corps. The commanders of the four corps consisted of Major General Hunter Liggett, I Corps, comprised of the Seventy-seventh, Twenty-eighth, and the Thirty-fifth Division; Major General George H. Cameron, V Corps, with the Ninety-first, Thirty-seventh, and Seventy-Ninth Division; Major General John L. Hines, III Corps, with the Fourth, Eightieth, and Thirty-third Division; and the XVII French Corps commanded by General de Division Henri Edouard Claudel, with their Eighteenth Division, and Tenth, and Fifteenth Colonial Infantry Division. The Army had three divisions in reserve, one per Corps. Wanting to take the battle out of the trenches and to the enemy, the commander considered the Offensive to be in three phases, with the first phase starting on September 26th to October 3rd, and the second from 4th to 31st, and the final phase taking place from November 1st to the 11th. On the evening of September 25th, movements to the front line were beginning with all nine divisions on line between the Meuse River and the Argonne Forest. The first phase was set to kick off on 26 September with borage of Artillery fires and a push through the center with the French on the west. The attack had some problems due to the few roads and trails which were destroyed from all the Artillery shells. Communication and support were also difficult through “No man’s land”, but with the tenacious Corps of Engineers, the troops and supplies were soon supporting the fight. The second phase began on October 4th, with resistance from enemy fortifications and a push of more than 120 kilometers into Northern France. Commanders and reserve units were also being rotated and with V Corps being commanded by Major General Summerall, he expected high expectation from his officers and soldiers alike. With his battle experience, his aggressive style of fighting would prove successful for the V Corps advance into German defenses. The final phase was that the First Army launches the final attack east towards the Rhine. On the morning of 8 November, the III and V Corps had crossed the Meuse River and continued until the hostilities ceased on 11 November and the signing of the Armistice Treaty. The signing of the Armistice impacted the nations involved - France, Germany, Britain, and the United States which marked the end of the war. The success of the battle by the AEF resulted in the collapse of the German Army which led to the signing of the Armistice on the eleventh hour of 11 November 1918. After the signing of the Armistice, the allied nations were delighted that the town folks were celebrating in the streets and were even cheering for soldiers passing by. “Through out the Armistice, the Allies maintained the naval blockade of Germany” (Aftermath) causing them to plunder in despair until the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Some of the experiences and images that soldiers and leaders encountered were the act of “heroism in battle every day and the bitter joy of combat”. (Ousby, pp 264) The infantry soldiers were often wet to the skin and ankle deep in mud, causing exhaustion. With the struggle to push forward towards the enemy fortifications with heavy fire all around and bombs exploding, soldiers were merely holding on to “mere existance a trial of body and spirt.” (Baynes, pp 1689) The trench warfare and chemical attacks of the Meuse-Argonne were the biggest fear of the soldiers on both sides, both were unsure of the other sides actions, whether be shot by snipers or killed by chemical agents. Despite all the gunfire and shelling, soldiers were still ordered to perform certain chores, like filling sandbags, draining of their trenches, and repairing the side walls of the trentch. Though the battle was hard fought by both sides, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive led by the Allied Forces under Major General Pershing proved successful despite the harsh condition encountered by the soldiers. The strategic and tactical doctrine that Major General Pershing brought out of the Meuse-Argone Offensive was that in order to win the war the enemy “must be driven from the trenches and the fighting carried into the open.” (Linn, pp 523) Other American officers gained the understanding that modern warfare needed a strong economical industry enabling the United States to effectively equip the American soldiers with weopons needed to win a decicive battle. Many ideas came out of World War I, like the groundwork of the mechanize and armored style doctrine that was later instituted during World War II. Some of the long term effects of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the signing of the Armistice, and the whole battle of World War I, was that there were no other war that changed the map of Europe so dramatically in which empires and dynasties became defunct or disappeared. There were independent countries that emerged and new ones were created, others had just changed their names. Impact of the war on the U.S. and world politics was that it no longer adopted a policy of isolation and that it must have a ready and manned armed forces to protect its borders. Other factors that impacted the war was the end of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the Treaty of Versailles which were believed to be a great departure of President Wilson’s Fourteen Points and British’s harsh treatment of Germany.

Works Cited
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Ousby, Ian. The Road to Verdun. 1st Ed.. New York: Doubleday, May 2002.
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Linn, Brian M., and Russell F. Weigley. "The American Way of War." The Journal of Military History. Vol. 66, No. 2. (Apr., 2002): 501-523.
"The Big Show." The Meuse-Argonne Offensive. 2000. The Great War Society. 8 Dec 2006 .
"The Emergence of Military Managers: Pershing and Marshall: A Review of Memoirs of My Services in the World War, 1917-1918. | Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing." Review in American History, Vol. 6. No. 2. (Jun.,1978): pp. 243-248.
"Aftermath of World War 1." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 9 Dec 2006 . "Aftermath of World War 1." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 9 Dec 2006 . "Aftermath of World War 1." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. 9 Dec 2006 . Top of Form