II. OPERATIONS ALONG THE MEUSE
THE “POST OF HONOR” ON THE WESTERN FRONT
HILE
the St. Mihiel operation contained many elements that appeal to the imagination and
probably will remain longer in the memory of the participants, and although it was the first
great attack of the 1st American Army and was filled with all the eagerness and enthusiasm of
the long-hoped-for American offensive, the battle of the Meuse-Argonne is much more important from a
strategical standpoint and more interesting from a purely military angle of view.
The battle of St. Mihiel was definitely concluded by September 15, ten days before the opening
of the second big offensive. Before that date General Pershing had started moving artillery and corps
troops to the area in the rear of the French line between the Meuse River and the western edge of the
Argonne Forest.
The American operations were a part of Marshal Foch’s plan, which contemplated “no more
quiet fronts,” but continual attacking all along the front from the North Sea to Asia Minor. By the last
week in September, the Allied counter-offensive, begun on July 18, had succeeded in driving the
Germans back to their line of departure on March 21 – the Hindenburg Line – and in retaking the ground
lost during the spring and summer. Then, on September 21, General Franchet d’Esperey launched an
attack on the Macedonian front which resulted in an armistice with Bulgaria within eight days; while the
operations begun by General Allenby in Palestine on September 23 were so successful that Turkey was
soon eliminated.
Between the North Sea and Verdun there were several centers of pressure. One was in Flanders
between Dixmude and a point southeast of Ypres, where the Belgian army and the British Second Army
attacked. Others were the points of attack of the British and French armies against the Hindenburg Line,
particularly on September 27, between Gouzeaucourt and the Sensée River, and on September 28 by the
British, for the purpose of continuing the attack down to St. Quentin, and by the French from St. Quentin
to La F
re.
On September26 the 1st United States Army was to attack between the Meuse and the western
edge of the Argonne, and the French Fourth Army was to extend operations in eastern Champagne to the
Suippe River.
The 1st United States Army held the “Post of Honor” in that opposite it were the strong German
positions which covered the Metz-Longuyon-Mézi
res-Lille railway, one of the most important lines of
communication for supplying the armies in France. This position was also the hinge for the German
retirement; for, should this point give way too soon, the gap south of the Ardennes would be closed, and
the German armies and materials which had not been withdrawn in time would be lost. One look at the
enemy order-of-battle map at this time will show that the Germans appreciated this situation, for there
was no greater concentration of troops at any other point of the front except at Cambrai. A total of
forty-two German divisions were used against the 1st Army, and among them were such first-class units
as the First and Fifth Guards divisions.
The battle of the Meuse-Argonne may be divided into three phases: Big advances were made on
the first day, but after that the advance slowed down. The second phase began on October 4, when the
army collected itself together, put in fresh troops, and at 5:30 A. M. attacked anew all along the line. No
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