Any visitor to the site of the bloodiest battle in the history of the
United States will be drawn to Montfaucon, for it is here that General
Pershing, the Commander in Chief, determined that the major memorial to
the American Expeditionary Forces would be sited. The impressive
classical column, erected on the summit of Montfaucon Hill, can be seen
from many parts of the battlefield of the Meuse-Argonne 1918.
The village of Montfaucon, perched on and around one of the most notable
heights in the Argonne area, was a first day objective for the First
American Army in its massive offensive that was launched on 26 September
1918 and which rumbled on until the Armistice.
Montfaucon had been the scene of bitter fighting between the French and
the Germans in the early stages of the war, finally staying securely in
German hands. The attack started well, with the great numbers of
Doughboys easily moving through the first line of the German defense
system; and, indeed, good progress was made all along the front, even if
final objectives were not attained that would have brought the Americans
up to the Hindenburg Line defenses. The most notable setback was the
failure to capture Montfaucon, an objective given to the 79th Division.
Why the task of capturing this key part of the German line to a 'green'
division, composed of draftees and which had only had six weeks or so of
training time in France, instead of the prescribed three months, has
never been adequately explained.
What has proved to be controversial ever since is why the 4th Division,
a regular formation that had already been engaged in battle on the
Western Front and which gained its objectives on the first day, did not
seek to assist the 79th when it was clear that it was facing significant
difficulties in overcoming the Montfaucon defenses. The outcome was that
the village and hill did not fall on the first day. How significant this
setback was to the success and the duration of the offensive has also
been the subject of considerable discussion.
Montfaucon was an important observation point for much of the war,
providing distant views over considerable amounts of ground and thus
invaluable for the German artillery. How much its loss mattered to the
Germans when fighting a defensive battle, with the defense lines south
of it already lost, is more open to debate, given the vantage points
that the Germans continued to enjoy from high ground to the north-west
and east.
Maarten Otte sets the importance of Montfaucon and the ultimately
successful effort to capture it within a succinct narrative. In the
tours section he takes the visitor on a number of routes so that they
can see for themselves the problems on the ground that faced the 79th
Division and puts Montfaucon in the context of the wider battle. He also
provides a detailed tour of the village and hill itself, including the
magnificent memorial and the preserved defenses and ruins which surround
it.
