This detailed study reveals the history of the Meuse-Argonne campaign,
the US Army's first full-scale offensive against German forces in
France.
When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the tiny
US Army did not even have a standing division. A huge national army
worthy of the Western Front was quickly enlisted, trained, and then
transported to France to fight against the Germans. In September 1918,
the American Expeditionary Force, under General John Pershing, began its
first full-scale offensive against German forces in Lorraine, in which
the US First Army and (eventually) the US Second Army would drive north
between the Argonne Forest and the Meuse river towards Sedan.
The Meuse-Argonne was excellent defensive terrain, being hilly, steep,
heavily wooded, and fortified by the Germans over a three-year period.
The offensive began on September 26, 1918. A largely inexperienced US
First Army, with mid-level officers including Harry S. Truman, Douglas
MacArthur, and George Patton, suffered setbacks and heavy casualties
during its straight-ahead offensive against a still-potent but fading
German Fifth Army. However, by early November, 1.2 million Americans and
several hundred thousand French were engaged at the Meuse-Argonne and
the Hindenburg Line had been decisively broken. The German withdrawal
from Sedan approached a rout and the Americans finally had the Germans
on the run until the Armistice ended the offensive on November 11, 1918.
This engaging title tells the full story of this key offensive,
illustrating and explaining the troops, weapons, and tactics of both the
American Expeditionary Force and the German Fifth Army in stunning
detail.
