Although the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which began in late September
1918 and continued through to the Armistice, was not the first
major action fought by the AEF, it was the greatest in which it
engaged in the Great War. Indeed, the casualty count in the
fighting at the Meuse-Argonne makes it the bloodiest battle in
American military history. The Argonne was an area that had been
heavily fought over, particularly in the early part of the war; its
eastern part, towards the Meuse, then became enveloped in the first
great attritional battle of the war, Verdun. The area is marked by
extensive woodlands and rolling countryside; however, unlike the
Somme, it is interspersed with numerous waterways, deep ravines and
higher ridges, along with significant hills, such as at Montfaucon.
To be frank, the opening stages of the Offensive were marked by
considerable unforced difficulties for the Americans, who after all
were facing a far from strong enemy opposition (however formidable
the defensive line might have been). Errors were made, logistical
problems multiplied, command was often less than satisfactory. In
many respects this should not have come as a surprise: this was an
army that was relatively new to the Western Front, which was being
reinforced at an awesome rate (approximately 300,000 men a month by
July) and whose senior commanders had never before faced the
challenges of modern warfare, themselves evolving at a dizzying
rate. Maarten Otte gives a background narrative to events before
the opening of the Offensive and its development. Taking each of
the US corps in turn, he then provides tours that will help the
visitor to understand the fighting and the problems that were
faced. This opening book on the Meuse-Argonne takes the reader,
more or less, to the date when General Pershing handed over command
of the US First Army to Major General Liggard in mid October, a
change in command that marked a significant improvement in the
American performance as they pushed the Germans ever backwards. The
Great War battlefield of the Argonne is marked by numerous physical
remains of the war, some fine (some might argue over grandiose)
monuments and by the stunning American cemetery at Romagne, the
second largest in the world administered by the American Battle
Monuments Commission. There is much to see in a battlefield that
has been largely neglected in the decades since the Second World
War.
General
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