The Meuse Argonne Offensive : The 100 Days Offensive

In 1944, the United States war effort in Europe was just starting to pick up. Even though the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred just three years prior, the growing power of the Third Reich could not be ignored. During this time, France was already occupied by Nazi Germany and Hitler's war machine was on the path of conquering all of Eurasia. In an attempt to combat this immense threat, the U.S. formulated a plan to engage the German forces through an invasion of Normandy. This bloody offensive would be remembered in infamy as D-Day. Shortly before this violent clash of U.S. and German forces, the inexperienced men of the United States Third Army was given an encouraging and inspiring speech by the four star general George S. Patton.

On March 21, 1918 is when the stormtroopers made their claim to fame, as the Axis Powers launched the Spring Offensive. After five hours of constant artillery and the firing of over 1 million shells what came next was described as “an attack by elite stormtroopers. These soldiers travelled lightly and were skilled in fast, hard-hitting attacks before moving on to their next target” (Trueman 1). Charging up and over the trenches these soldiers wreaked havoc on the British with their flamethrowers and grenades, subsequently capturing 21,000 prisoners on the first day alone. This was a major blow to the British, because for the first time in four years’ lines had been shifted and they incurred a major territory loss. Used to the static style of combat, the British were unprepared to fight this modern style of soldier, and were forced to retreat and regroup. The saving grace for the Allies was the Stormtroopers moved so quickly

In the late 1944, during the wake of the Allied forces’ successful D-Day Invasion of Normandy, it seemed as if the Second World War was over. On December sixteenth, with the onset of winter, the German army launched a counteroffensive that was intended to cut through the Allied forces in a manner that would turn the tide of the war in Hitler’s favor. The battle that ensued is known historically as the Battle of the Bulge. The courage and fortitude of the American Soldier was tested against

This paper will review the actions of American forces during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Upon the arrival of American forces to France in June 1917, an inexperienced combat force quickly transformed in just 15 months and abruptly ended the war after a 47 day campaign. They were led by General John J. Pershing, fighting against an experienced German foe who had been in battle for over three years prior to their arrival. The American forces involved consisted of the U.S. 1st Army, which was centered in the offensive and part of the overall Allied Expeditionary Force. French forces took part in the offensive to the west, British forces fought to the east. The offensive was named after the very thick Argonne Forest was to the west and

In World War I, the victory of the Allies was caused by the turning point of a stalemate on the Western Front of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. It was “the Canadians willingness to forgo nationalism in the interests of efficiency and effectiveness that marked a new” (Dickson 40) transition of the ending of war. Through the second battle of Ypres, the Battle of Aras, and observing the previous bloodbath at the Battle of The Somme, the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F) perfected their defense tactics and techniques to fight in the evolutionary battle that made Canada a nation.

* Analysis of the role played by American troops in the Second Battle of the Marne and subsequent engagements with the Germans

The Dieppe raid was a devastating failure in terms of success of objectives. Hundreds of Canadians lost their lives, landing crafts were destroyed, tanks were deserted during the evacuation, and very few objectives were met. Despite being renowned as a disastrous event, allied commanders gained invaluable knowledge for a full scale continental invasion and this knowledge was applied to the planning of D-day two years later. Behind the failure of Dieppe laid a poor plan, insufficient support from aircraft and artillery, and deplorable communication. The lessons learned and the knowledge gained from the Canadian raid at Dieppe in 1942 were essential to the success of the invasion at Normandy in 1944.

Meuse-Argonne Battle took place during September 26, 1918- November 11, 1918 it would be considered one of the final campaigns of World War I. On September 26th 1918 the initial fight began with roughly 2,700 guns fired. Americans fired 14- inch railway guns and battleship guns fitted for rail carriage. An estimate of nearly 6 million pounds of ordnance was fired during the Meuse- Argonne offensive. It is said, during this bombardment more ammunition was expanded than what was used during the entire Civil War. The Meuse- Argonne Battle was fought by the American and French allied forces who seen an opportunity to weaken the German forces which caused General Marwitz to pull back his men. The leader of the American Expeditionary Force was General

The British and French Armies adopted and modified this tactic as well to meet their battlefield needs. They developed time standards based on terrain. Optimally, the artillery and infantry should simultaneously advance approximately 100 yards every one to six minutes. Eventually shell variants were used for concealment as well. Originally only shrapnel shells were used. As the tactic progressed, artillery would fire smoke ahead of the high explosive rounds giving ultimate cover to the advancing infantry (Griffith, 141). After these tactics were employed during the battle in the Argonne forest, allied forces advanced quickly towards their objective and within ten days had beaten the German Army into almost full retreat. Never before had the American or allied forces fought a battle of such scale. However, once commanders that were not present at the battle relinquished control to Generals on the ground, the battle took a turn. New tactics were introduced, ill-performing commanders were replaced, and Soldiers were given a chance to rest. Those factors gave allied forces the means necessary to continue successfully in the battle in the Argonne forest.

As America was entering the war and it was clear there would need to be a strong spring offensive the Allies assembled a very intricate conceptual plan of action comprised of three phases. They planned on first absorbing an assault from the enemy which would in theory tire the enemy and exhaust some of their resources. Once the Allies accomplished this portion of the plan they would launch a counter attack in attempt to force the enemy forces into a retreat. The three phases were the

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also known as the Maas-Argonne Offensive and the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a major part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice of 11 November 1918, a total of 47 days. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million American soldiers, and was one of a series of Allied attacks known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought the war to an end. The battle also cost 26,277 lives, and 95,786 wounded, making it the largest and bloodiest operation of the war for the American Expeditionary Forces. American losses were exacerbated by the inexperience

Keegan chooses the three well documented campaigns of Agincourt in 1415, Waterloo in 1815, and Somme in 1916 to answer the question of his thesis: To find out how men who are faced with the threat of single-missile and multiple-missile

Limited access on travel within this dense terrain for both troop & equipment, 65-ton tank limited mobility, typical newest technology startup problems, and young and inexperience troops created huge problems to

The First Battle of the Marne was one of the most significant battle in the first stages if the emerging war to later be known as the “Great War”. It was conducted by the Allied French and British forces against the German advance emerging from Belgium. The Germans had major successes in previous battles against the French in France’s north east until finally being slowed to a halt at the Marne River. New tactics and techniques were utilized at this time in order to gain any upper hand against the opposing forces; tactics such as radio signal interception and aerial reconnaissance. This battle also forced the German into fortifying themselves into series of elaborate trenched in order to maintain the front, which became typical of the western front until the end of the war.

Amid the 80 days of war, the Japanese military likewise sustained gigantic measures of losses from ground, maritime and air fights. The Japanese lost two commanders during this long grisly fight, however it was not by American, Allied, or Japanese military. Lieutenant General Isamu Cho was Ushijima's head of staff, along with General Mitsuru Ushijima took their own lives. They slaughtered themselves on June 22 at 3 a.m. as opposed to surrendering to American leaders. Amid the fight with the sixth Marine Division the Japanese lost an expected aggregate of 2,000 troops. The XXIV Corp had slaughtered more than 7,000 Japanese troops that scarcely put a mark in protections north of Shuri. The first Marine Division terminated roughly 7,000