Important Dates, Times, and Numbers
The offensive began on this date and time in 1918.
What is September 26, 1918 at 5:30 am?
These were used as part of the preliminary bombardment killing 278 German soldiers and incapacitating over 10,000.
What are 800 mustard gas and phosgene shells?
To maintain total operational security for the 600,000 man buildup, General Pershing forbade all American troops from doing this common activity, even in broad daylight, if it could be seen from the air.
What is lighting fires?
Who is General John J. Pershing?
The fighting in the Meuse-Argonne ended at 11 a.m. on this date.
What is November 11, 1918?
General Pershing planned a three-phase offensive: initially breaking through to the main German defensive line (Kriemhilde Stellung), taking critical heights like Montfaucon, and finally forcing a general retreat.
In a massive logistical feat, the AEF moved its entire force from this previously captured salient to the Argonne sector in just ten days using only three primary roads.
What is Saint-Mihiel?
This general led U.S. tank forces during the offensive.
Who is General George S. Patton Jr.?
The U.S. were able to cover this distance before the general armistice was signed.
What is 32 kilometers?
The U.S. planned to attack northward with this many soldiers.
What is 600,000 soldiers?
This battle became a bloody, grinding battle of attrition as Germans reinforced the area. The second phase involved intense, frontal assaults that eventually broke through the German lines.
What is the tactic of overcoming resistance?
Upon arriving at the front, many American divisions found they were critically short of these specialized teams, forcing them to rely on French "liaison" personnel for basic field communication.
What are telephone and signal corps?
Who is John L. Barkley?
What is 23,000 by morning and another 10,000 by nightfall?
When initial, slow-moving attacks met intense machine gun fire from the dense, high-ground positions, command changed tactics, replacing weary divisions with veterans (like the 1st, 3rd, and 32nd) and improving infantry-artillery coordination.
What is the offensive of tactical adaptation?
This specific "hybrid" division, which entered the fight on the First Army's left, was unique for containing both an Army infantry brigade and a brigade of the U.S. Marine Corps
What is the 2nd Divison?
He was one of the most decorated WWI soldiers who neutralized a German machine gun position killing 25 enemy soldiers.
Who is Sgt. Alvin C. York?
This date is important, yet often overlooked. This marked the beginning of the crucial second phase and was a day of significant, tragic developments.
What is October 4th, 1918?
The main goal was to push north through the difficult Argonne Forest and along the Meuse River to sever the vital Carignan-Sedan-Mezieres railroad, cutting off German supplies.
What is the strategy of severing the rail lines.
This person commanded the "Lost Battalion" which was surrounded by German troops for day in October, 1918 and refused to surrender despite heavy casualties.
Who is Major Charles Whittlesey?