The Probert Encyclopaedia of Warfare

BATTLE OF THE ARGONNE

The Battle of the Argonne (often called the Meuse-Argonne offensive), was a major battle of the Great War, fought in Autumn 1918 between the American First Army, which included the XVII French Corps, and strong units of the German army. The battle was part of a general Allied offensive against the Hindenburg line. To weaken these positions in the Argonne region of France was the immediate objective of the First Army; the secondary objective was to capture the chief German supply line, extending through Sedan and Mezieres. On September the 22nd, after a victory at Saint- Mihiel, France, the First Army, under the command of General John Pershing, began to move into the Argonne sector. By September the 25th, the line of the First Army extended from Regneville-Sur- Meuse, opposite Samogneux, in a south-westerly direction 32.2 km to La Harazee in the Argonne Forest above the valley of the Biesme River. This line was assigned to three army corps, the I, the III, and the V. Nine divisions formed the front line, and three were in reserve.

French forces lay west of the Aisne River, and on the east the American position was flanked by French troops under American command. Opposed to the American forces were the German Fifth Army, with eight divisions, part of the German Third Army, and about eight divisions in reserve. American operations were conducted in three stages, the first of which lasted from September the 26th to October the 1st and drove a salient about 11 km deep into enemy positions before the Hindenburg line. During the second stage, which lasted from October the 4th to the 16th, the First Army crossed the Aire River and captured all major German defensive positions in the Argonne region. The third, or pursuit, stage lasted from November the 1st to the 10th. In the Argonne offensive, more than 1,200,000 U.S. troops were concentrated for the advance; of that number, 60,000 took an active part in the battle, which extended over an area of 1295 sq. km. American casualties in the entire Battle of the Argonne were 117,000 killed or wounded. German losses were 94,000 killed or wounded, 26,000 captured by American forces, and 30,000 captured by the French. The battle caused the final breakdown of German resistance and helped bring about the German request for an armistice.
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