The Forgotten Battle

If I asked you to name the largest battle in American history, what would you say? The usual answer I get is The Battle of the Bulge. Sometimes someone will say D-Day, or one of the great battles of the American Civil War like Gettysburg. Once or twice I've had people guess an American Revolutionary battle. These are all wrong. 

September 26, 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. If you're an American there's a good chance that you've never heard about; outside of a couple of military history courses it wasn't even discussed in US history courses I took in college. Which is strange, because it's the largest battle in American history. In general we don't talk about the First World War in the United States; we came in at the end and while most of us are aware Americans fought there, we don't actually know that much about what they did. 

In terms of numbers the battle was massive; more than 1.2 million Americans assisted by a like number of French troops and smaller numbers of other allied armies took part (as opposed to between 700,000 and 800,000 in the Battle of the Bulge). Casualties were massive too, and the Meuse-Argonne cost more American lives than any other battle in the country's history (26,277 Americans died on the Meuse-Argonne as opposed to 19,276 during the Bulge). More than 2,700 pieces of artillery were used by the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) alone, and the battle saw America's first large scale armored deployment with over 380 French and British built tanks being used by American units. It helped establish America's strategic preference for air superiority with the deployment of over 850 American-crewed aircraft. 

The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery 

The battle itself was important. American divisions arrived fresh to a sector of the Western Front largely occupied by under-strength, exhausted French, British, and German units. Since 1914 the area had been a meatgrinder between the opposing sides, and the influx of over a million Americans suddenly swayed the balance on the Western Front. At first American units took terrible casualties as troops inexperienced in trench warfare made mistakes, but assisted by French allies they soon began to take ground. In just 47 days the Western Front collapsed and Germany surrendered, ending the First World War. It had an impact in America too; thousands would never come home and many that did were affected by the Spanish Flu which had led to so many military deaths on the Meuse-Argonne, helping to spread the global pandemic to North America. 

During the battle Alvin York became America's first modern war hero when he captured 132 Germans - he was awarded the Medal of Honor and songs and movies were written about him. Future President Harry S. Truman commanded an artillery battle in a desperate defensive action, becoming a minor celebrity which he would leverage into a successful political career. Future general George S. Patton commanded a tank brigade at the Meuse-Argonne, where he was wounded in combat. The experience helped him to shape his armored warfare theories which would be successfully implemented in the Second World War. 

Harry S. Truman in WWI Uniform

African American units, like the 369th Infantry Regiment fought in the battle, despite being put under French command because of American racism. They proved invaluable, moving so quickly and covering so much ground they were nearly cut off as they left flanking French units behind. Other units became famous too: the Lost Battalion, 9 companies of the 77th Division, were cut off for nearly a week and repulsed attack after attack by German forces. While 554 men were with the group who were cut off, only 194 were rescued days later. The unit was rescued thanks to the heroism of a carrier pigeon, Cher Ami, who delivered a message which stopped allied artillery from wiping the battalion out. 

The stuffed Cher Ami is now in the care of the Smithsonian

The First World War was extremely important, something I have argued time and again. Despite this most Americans know very little about it, which is especially shocking when you learn all of this. The centenary events will soon be drawing to a close, but these were events that should not be forgotten. If you'd like to learn more, as always, a few sources are posted below. As always, Amazon links are provided below for convenience (I receive no money or similar if you use these!). 

General WWI History

The First World War by John Keegan

A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 by G.J. Meyer

American WWI History
The World Remade: America in World War I by G.J. Meyer

The Harlem Hellfighters: When Pride Met Courage by Walter Dean Myers

Meuse-Argonne Offensive History
America's Deadliest Battle: Meuse-Argonne, 1918 by Robert H. Ferrell

Forty-Seven Days:How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I by Mitchell Yockelson

Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths, and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic by Robert Laplander