Meuse-Argonne Offensive Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Meuse-Argonne Offensive - Research Paper Example The battle led to the stronghold of Allies with a loss of German’s on the Western front.   The European states vied together for power and military alliance. Britain, France and Russia from Asia formed a strong block. It was now a must for Germany to find a suitable alliance that could eliminate the danger of its extermination. Austria and Turkey were there for her. Then an incident, in the city of Sarajevo, made the European nations face a situation that the western philosophers feared for years. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Sophie led to hostilities between Serbia and Austria. The involvement of Russia and Germany on the side of Serbia and Austria, respectively, made the situation worse. Things became uncontrollable, as more and more countries began to get involved in the matter. On August 4, 1914, the German army marched into Belgium. As the war got fierce, more and more war fronts opened for Germany. With the beginning of revolution in Russia in 1 918, Germany deployed its freed troops on the western front. Using remarkable tactics of long wars, Germany gained many achievements and the French armies were then in retreat. The Germans had to face mines and military of the American Expeditionary Force at Belleau Wood, which slowed down its advancement. Meanwhile, the French army reformed its front, together with the British army. The whole area from the Meuse River to the top of the Mountains of Argonne was under a stronghold of the Germans. The presence of mines, camouflaged trenches, heavy artillery and a large number of German troops made this area a difficult battlefield for the Allies. The Argonne forest provided a good shelter to the Germans, where they could rest without the risk of being attacked. It was so because the area was lined by guns, mines and trenches and supported by artillery fire. There was no place, on the western front where the German army could think itself more safe and sound than the Argonne forest. Th is was probably the reason, for the Allies, to think the battle at this field as a decisive one. With a fresh American army on the southern flank of the western front, the Allies could now think of an offensive on the German troops in the Argonne forests. At 5:30 on the afternoon of September 26th, the American 1st Army jumped off with the French holding their flanks. The U.S. Army and the French 4th Army shared the Meuse-Argonne offensive which proved to be the biggest and the deadliest one for the American Expeditionary Force in the World War I. The French General Mariano Goybet, commanding the 157 Red Hand Division, indulged in the Meuse-Argonne offensive on 28th September. (â€Å"Meuse-Argonne Offensive†) 371 and 372 were two of his African American regiments. During the first nine days, the 372 regiment progressed through 4.8 miles of enemy defense. They captured 600 prisoners, 15 heavy guns, 20 Minenwerfers and about 150 machine guns. (â€Å"Meuse-Argonne Offensiveâ₠¬ ) The 372 regiment’s part was very important in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The regiment suffered total casualties of 500 men.