| Battle of Saint-Mihiel | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWestern Front ofWorld War I | |||||||
 ARenault FT tank ploughing its way through a trench and starting toward the German line nearSaint Mihiel,France. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States France |  German Empire Austria-Hungary | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| John J. PershingHunter LiggettJoseph T. DickmanGeorge H. CameronErnest Joseph Blondlat | Max von GallwitzGeorg FuchsEduard von BelowLudwig Goiginger[2] | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| II Colonial CorpsDivision Aérienne | 5th Army | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| : 216,000 personnel 144 tanks : 48,000 personnel275 tanks 1,481 aircraft 2,900 artillery pieces | : 75,000 personnel 213 aircraft[3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 7,000[4] | 22,500 (2,000 KIA, 5,500 WIA, 15,000 POW) 450 guns captured[5] | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheBattle of Saint-Mihiel was a majorWorld War I battle fought from 12 to 16 September 1918, involving theAmerican Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000French troops under the command ofGeneralJohn J. Pershing of theUnited States againstGerman positions. TheU.S. Army Air Service played a significant role in this action.[6][7]
This battle marked the first use of the terms"D-Day" and "H-Hour" by the Americans.[citation needed]
The attack at the Saint-Mihielsalient was part of a plan by Pershing in which he hoped that the Americans would break through the German lines and capture the fortified city ofMetz. It was the first large offensive launched mainly by theUnited States Army in World War I, and the attack caught the Germans in the process of retreating.[7] This meant that their artillery was out of place and the American attack, coming up against disorganized German forces, proved more successful than expected. The Saint-Mihiel attack demonstrated the critical role ofartillery during World War I and thedifficulty of supplying such massive armies while they were on the move. The U.S. attack faltered as artillery and food supplies were left behind on the muddy roads.[8] The attack on Metz was not realized, as the Supreme Allied CommanderFerdinand Foch ordered the American troops to march towardsSedan andMézières, which would lead to theMeuse–Argonne offensive.[9]
Saint-Mihiel is a town in theMeusedepartment in northeasternFrance. After the end of the 1870–71Franco-Prussian War, the town was no longer considered important strategically, and France did not develop military installations. This changed early in World War I, when the town was inside the battlefront.
In 1914, the German command wished to take theVerdun fortifications, which formed a strong point in the French lines. A first attempt, atBois-le-Pretre (Priesterwald in German), failed, despite violent fighting. During two more attempts (Battle of Flirey), German troops took Saint-Mihiel and Fort du Camp-des-Romains, but they were ultimately stopped at Fort de Troyon to the south ofVerdun.
During the course of the war, the front did not change much in this area. Saint-Mihiel formed asalient inside the French lines, blocking communications betweenNancy and Verdun. The area near St. Mihiel suffered much fighting:[10]
In spite of French attacks, the German forces were able to retain this strategic location until the last months of the war.
General John Pershing thought that a successful Allied attack in the region of St. Mihiel,Metz, andVerdun would have a significant effect on theGerman Army.[7] General Pershing was also aware that the area's terrain setting first dictated that the restricted rail and road communications into Verdun (restrictions that had been imposed by the German attack during theBattle of Flirey) be cleared, and that a continuation of the attack to capture the Germany railroad center at Metz would be devastating to the Germans. For this, he placed his confidence in a youngFirst Infantry Division Major,George Marshall, to move troops and supplies effectively throughout the battle. After these goals were accomplished, the Americans could launch offensives intoGermany proper.[6] The American First Army had been activated in August and taken over the sector of the Allied line.[15] Pershing had to persuadeMarshal Foch (the supreme Allied military commander) to permit an American attack on the salient.[16]
The weather corps of Corps I Operation Order stated: "Visibility: Heavy driving wind and rain during parts of day and night. Roads: Very muddy."[6] This would pose a challenge to the Americans when the order to advance was given. In some parts of the road, the men were almost knee-deep in mud and water. After five days of rain, the ground was nearly impassable to both the Americantanks andinfantry.[8] Many of the tanks were wrecked by water leaking into their engines, while others got stuck in mud flows. Some of the infantrymen developed early stages oftrench foot, even before the trenches were dug.[17]
Prior to the American operation, the Germans installed many in-depth series oftrenches, wire obstacles, andmachine-gun nests.[7][failed verification] The battlefields' terrain included the nearby premises of three villages:Vigneulles,Thiaucourt, andHannonville-sous-les-Cotes. Their capture would accelerate the envelopment of the German divisions near St. Mihiel. The American forces planned to breach the trenches and then advance along the enemy's logistical road network.[6]
The Germans knew many details about the Allied offensive campaign coming against them. One Swiss newspaper had published the date, time, and duration of the preparatorybarrage. However, theGerman Army stationed in the area of St. Mihiel lacked sufficient manpower, firepower and effective leadership to launch a counter-attack of its own against the Allies.[8] With Allied offensives to the north, the Germans decided to pull out of the St. Mihiel Salient and consolidate their forces near the Hindenburg Line. The order to evacuate the area was given on 8 September.[18] The Allied forces discovered the information on a written order toArmy Group Gallwitz.[17]
Although the AEF was new to the French theater of war, it trained hard for nearly a year in preparation for fighting against the German armies. In June 1917 Pershing ordered the creation of a tank force to support the AEF's infantry.[19] As a result, by September 1918, Lieutenant ColonelGeorge S. Patton Jr. had finished training two tank battalions – 144 French-builtRenault FT light tanks organized as the 344th and 345th Battalions of theUnited States Tank Corps – atLangres, France for an upcoming offensive at the St. Mihiel salient.[20] "Due to the serious resistance of the enemy, especially along the eastern edge of the FORET d’ARGONNE and in the vicinity of CHEPPY and VARENNES, and due also the lack of support of the Infantry, all the Tanks had contrary to plan entered the action before evening of the first day. The 344th Battalion left the positions of departure and advanced ahead of the Infantry at H-hour (5:30 a.m.) On the morning of the 26th, Colonel G. S. Patton, Jr., commanding the Brigade of Tanks, was wounded while getting Tanks forward and rallying disorganized Infantrymen to attack enemy resistance. MajorSereno E. Brett, commanding the 344th Battalion, was then placed in command of the Brigade."[21] Patton was awarded theDistinguished Service Cross for his "extraordinary heroism" that day.[21] In addition to the 144 AEF tanks, the attack was joined by 275 French tanks (216 FTs and 59Schneider CA1 andSaint-Chamond tanks) of the French 1st Assault Artillery Brigade; a total of 419 tanks.[22]
.jpg)
Chief of theUnited States Army Air ServiceMason Patrick oversaw the organization of 28 air squadrons for the battle, with the French, British, and Italians contributing additional units to bring the total force numbers to 701 pursuit planes, 366 observation planes, 323 day bombers, and 91 night bombers. The 1,481 total aircraft made it the largest air operation of the war.[23][24]The French Army engaged the newly created Division Aérienne (Air Division), under command of General Duval, with a strength of 717 planes (24 fight squadron / 432SPAD VII, 15 Close Air Support squadron / 225BREGUET XIV, 4 reconnaissance squadron / 60 CAUDRON R XI). Five French fighter groups and 3 US Army fighter / bomber groups were also engaged.[25][26]
The Saint-Mihiel offensive began on 12 September with a threefold assault on the salient. The main attack was made against the south face by two American corps. On the right was the I Corps (from right to left the82nd,90th,5th, and2nd Divisions in line with the78th in reserve) covering a front from Pont-à-Mousson on the Moselle west toward Limey; on the left, the IV Corps (from right to left the89th,42d, and1st Divisions in line with the3rd in reserve) extending along a front from Limey west toward Marvoisin. A secondary thrust was carried out against the west face along the heights of the Meuse, from Mouilly north to Haudimont, by the V Corps (from right to left the 26th Division, the French 15th Colonial Division, and the 8th Brigade, 4th Division in line with the rest of the 4th in reserve). A holding attack against the apex, to keep the enemy in the salient, was made by the French II Colonial Corps (from right to left the French 39th Colonial Division, the French 26th Division, and the French 2nd Cavalry Division in line). In First Army reserve were the American35th,80th, and91st Divisions.
The American V Corps location was at the northwestern vertices, the II French Colonial Corps at the southern apex, and the American IV and I Corps at the southeastern vertices of the salient.[8] Furthermore, General Pershing's intent was obvious; to envelop the salient by using the main enveloping thrusts of the attack against the weak vertices. The remaining forces would then advance on a broad front toward Metz. This pincer action, by the IV and V Corps, was to drive the attack into the salient and to link the friendly forces at the French village of Vigneulles, while the II French Colonial Corps kept the remaining Germans tied down.[6] The French II Colonial Corps were successful in the attack on the apex and entered Saint-Mihiel on 15 September 1918, taking 4000 prisoners. They then pushed into the plain of Woëvre up to Haumont-Woël-Doncourt.
The Allies mobilized 1,481 aircraft to provide air superiority and close air support over the front. About 40% were American-flown in American units, the remainder were British, French, and Italian. Nine bomber squadrons of the British RAF, although provided for the battle, were not under Pershing's operational control.[27]
Defending the salient was German"Army Detachment C", consisting of eight divisions and a brigade in the line and about two divisions in reserve. Now desperately short of manpower, they had begun a step-by-step withdrawal from the salient only the day before the offensive began.
Pershing's plan had tanks supporting the advancing infantry, with two tank companies interspersed into a depth of at least three lines, and a third tank company in reserve. The result of the detailed planning was an almost unopposed assault into the salient.[17][failed verification] The American I Corps reached its first day's objective before noon, and the second day's objective by late afternoon of the second. The attack went so well on 12 September that Pershing ordered a speedup in the offensive. By the morning of 13 September, the 1st Division, advancing from the east, joined up with the 26th Division, moving in from the west, and before evening all objectives in the salient had been captured. At this point, Pershing halted further advances so that American units could be withdrawn for the comingMeuse-Argonne Offensive.
First United States Army – Gen. John J Pershing
One reason for the American forces' success at St. Mihiel was General Pershing's thoroughly detailed operations order. Pershing's operation included detailed plans for penetrating the Germans' trenches, using acombined arms approach to warfare.[7] Another reason was the audacity of the small unit commanders on the battlefield. Unlike other officers who commanded their soldiers from the rear, ColonelGeorge S. Patton and Brigadier GeneralDouglas MacArthur and their subordinates would lead their men from the front lines.[8] They believed that a commander's personal control of the situation would help ease the chaos of the battlefield.[6]
American CaptainHarry Truman, who commanded Battery D of the129th Field Artillery Regiment during the battle, later becamePresident of the United States.
The Battle of Saint-Mihiel is depicted in the climax of the 1927 filmWings.
The battle is the subject of the song “The Yankee Division March” by the German death metal bandKanonenfieber.
