The Battle of Saint Mihiel:
The Battle of Saint Mihiel was fought by the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), reinforced by 48,000 French troops, and the German 5th Army. This was the first independent operation for the U.S. First Army during thew war. The battle took place near the town of Saint-Mihiel, south of Verdun in northern France, from September 12th to the 15th of 1918 during World War 1. The U.S., along with the French forces, were commanded by Genreral John J. Pershing. Germany was headed by Georg von der Marwitz. The U.S. Army Air Service, which later became the U.S. Air Force, also played a significant role in the battle. To help with the battle, General Pershing received 3,000 artillery, 430 tanks, and 640 planes, commanded by Colonel Billy Mitchell.
Saint Mihiel was a stragegically important salient into the Allied positions held by Germany since 1914 and heavily defended by trenches lined with barbed wire and machine guns. This was the objective for the American forces. For French General Ferdinand Foch, it was highly important for continuing with the Hundred Days Offensive that was launched in August of 1918. Three nearby villages, Vigneulles, Thiaucourt, and Hannonville-sous-les-Cotes, had to be captured in order to speed up the American's victory. General Pershing also hoped to capture the fortified city of Metz after they broke through German lines.
The battle officially began on September 12 after four hours of heavy artillery bombardment, with I and IV American Corps making the main attack. By the start of the battle, the Germans were tired and very much in need of manpower. In fact, they began a retreat the day before the battle took place. After 24 hours, the salient was cut off, but only 15,000 Germans were captured. This was less than what General Pershing had wanted. In the end, the Americans prevailed, only suffering 7,000 causualties and gaining for respect from French and British forces. One reason for the American's success in the battle was that General Pershing's operation plans were very detailed and all objectives were met.
This battle was very confusing to research about because all of the "army" talk I guess you could say. There also weren't very many websites that gave me the information that I was looking for and it took me awhile to write it. All in all, it was interesting to read about.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saint-Mihiel
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