On October 2, 1918 the 77th Division of the United States Army started their attack on German forces in the Argonne Forest. It had been planned that the French and another division of the U.S. Army would be right behind the 77th. Unknown to the 77th the French and other U.S. Army division weren't, they had been held back.
The 77th continued on through the forest. By the time they received word that the French and other U.S. Army division had been held back the 77th was already surrounded by the Germans.
For the next six days the 77th fought the German forces. It was a very uneven battle. The 77th were out numbered and their resources were run almost dry. They had little food and water, and their communications were down so they had to send pigeons with letters tied to them to communicate with others. These pigeons were sometimes unreliable however, bringing back coordinates from a different group causing the 77th to be fired upon by their allies.
On October 8, 1918 the rest of the 77th's allied forces came and joined the fight, forcing the German's to retreat. After the battle was over 347 out of the 575 of the 77th were missing, captured, or killed. There is a memorial in the Argonne Forest for those men.
It is amazing to me to read of the struggles these soldiers faced, and how outdated those struggles are today. For example communications are no longer a problem because of advances in technology, and food and supplies can be much more easily delivered to troops with advances in aircraft and delivery methods.
Pictures:
The Lost Battalion
The memorial to the soldiers of the Lost Battalion in the Argonne Forest
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Battalion_(World_War_I)
http://prosites-johnrcotter.homestead.com/lost_battalion.html
Comments
Well done Keenan!