Battle of Saint-Mihiel

“ The fight became a fusilade, and would have continued indefinitely but for the arrival of the French dragoons, who, with lances fixed, charged furiously. The enemy, afraid of being cut off, retreated, followed by the cavalry, who began the siege of the houses. Every window, door and roof sheltered a Bavarian marksman. All day on the 17th the fighting continued in favour of the French, who by night occupied the western part of Chauvoncourt and slept in a French barracks. On the left bank of the Meuse the Germans, two hundred of whom had surrendered, now occupied only a few ruined houses. ”

“ The enemy had left nothing undone to put the position in a state of defence. Their cave-shelters contained a narrow-gauge railway, sleeping quarters, and{33} even an officers’ club. Their relief reinforcements were concealed from the French, while their cannon and machine-guns were unceasingly turned on the muddy slopes up which the French laboriously climbed. Unwounded men were drowned in the mud, while many of the wounded could not be rescued in time from the quagmires into which they had fallen. ”

“ From the American advance-posts the out-works of Metz were now plainly visible, and Wagner Fort, situated in front of the town, was already under the fire of the American guns.
German Comments on the Attack
A German report on the American attack of the St. Mihiel salient contains the following:—“The Americans made a clever use of their machine-guns. They are stubborn in defence, and rely greatly upon this weapon, of which they have large numbers. ”

“ In an hour and a half, on a front of 360 yards, twenty thousand shells of all sizes (4-in., 5.5-in., 6-in. and 8-in.) cut the French lines of communication, but failed to force a retreat. The attack was resumed next day, but in the evening, after fierce hand-to-hand fighting, the French still held the three lines of German trenches. On the 7th and 8th they repulsed eight counter-attacks, which left the shell-leveled ground in their hands.
IN AILLY WOOD SECTOR
German Defence Works in quarry by roadside, 3 km. from St. Mihiel. ”

“ From January, 1915, the French operations were directed against the western portion, towards Quart-en-Réserve and Croix des Carmes Hill. Four lines of trenches bristling with machine-guns and defences held up the attack. The ground had to be taken bit by bit, and often a counter-attack would win back in the evening the gains of several days’ hard fighting. ”

“ The third line was captured on March 30. Attacks and counter-attacks followed. Fighting with hand grenades took place in the communicating trenches, behind barrages, and the artillery on both sides covered this narrow strip of ground with projectiles, breaking down the parapets and destroying the communicating trenches. The Germans, who lost heavily, brought up endless reinforcements—in all about sixteen battalions—thus showing the importance which they attached to this position.
CEMETERY IN PRÊTRE WOOD
The final attack was launched on May 12. ”

“ The communicating trenches were bombarded, levelled, or blocked up. On the 8th, two regiments of infantry and a battalion of Chasseurs made a fresh bayonet charge. At 10 o’clock the summit and the western crest were strongly held, and by midnight, after fifteen hours of strenuous, uninterrupted fighting, almost the whole of the crest was in the hands of the French.
During the night of the 8th, the relief of the troops was carried out, but the ground was so muddy that men sank into it, stumbling and slipping at every step. ”

“ On Friday, September 13, General Pershing, accompanied by General Pétain and Mr. Baker, American Secretary of State for War, visited St. Mihiel. The next day President Poincaré, in his turn, paid homage to the valiant city.{54}
Little by little, when the first excitement was over, the inhabitants told the story of the occupation; of the war levies imposed by the Germans, as in every town which they had occupied; first a million francs in 1914, when the commandeering without payment or vouchers; the fines (20 francs for omitting to salute an officer) ; children forced to work in the trenches ”

“ Having come from Saint-Mihiel, its replacements absorbed in its ways, its units all fresh and trained in coöperation, it marched along the road through Montfaucon which was ever under shell-fire, and down the slopes in face of the guns of the whale-back, following the path where the 79th had "expended" itself, with the spring of youth in its steps and confidence in the heart-beat of every man. ”

“ The American gunners were able to change their targets in the minimum of time, and with great accuracy. The liaison between the infantry and the artillery was faultless. Whenever the infantry were stopped by a nest of machine-guns, they immediately fell back, and their artillery promptly shelled the nest of machine-guns.
“Numerous tanks were ready, but only a few actually used; the masses of infantry alone ensured the victory.” ”

“ During the great Meuse-Argonne Battle, fought by General Pershing’s troops after September 26, the operations on the St. Mihiel front were limited to intermittent bombardments and local attacks.
When the Armistice was signed on November 11, General Pershing was making dispositions to invest Metz by an offensive towards Longwy with the 1st Army, and towards Briey with the 2nd Army, while a detachment of six American divisions was to co-operate on the right bank of the Moselle with General Mangin’s Army, in an attack on Château-Salins. Meanwhile, the Germans had already begun to evacuate Metz. ”

“ Suddenly a strong German counter-attack was launched. The new occupants were thrown into confusion and, seized with panic, retreated through{48} the trenches, when Adjutant Jacques Péricard, who had taken part in the action the day before but was now in reserve, called for volunteers from his company to face the enemy. The trench was retaken after a prolonged and terrible struggle, in the course of which Péricard, feeling his men wavering and seeing only dead and wounded around, cried “Debouts les Morts.”
FRENCH FIRST LINES AT TÊTE-À-VACHE
Continue up the road. ”

“ After Saint-Mihiel came the Argonne concentration, called into being by the hope of a speedy end of the war through one supreme effort by all the Allies. Should our new troops, thrown in action without sufficient preparation, and the veteran troops, thrown in without time for recuperation after Château-Thierry and Saint-Mihiel, go without food and ammunition, we might have a disaster. The wisdom of our insistence that we could form and supply and fight an integral army, instead of infiltrating our men into the British and [384] French armies, was on trial. ”

“ Facing Eparges Crest, the French held the brow of Montgirmont to the north, and below, the village of Eparges, only 600 yards from the German trenches. Between Montgirmont and the northern slopes of Eparges Heights, an earth track crosses the pass between the two hills. It was on the western side that, at the end of October, the French began the attack, sapping step by step, while at the same time they slipped into the woods on the north-east, which cover the side of the ravine. ”

“ Mihiel, via Apremont, Brûlé Wood and Ailly Wood
At Vigneulles, 100 yards from the church, take G.C.D. 10 to the left, in the direction of Heudicourt.
One kilometre from Vigneulles are several large concrete shelters to the right and left of the road. Creüe Wood, seen on the left of the road, 2 km. further on, is full of German defence works.
The greatly damaged village of Heudicourt is next reached. Numerous houses were destroyed by fire. Beside the cemetery is a German cemetery. On leaving the village there is a stone and concrete blockhouse. ”

“ Near the crest on the left, in a quarry, are several concrete defence works which communicate with one another.
GERMAN POST OF COMMANDMENT ON THE ROAD TO ST. MIHIEL, AT THE FOOT OF HILL 362.
The crossing of Strategic I.C. 3 is next reached. Here leave the car and take the road to the left towards Marbotte. 400 yards further on the German{49} first line trenches, built entirely in concrete with numerous shelters and blockhouses, are reached. This is the crest of the “Tête-à-Vache” position, which for so long formed a salient in the French lines. ”

“ Machine-guns at once opened fire; the Adjutant was killed and Senator Reymond wounded. The French came out of their trenches and a fierce struggle, which lasted until night, took place round the machine. Only then was Reymond able to crawl into the lines, while the French carried back the body of the Adjutant.
Reymond was taken to the hospital at Toul, and was able, before he died, to give an exact account of the mission in the fulfilment of which he had met such a glorious end.
On reaching the crest, the road crosses the old German first lines (concrete blockhouses) . ”

“ The success of Saint-Mihiel had developed corps staffs which must now direct the Meuse-Argonne, while others took over the arrangements at Saint-Mihiel. Major-General Hunter Liggett, pioneer of corps commanders, with the First Corps was to be on the left; Major-General George H. Cameron, with the Fifth Corps in the center; and Major-General Robert L. Bullard, with the Third Corps on the right. Groups of officers making a pilgrimage in automobiles to the new sector were to be the "brains" of the coming attack ”

“ The drawback to this plan was that the vast Woëvre Plain lying between Stenay, Longwy, Toul and Nancy, would be sacrificed in the event of a surprise attack. The importance of this possible loss was made all the greater by the discovery of coalfields in the Briey district. It was therefore decided that a number of battalions of Chasseurs should be garrisoned in the Woëvre towns. Moreover, the passing of the Three Years’ Military Service Bill made it possible to increase considerably the number of covering troops. ”

“ German shelter with drawing of machine-gun on the wall.
Apremont was a very important place during the war. At this point the road from St. Mihiel to Flirey and Pont-à-Mousson crosses the Vigneulles road, along which the tourist has just come, and which, beyond Apremont, goes down to Fort Gironville after skirting Fort Liouville on the right. ”

“ The original scope of Saint-Mihiel—A winter of preparation for a spring campaign—Which is cut down to two weeks—The tide turning for the Allies—The advantage of a general attack—And especially of numbers—The tactician's opportunity—Why the Meuse-Argonne—The whale-back of Buzancy—Striking for the Lille-Metz railway—All advantage with the defense—The audacity of the enterprise—The handicaps—A thankless task at best. ”

“ Take, on the{65} left, the narrow road to Fort Paroches. Around the fort are numerous defence works and the graves of French soldiers.
Paroches Fort, built to protect the approaches to Spada Pass, which Troyon Fort defended on the north, is an old masonry fort. Visit the shelters, inner works in concrete.
ENTRANCE TO PAROCHES FORT
From the summit there is a fine sweeping view (panorama above) over the{66}
THE PLACE DES HALLES, ST. MIHIEL
battlefield, the Valley of the Meuse, St. Mihiel, the “Camp-des-Romains” Fort (p. 65) , Versel Wood and Spada Pass. ”

“ After occupying a defensive sector between Verdun and St. Mihiel, you were placed in the line of battle and met, with stubborn resistance, the onslaughts of the enemy’s hordes near Chateau-Thierry. Your action at Belleau Woods and your attack upon and capture of Vaux must ever remain brilliant exploits in our military history.
At Soissons, side by side with a veteran French division, you proved to our Allies the fighting value of the Army of the United States, and at St. Mihiel, in the first great American offensive, your prowess in attack was irresistible. ”

“ It eats up men, eats up rations, eats up priceless ammunition, and it leads to nowhere, enfilades no position, threatens no one. It is like an ill-mannered boy sticking out his tongue. And as ineffective.
The physical aspect of St. Mihiel is a broad sweep of meadow-land cut in half by the Meuse flooding her banks; and the shattered houses of the Ferme Mont Meuse, which now form the point of the salient. At this place the opposing trenches are only a hundred yards apart, and all of this low ground is commanded by the French guns on the heights of Les Paroches. ”

“ Marshal Foch, who desired the complete success of the Saint Mihiel offensive as a part of his plan, had assigned to the American army, under General Pershing's command, ample forces in addition to our own artillery and aviation. While French divisions were to mark time at the apex of the salient before following up our attack, the American divisions from right to left, the 90th, 5th, 2d, 89th, 42d, and 1st were to swing in on the eastern side of the salient, with the 82d as a pivot and the 26th Division, cooperating with French troops, was to swing in on the western side. ”

“ Mihiel reached Lorraine the XXth Army Corps, which had barely finished its work there of checking a German advance from the direction of Metz, were at once ordered back to the Meuse, and the advanced guard of their cavalry by a forced night march managed to cross it at Lérouville just below Commercy, only five hours behind the German army, and got in touch with them shortly afterwards in the valley of the Aire. The dragoons at once engaged them with machine-guns, and held them till first the 241artillery and then the infantry of the corps came up and the battle became general. ”