The Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The Meuse–Argonne offensive was one of a series of Allied attacks, later known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought World War I to an end. This final Allied offensive stretched along the entire Western Front and involved over a million American “doughboys” or newly arrived soldiers.
The inexperienced American troops were joined by battle-hardened French divisions and over 2,000 artillery pieces, 380 tanks, and 840 planes. American General John J. Pershing commanded of the offensive, with his American Expeditionary Force taking the lead.
The offensive began on September 26, 1918, and ended with the Armistice of November 11, 1918. Despite the German army in retreat and their morale low, fighting in the dense Argonne Forest was brutal for the American forces. The German army had spent four years fortifying the region. French forces had a slightly easier time pushing the German army back along the Meuse River.
The African American 369th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters, led much of the fighting. They spent more time in frontline trenches than any other American unit and suffered the most losses of any American regiment, with over 1,500 casualties. The regiment was also the first of the Allied forces to cross the Rhine River into Germany.
The American army lost over 26,000 lives in the fighting and through disease. A rapidly spreading global influenza outbreak made matters worse for soldiers on both sides. Still, the Allied forces pushed the German army back through October and captured critical railroad hubs. Germany finally surrendered on November 11th, bringing World War I to an end.
