When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the tiny US Army did not even have a standing division. A huge national army worthy of the Western Front was quickly enlisted, trained, and then transported to France to fight against the Germans. In September 1918, the American Expeditionary Force, under General John Pershing, began its first full-scale offensive against German forces in Lorraine, in which the US First Army and (eventually) the US Second Army would drive north between the Argonne Forest and the Meuse river towards Sedan. The Meuse-Argonne was excellent defensive terrain, being hilly, steep, heavily wooded, and fortified by the Germans over a three-year period. The offensive began on 26 September, 1918. A largely inexperienced US First Army, with mid-level officers including Harry S. Truman, Douglas MacArthur and George Patton, suffered setbacks and heavy casualties during its straight-ahead offensive against a still-potent but fading German Fifth Army. However, by early November, 1.2 million Americans and several hundred thousand French were engaged at the Meuse-Argonne and the Hindenburg Line had been decisively broken. The German withdrawal from Sedan approached a rout and the Americans finally had the Germans on the run until the Armistice ended the offensive on 11 November, 1918. This engaging title tells the full story of this key offensive, illustrating and explaining the troops, weapons and tactics of both the American Expeditionary Force and the German Fifth Army in stunning detail.

Our Greatest Battle by Frederick Palmer, first published in 1919, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.

The authoritative, dramatic, and previously untold story of the bloodiest battle in American history: the epic fight for the Meuse-Argonne in World War I On September 26, 1918, more than one million American soldiers prepared to assault the German-held Meuse-Argonne region of France. Their commander, General John J. Pershing, believed in the superiority of American "guts" over barbed wire, machine guns, massed artillery, and poison gas. In thirty-six hours, he said, the Doughboys would crack the German defenses and open the road to Berlin. Six weeks later, after savage fighting across swamps, forests, towns, and rugged hills, the battle finally ended with the signing of the armistice that concluded the First World War. The Meuse-Argonne had fallen, at the cost of more than 120,000 American casualties, including 26,000 dead. In the bloodiest battle the country had ever seen, an entire generation of young Americans had been transformed forever. To Conquer Hell is gripping in its accounts of combat, studded with portraits of remarkable soldiers like Pershing, Harry Truman, George Patton, and Alvin York, and authoritative in presenting the big picture. It is military history of the first rank and, incredibly, the first in-depth account of this fascinating and important battle.

When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the tiny US Army did not even have a standing division. A huge national army worthy of the Western Front was quickly enlisted, trained, and then transported to France to fight against the Germans. In September 1918, the American Expeditionary Force, under General John Pershing, began its first full-scale offensive against German forces in Lorraine, in which the US First Army and (eventually) the US Second Army would drive north between the Argonne Forest and the Meuse river towards Sedan. The Meuse-Argonne was excellent defensive terrain, being hilly, steep, heavily wooded, and fortified by the Germans over a three-year period. The offensive began on 26 September, 1918. A largely inexperienced US First Army, with mid-level officers including Harry S. Truman, Douglas MacArthur and George Patton, suffered setbacks and heavy casualties during its straight-ahead offensive against a still-potent but fading German Fifth Army. However, by early November, 1.2 million Americans and several hundred thousand French were engaged at the Meuse-Argonne and the Hindenburg Line had been decisively broken. The German withdrawal from Sedan approached a rout and the Americans finally had the Germans on the run until the Armistice ended the offensive on 11 November, 1918. This engaging title tells the full story of this key offensive, illustrating and explaining the troops, weapons and tactics of both the American Expeditionary Force and the German Fifth Army in stunning detail.

The Americans had considerable initial success when they launched their huge offensive against the Germans in the Meuse-Argonne in the last days of September 1918. However, not everything went smoothly and the attack became bogged down, held up by the several lines of the Hindenburg System and logistical challenges. A major additional obstacle was the presence of batteries of German artillery on the high ground on the right bank of the Meuse, almost untroubled by any significant assaults by the allied forces. These guns created severe problems for the American commanders and their troops. Eventually sufficient resources were allocated for an American-French attack on the right bank, with the aim of removing the German artillery and pushing the Germans off the Meuse Heights, part of the renewed offensive on the Left Bank and the Argonne Forest. The action often took place over ground that had already seen ferocious fighting during the Battle of Verdun in 1916 and the French offensive of late summer 1917. It also involved the very difficult achievement of getting large bodies of troops over the River Meuse and its associated canal. The terrain is rugged and, even then, quite heavily wooded. The American and French troops often had to fight uphill and in the face of German defences that had been developed over the previous twelve months. On the other hand, the quality of the defending troops was not high, as Germany faced so much pressure in other sectors, and included a significant number of Austro-Hungarian troops. Popular opinion tends to be dismissive of the fighting quality of these Austrian troops who, in fact, performed well. The tours take the visitor over some beautiful countryside, with stunning views over the Meuse and the Woevre Plain. There are significant vestiges of the war still to be seen, including numerous observation bunkers and shelters as well as trenches. An unusual feature of the area are the traces of part of the Maginot Line, notably bunkers (some of which are very large) and the rail infrastructure to support it, sometimes making use of lines that the Germans built during the First World War. One of these tours follows the fate of Henry Gunther, officially the last American soldier to be killed in action in the Great War. There is substantial myth about Gunther; the facts surrounding his death are examined, as well as placing his last action on the ground. There is a tour dedicated just to him.

In July 1918, sensing that the German Army had lost crucial momentum, Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch saw an opportunity to end the First World War. In drafting his plans for a final grand offensive, he assigned the most difficult sector—the dense Argonne forest and the vast Meuse River valley—to the American Expeditionary Forces under General John J. Pershing. There, the Doughboys faced thickly defended German lines with terrain deemed impossible to fight through. From September 26 through the November 11 armistice, US forces suffered more than 20,000 casualties a week, but the Allies ultimately prevailed in a decisive victory that helped to end the Great War. In Thunder in the Argonne, Douglas V. Mastriano offers the most comprehensive account of this legendary campaign to date. Not only does he provide American, French, and British perspectives on the offensive, but he also offers—for the first time in English—the German view. Mastriano presents a balanced analysis of successes and failures at all levels of command, examining the leadership of the principals while also illuminating acts of heroism by individual soldiers. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive is widely regarded as one of America's finest hours, and the amazing feats of Sergeant Alvin York, Major Charles Whittlesey of the Lost Battalion, and Lieutenant Sam Woodfill—all accomplished in the midst of this maelstrom—echo across the ages. Published to coincide with the centennial of the campaign, this engaging book offers a fresh look at the battle that forged the modern US Army