World War I battle in July 1918
The Battle of Soissons (1918) (also known as the Battle of the Soissonnais and of the Ourcq ()) was fought on the Western Front during World War I. Waged from 18 to 22 July 1918 between the French (with American and British assistance) and the German armies, the battle was part of the much larger Allied Aisne-Marne counter-offensive. It followed the final German Spring Offensive, Operation Marneschutz-Reims (also known as the Friedensturm or peace offensive). The primary objective of the attack was to cut both the Soissons – Château-Thierry road and the railroad running south from Soissons to Château-Thierry. As these were the main supply routes for the German forces in the Marne salient, cutting them would severely impair the Germans' ability to supply its armies defending it. This would force them to retreat and give up their gains. This battle marked the turning point of the war as the Germans would be on the defensive for the remainder of the conflict.
Background.
The Russian withdrawal from the war after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918 freed 42 German divisions which had been fighting on the Eastern Front, providing a temporary numeric advantage over the Allies on the Western Front. The Germans realized their only remaining chance for victory on the Western Front was to defeat the Allies before the United States could be fully deployed.
Beginning on 21 March 1918 the Germans launched a series of five offensives known as the 1918 Spring Offensive, or Kaiserschlacht ("Kaiser’s Battle"). The first two offensives, Michael and Georgette, were aimed at the British armies. The objectives were to separate the British and French forces, to push the British armies back to the English Channel and to cut the rail line through Hazebrouck, the main supply line for the British force. Although successful in pushing the British back, Michael was unsuccessful in separating the French and British armies while Georgette was checked north of Hazebrouck and failed to cut the British supply line.
The third offensive, Blücher-Yorck, was a diversionary thrust toward Paris to compel the French to move some of their reserves eastward away from the British. This would be accomplished by attacking the French Sixth Army along the Chemin des Dames ridge between Soissons and Reims. This attack, while succeeding in pushing the French Sixth Army south to Château-Thierry and the northern bank of the Marne River, failed to draw French reserves away from the British.
The fourth offensive, Gneisenau, was an attempt by the Germans to straighten the line from Noyon to Montdidier between the two large salients created by the first three offensives. This would free men and materiel enabling a final thrust to end the war. A second objective of the offensive was to gain control of the Compiègne–Reims rail line to ease logistical problems in supplying their armies in the Marne salient. While the Germans in the center of the attack were able to cross the Matz River (about from their starting point), the attack failed to achieve either of the two main objectives.
The fifth and final spring offensive, Marneschutz-Reims, was two-pronged, aimed at capturing Reims and its rail center, giving the Germans complete control of the Reims–Soissons rail line. This would ease a logistics crisis the Germans were facing in the Marne salient. While the Germans crossed the Marne west of Reims, the attack east of Reims was completely stopped by the evening of the first day. Faced with complete failure, the Germans called off the attack by the evening of the second day.
By the end of the Spring Offensive the German Army had occupied two vast salients on the Western Front. One salient was in the British sector between Arras on the Scarpe River and La Fère on the Oise River. The second was in the French sector from just west of Reims in the east to Noyon in the west and south to Château-Thierry.
Building and training the United States Army.
When the United States entered the war in 1917, the United States Army was in a woeful state of unpreparedness. It had approximately 285,000 M1903 Springfield rifles on hand, about 400 light field guns, 150 heavy field guns, and fewer than 1,500 machine guns of four non-interchangeable types. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commander-in-chief of the British forces in France, said there was enough American ammunition to support a regimental attack for about nine hours. In the aviation section there were 55 training airplanes, all obsolete. Of the 65 officers and about 1,000 men there were 35 officers who could fly, five of whom were combat ready. Because the United States had not yet recovered from the great loss in ships during the American Civil War, it lacked the tonnage to transport men and materiel across the Atlantic Ocean in sufficient quantities to alter the course of the war timeously.
The U.S. Congress appropriated more than $300,000,000 in August 1916 for naval expansion and construction began on some small craft. The same Congress passed an act in June 1916 reorganize the United States Armed Forces. But until the United States actually entered the war, nothing had been done to carry it out. Little if any action was taken to increase the size of the United States Army and no action was taken to equip or train it.
Based on the recommendations put forth by the General Organization Project of 10 July 1917 (also known as the Graves Project) combined with input from General John J. Pershing and his staff, a United States Army division comprised roughly 28,500 men (including officers). This number was roughly twice the size of Allied and German divisions. The reasoning behind these immense divisions was twofold. First, a larger division would be able to sustain heavier losses and stay in battle longer. Secondly, there were not enough experienced officers to command or fill a greater number of staff positions. By making the divisions larger, there would be fewer divisions requiring fewer commanders and staffs.
United States Army divisions arriving in France were made up mostly of raw recruits augmented by regulars who had never fired a Springfield rifle. Upon arrival, "doughboys" were subjected to a training regimen which began with a heavy dose of physical conditioning and drilling with emphasis on, as stated by General William L. Sibert, “development of a proper disciplinary spirit”. This portion of the training also included small unit tactics. The training then shifted to the practice trenches the doughboys dug in their training areas. Here they were taught the intricacies of the weapons they would be using as well as solutions to tactical problems in trench warfare. When training in the practice trenches was finished, the Americans were assigned a four-week stint in a quiet French or British sector to complete their trench warfare training. Here they became accustomed to life at the front. They went out into no man's land to listen for enemy activity, became familiar with body lice, fought off the trench rats, and saw their first action. Prior to being committed to battle, Pershing had his men train at the division level with artillery and aviation in offensive maneuvers. The purpose of this portion of the training was to emphasize open warfare rather than trench warfare.
By 16 July 1918, there were 26 American divisions in various states of readiness in France. Seven fully trained divisions were either in the line or near the Marne salient. There were five partially trained divisions in quiet sectors south of Verdun in the French sector and another five partially trained in quiet sectors between Ypres and Arras in the British sector. An additional five divisions were in training areas, two divisions were in depots, and two divisions just arrived. Of these divisions, Pershing believed he had 17 divisions ready for service.
Planning.
On the evening of 30 May 1918, three days after the start of the Blucher-York offensive, General Pershing, Commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, stopped at Sarcus to meet with General Ferdinand Foch, Supreme Allied Commander, and his staff. Recollecting the mood during dinner, Pershing commented, “It would be difficult to imagine a more depressed group of officers. They sat through the meal scarcely speaking a word.” Meeting with Foch alone after dinner, Pershing suggested an early counterattack be made against the Marne salient to which Foch replied that was what he had in mind.
On Saturday, 1 June, Pershing attended a meeting of the Supreme War Council in Versailles. During the two-day meeting there was a heated discussion over the shipment of American troops with both the British and French demanding that only infantry and machine gun units be shipped. On 3 June, Pershing sent a cable to Newton Baker, Secretary of War, indicating the military situation in the Marne salient had become bleak with the French line giving way and the seven divisions occupying that portion of the front losing almost all their materiel and a large percentage of their personnel.
Two weeks later, 14 June, after the American 1st Division took Cantigny, Foch wrote to General Philippe Pétain, commander of the Armies of the North and Northeast, “I have the honor to invite your attention to the importance of the communications net at Soissons, which is used for the supply of four German divisions on the front and which constitutes at the same time the sole junction point of all the railroads available to the enemy on the Aisne and south thereof.”
Foch's letter to Pétain eventually reached General Charles Emmanuel Mangin, commander of the French Tenth Army. Mangin replied on 20 June with a summary plan for offensive operations to seize the plateau southwest of Soissons. From here long-range guns could subject the bridges and railroad network to a methodical and intensive bombardment. He stressed the importance of possession of the ridge of Villers-Hélon stating “it is on the heights of Villers-Hélon, and not in the low ground at Longpont Brook, that the defense of the forest of Villers-Cotterêts should be conducted. That same day Mangin submitted a plan of action for an exploratory attack to take some high ground west of Soissons.
On 23 June, at a conference in Chaumont, Pershing reminded Foch of the discussion they had at Sarcus where he suggested a counterattack. Foch replied, “studies are being made,” but made no mention of when, where, or whether such an attack would be made. Mangin's exploratory attack was executed on 28 June. According to Mangin, it “tended to prove” the Germans would have difficulty defending their positions against a surprise attack without artillery preparation. Additionally it would offer the best chance of success for an attack on the plateaus southwest of Soissons.
On 12 July, Pétain issued instruction No. 14546 to the generals of the Group of Armies of the Reserve and the Group of Armies of the Center to make immediate preparations for an attack. He stated, "The minimum advantage gained should be to deprive the enemy of the use of the Soissons communication net." That same day Pétain issued instructions for an offensive whose purpose was to reduce the Marne salient. This would entail utilizing the French Tenth and Sixth Armies against the western flank of the salient, and the Fifth Army on the eastern flank. The French Tenth Army would carry out the main attack against the Soissons communication network. In support of the main attack, the French Sixth Army would attack south of the Ourcq River while the French Fifth Army would attack the eastern flank of the salient along both banks of the Ardre River with its right flank on the heights south of the Vesle River. At the very least the action of the French Fifth and Sixth Armies would result in preventing enemy reserves from moving against the main attack.
The following day Pétain stated the attack should be launched the morning of 18 July while stressing the necessity of secrecy. On 14 July both the American 1st Division and the American 2nd Division were transferred to the French Tenth Army XX Corps under General Pierre Emile Berdoulat.
On 15 July, General Max von Boehn, commander of the German Seventh Army, succeeded in getting seven divisions across the Marne. In response Pétain sent a message to General Émile Fayolle, commander of the Group of Armies of the Reserve, ordering him to “suspend the Mangin operation in