Then Bouck heard engines revving. He took just a few minutes to get back to the position. In the far distance he suddenly saw German troops advancing toward the town. The Germans' helmets looked familiar. The Panther V suddenly detonated a land mine and was put out of action. It was two hundred feet deep, in some places almost vertical. From their barn, Adolf Schur, his brother Eric, and his father Christolf watched the Germans assemble. He ordered his driver, Technician Fourth Class Willard Wibben, to take a trail leading up through woods toward what might be left of the position after the heavy shelling. Platoon Sergeant Slape prepared to unreel a new land line back to the position. Just then, a jeep pulled up behind Bouck's dugout. Meanwhile, the French advanced steadily across the Aisne lowlands. Slape called up. Corporal McGehee, the LSU linebacker, ran to his aid. The American military in World War I had regiments of black soldiers, but hardly used them despite their fine record in the Civil War. Trenches are still running between the trees, many bunkers can be seen as well as underground mine craters. At the other end of the line in Hunningen, Fernandez heard a hissing sound getting louder, and then "a sound right out of the movies . Meanwhile, more ammunition was distributed to the I&R platoon, and Slape went to each dugout to check on the men and give them encouragement. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/battles-of-the-Meuse-Argonne, HistoryNet - Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I, First World War - Path of Fire: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive of 1918, battles of the Meuse-Argonne - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), battles of the Meuse-Argonne - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), World War I: Meuse-Argonne, battles of the. Blood gushed from Kalil's jaw. The Germans continued to rush the hill, some firing from the hip. The man had been standing by a window overlooking the town. Gen. John Pershing’s opening surprise attack advanced 5 miles (8 km) along the Meuse River but only 2 miles (3 km) in the difficult Argonne Forest sector. Slape cranked up the platoon's phone in its heavy leather case. "Raus mit du!" He reached for the telephone to his SCR-300 radio and asked again for artillery support and fresh orders. It is the second deadliest battle in … In just 47 days, the fight for the Meuse River and Argonne Forest in northeast France claimed the lives of 26,277 American soldiers. But the village suffered little other direct shelling. It was particularly vital that the crucial Lanzerath road junction be held. "Don't tell me what I can't see! Peiper was now hours behind schedule. When they dared to glance through the firing slit at the front of the dugout, they could see Lanzerath and the surrounding countryside lit up as if by floodlights. "Open fire," cried Bouck as he dropped his arm.62. While the US troops were not battle tested, the introduction of over 1 million well armed troops into a battle that had exhausted armies … Slowly, his hearing returned. At all costs, the 394th must try to stall the German advance. "I'm gonna check upstairs," said Private James.28, Bouck followed James. McConnell was the only casualty. On November 10 the Allies reached Sedan and cut the rail line there. Bouck now hoped that the platoon's strengthened dugouts would be enough to protect them from the lethal tree bursts. The order was from General Gerd von Runstedt, commander of all German troops in the West. Blood gushed into the white snow. He looked at his boot: the heel had been shot off.53. But it did not explode. The offensive saw attacks through the difficult terrain between the Argonne Forest and the … It can't be very nice. One of them was Sam. We don't have room for prisoners. The US had over 1 million troops now available to fight. ", "Haven't seen 'em. The Germans opened fire. "I grabbed the loft door and lifted myself enough to look into the loft, and spotted a German soldier searching the loft. Only a direct hit would kill him and his men. It was in the Meuse that the American Army was engaged autonomously in Europe for the first time in its history. Hey guys, hope you enjoy this animation I recently found on my pc Slape again scrambled over to the .50-caliber machine gun and began to fire. "You was supposed to take one a day, and drink a lot of water behind it," he recalled. 30,000 US soldiers were killed in five weeks, at an average rate of 750 to 800 per day. "Oh, it's not too bad, Louis," said Redmond. "There wasn't much of a lull. It was quickly flooded with reports of enemy action against the entire 99th Division's front. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The Germans were soon within range. "I feared very much for my buddies near Lanzerath. Suddenly, the silence of the deep forest was broken by enormous explosions. In the Meuse-Argonne offensive a few weeks later, Patton was badly wounded by a machine-gun bullet. The Americans proceeded west of the Meuse River, the French west of the Argonne Forest. . The radio was also hit. Lieutenant Lyle Bouck's first thought as he surveyed the devastation was whether any of his men had been wounded. Stunned, he shook himself and got up. Robinson fired back with his M-1. A breakthrough at this point would separate the French from the British, push the latter into a pocket in Flanders, and open the way to the Channel ports. Robinson cried out in pain and fell to the ground. 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