EXPLORING THE MEUSE ARGONNE BATTLEFIELDS AND MONUMENTS

Tuesday, 14 August 2018

Les Jardins du Mess  (https://www.hotelspaverdun.com/)

Verdun, France

74 F, sunny

Yesterday we were remembering the Battle for the St. Mihiel Salient. Today and tomorrow we cover the area of the Meuse Argonne Offensives, Phases I, II, and III. 

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also known as the Maas-Argonne Offensive and the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice on November 11, a total of 47 days. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million American soldiers, and was one of a series of Allied attacks known as the Hundred Day Battle. There were 26,000 American soldiers killed and 120,000 wounded during this period.  

The Iron Harvest
As we passed the countryside, Mike mentioned that many areas are still contaminated from remaining shells of poisonous gas as the shell corrodes. Hundreds of thousands are still unexploded ordnance. Each Spring shells percolate up from the ground.

When we were on our 2015 tour we saw a newspaper headline stating that two teens were injured when they tried to handle a shell they found. We were told then that it will take 6 to 7 centuries for the shells to be cleaned up. Mike said there is a strict protocol for disarming and collecting the ordnance. According to the BBC, more than a billion shells were fired during the World War I, and as many as a third never exploded. In 1996, the French Interior Ministry estimated that 12 million shells still slumber in the soil near Verdun alone. The Iron Harvest, it is called.

Our first stop was Forges sur Meuse—Frank and Carol’s grandfather was here and we grabbed a quick photo.

A little later Mike stopped the bus at a sign for Dannevoux where the 80^th Division “got their job done.” We all remembered my Great Uncle Archie’s nephew and my cousin, Lynn C. Price, of the 80^th Division, 313^th Machine Gun Battalion.

Tim and Mary Jane at Dannevoux, France

Montfaucon was a key site in the Meuse Argonne Offensive (Meuse River/Argonne Forest), right in the middle of the sector. The Montfaucon Memorial is an American World War I memorial commemorating the victory of the American First Army in the Meuse Argonne offensive, September 26-November 11, 1918. It pays tribute to the previous heroic services of the Armies of France and the important battle front  upon which the memorial has been constructed." It was erected by the U.S. Government and is the largest of the American war memorials in Europe.

Montfaucon Memorial-7 miles south of the Meuse Argonne American Cemetery

near Verdun

A remaining pill box near Montfaucon--Danger!

80th Division honored-Lynn Price

90th Division honored-R. Archie Harvey

28th Division honored-Roy Hall, the Silverthorn Brothers, Robert Arnold, Arthur Manness

Map of each division's placement and the area they liberated

We had a picnic in a field near the marker for Sgt. Alvin York.

A shortage of picnic tables did not stop us!

The Pennsylvania Monument, in the small town of Varennes-en-Argonne, is huge. The town, better known as the village where Louis XVI and Marie Antionette were captured, was liberated by American soldiers. Most of the fighting was completed by the Pennsylvania National Guard/28th Division and, in recognition of their participation in the Great War, the state of Pennsylvania erected this monument in Varennes.

Pennsylvania Monument, Varennes-en-Argonne, France

Close up of Pennsylvania Monument

Pennsylvania suffered the highest casualties/deaths in the war and has the most soldiers buried in Europe. Tour mates Bob and Jacque told us that Boalsburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania has a monument and history center dedicated to the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 28^th Infantry Division.  [Ann, let’s go!]

The Area of the Lost Battalion-- Nine companies of the United States 77^th Division, led by Major Charles Whittlesey, roughly 554 men, were isolated by German forces after an American attack in the Argonne Forest in October 1918. Roughly 197 were killed in action and approximately 150 missing or taken prisoner before the 194 remaining men were rescued.

Dedicated to Cher Ami

Homing pigeons were used for communication. Of course the enemy knew this and shot down the first two sent by the "Lost Battalion." A pigeon named Cher Ami was shot down but managed to fly again, taking the message to Americans describing the battalion's location and pleading to stop the barrage on that location. 

Cher Ami helped save the lives of the 194 survivors. She had been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, and had a leg hanging only by a tendon. However, the pigeon survived and was sent with honors to the United States.

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With apologies dear reader. It is almost 11 p.m. French time, and we have another 6 a.m. wake up call tomorrow. We are in a really comfortable perfect hotel, but the wifi is dreadfully slow--it takes about 1/2 hour to upload a photo and many minutes to even log on. I will write briefly. 

Life is very different in France, and as Archie said the buildings are very old, and life is not exactly in the fast lane, but it is a pleasure to be here. Our days are very long and very very intense as we walk in the steps of our country men who battled here one hundred years ago.

Restaurants do not open for dinner until 7 p.m., so we stroll nightly to find somewhere to eat. Tonight we ate at L'Esprit Bistrot with John and Linda from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Dinner was superb--quiche Lorraine, right here in the region of Lorraine, a small steak for me, and a small chicken for Tim, salad, and fried potatoes for me, potatoes au gratin for Tim. Excellent. Dessert was ice cream served with fresh fruit. We easily spent over two and half  hours eating and talking. Dining is a very leisurely experience here.  I must prepare to tell Archie's story tonight, the story of November 10, 1918, just hours before the armistice. 

But I have to say that today we were in the  first two phases of the Meuse Argonne Offensive, where Archie and his two nephews Roy, and Lynn all were during those horrible 47 days before the end.   I have so much more to say and very meaningful photos, but all must wait until I have a better Internet connection.  See above!