Full Description
A Companion to the Meuse-Argonne Campaign explores the single largest and bloodiest battle in American military history, including its many controversies, in historiographical essays that reflect the current state of the field.
Presents original essays on the French and German participation in ‒ and perspectives on ‒ this important event
Makes use of original archival research from the United States, France, and Germany
Contributors include WWI scholars from France, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom
Essays examine the military, social, and political consequences of the Meuse-Argonne and points the way for future scholarship in this area
Contents
Notes on Contributors viii
Introduction 1
Edward G. Lengel
Part I The Big Picture 5
1 Background to the Meuse-Argonne 7
Edward G. Lengel with James Lacey
2 Preparations 21
Brian F. Neumann
Part II Combat 37
3 The Chance of a Miracle at Montfaucon 39
William T. Walker, Jr.
4 The Battle of Blanc Mont 59
Christopher A. Shaw
5 The Lost Battalion 74
Kevin Mulberger and Edward G. Lengel
6 Clearing the Argonne 85
Edward A. Gutiérrez
7 Cracking the Kriemhilde Stellung: The Combined Actions of the 5th, 32d, and 42d Divisions 103
Nathan A. Jones
8 Storming the Heights of the Meuse: The 29th and 33d Divisions Fight for Control of the High Ground, 8-16 October 121
James S. Price
9 Breakthrough and Pursuit 140
Lon Strauss
10 African Americans in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive 159
Chad Williams
11 Heroes of the Meuse-Argonne 179
James Carl Nelson
12 "Oh, she's a rather rough war, boys, but she's better than no war at all": The Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the Diarists of the Rainbow Division 194
E. Bruce Geelhoed
Part III France and Germany in the Meuse-Argonne 213
13 The French Fourth Army in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign 215
Elizabeth Greenhalgh
14 The 111th (German) Infanterie-Regiment by Exermont 232
Randal S. Gaulke
15 The 459th (German) Infanterie-Regiment on the Hindenburg Line 248
Randal S. Gaulke
16 The German High Command during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive: 26 September-31 October 1918 266
Markus Klauer
Part IV Perspectives 285
17 "There is a limit to human endurance": The Challenges to Morale in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign 287
Richard S. Faulkner
18 Airpower during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive: 26 September-11 November 1918 309
Thomas Withington
19 French Armored Support during the First Phase of the Campaign 325
Patrick R. Osborn
20 Artillery in the Meuse-Argonne 340
Justin G. Prince
21 Infantry Tactics in the Meuse-Argonne 357
Jeffrey LaMonica
22 Medical Support for the Meuse-Argonne 374
Sanders Marble
23 Meuse-Argonne Logistics: Barely Enough, Just in Time, Just Long Enough 390
Larry A. Grant
24 Communications in World War I: The Meuse-Argonne Campaign of 1918 410
William P. McEvoy
25 We Can Kill Them but We Cannot Stop Them: Evaluating the Meuse-Argonne Campaign 425
John D. Beatty
Part V Lessons 441
26 Changing Views on the Meuse-Argonne Offensive 443
Douglas Mastriano
27 Lessons Learned 457
Michael S. Neiberg
28 Remembering and Forgetting Meuse-Argonne: The Shifting Sands and Partitioned Perspectives of Memory 472
Kathy Warnes
29 The Greatest Battle Ever Forgotten: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive and American Memory 496
Steven Trout
Index 515
