Soissons, 1918Texas A&M University Press, 1999 - 213 pagina's "It is the last five percent of possible exertion that often wins the battle." Brigadier Gen. Hanson Ely's statement best exemplifies the efforts of his troops as part of the allied contingent at the Battle of Soissons, July 18-22, 1918. At a cost of more than twelve thousand soldiers and marines dead, wounded, and missing, American troops struck the Germans with such force that the Germans lost the initiative for the remainder of the war. Soissons, 1918 provides an intricately detailed account of this pivotal battle in which partly trained, inexperienced American soldiers and marines literally turned the tide of the war. Despite strange French command methods, alien equipment (such as masses of tanks), immature American staff work, and difficulties in communicating with advancing troops, American enthusiasm and willingness "to finish the job" briefly shattered German defenses, caused panic, and ultimately unhinged the Germans' carefully prepared strategic plans. Authors Douglas V. Johnson II and Rolfe L. Hillman, Jr., provide a strategic overview of the war to the point of American involvement in combat operations. Following the long accepted Leavenworth method of analyzing operations, they thoroughly describe the enemy situation, the terrain, and the friendly situation. Subsequent chapters describe in detail each of the four days of intense combat using French, German, and American sources and American personal accounts. The depth of the authors' coverage spans not only technical aspects of the battle but human dimensions as well. Plans matter, and so too do personalities, from sergeants and lieutenants to commanding generals. Diagrams of attack plans, maps, and photographs effectively illustrate both the intent and reality of the battle, beneath which runs a bloody narrative. A captivating account of real-life triumph in the face of adversity, at a time when triumph was worth the cost, Soissons, 1918 is a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in the history and strategy of this awful war. |
Inhoudsopgave
The War to Date | 3 |
Ground Gained by German Offensives of March and April 1918 | 8 |
Ground Gained by German Offensives of May June and July 1918 | 9 |
Copyright | |
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153d Division 1st Battalion 1st Brigade 1st Division 23d Infantry 28th Infantry 2d Battalion 2d Brigade 2d Division 2d Division's 5th Marine Regiment 5th Marines action advance Aisne-Marne Aisne-Marne Offensive Allied American divisions American Expeditionary Forces artillery artillery fire attack order Babcock barrage battalion commanders battle battlefield Beaurepaire Farm Berzy Berzy-le-Sec Brig brigade commander Buck Cantigny casualties cavalry Chaudun Colonel combat command post Company Corps order Diaries division commander enemy flank forces France French XX Corps front line Harbord headquarters Infantry's Janda July 18 July 20 jump-off line kilometer Lieutenant machine guns Major Mangin Missy-aux-Bois Monograph Soissons moved forward offensive Operations Pershing position rear regimental commander relieved road Rozelle Senegalese soldiers South of Soissons Summerall Summerall's Tenth Army Thomason Tigny tion trench warfare troops U.S. Army units Upton USAWW Vierzy warfare XX Corps