Background
The Meuse–Argonne offensive was a major 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 of November 11, 1918, a total of 47 days. The Meuse–Argonne offensive was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million American soldiers, sailors and marines, along with 800,000 French and 850 Siamese personnel. It is also the deadliest campaign in the history of the United States Army, resulting in over 350,000 casualties, including 28,000 German lives, 26,277 American lives and an unknown number of French lives.
The offensive was the principal engagement of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I. It was one of a series of Allied attacks, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought the war to an end. It was the largest and bloodiest operation of the entire war.
The logistical prelude to the Meuse attack was planned by American then-Colonel George C. Marshall who managed to move American units to the front after the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. The Allied breakthroughs (north, center, and east) across the length of the front line in September and October 1918.
After Operation Michael, the 1918 German offensive, British, French, and Belgian advances in the northwestern sectors of the front, along with the French–American advances around the Argonne Forest, are credited for leading directly to the Armistice of November 11, 1918. On September 26, the Americans began their strike north toward Sedan. The scale of the overall offensive, bolstered by the fresh and eager but largely untried and inexperienced U.S. troops, signaled renewed vigor among the Allies and sharply dimmed German hopes for victory. The Meuse–Argonne battle was the largest frontline commitment of troops by the U.S. Army in World War I, and also its deadliest.
The American forces initially consisted of 15 divisions of the U.S. First Army commanded by General John J. Pershing until October 16 and then by Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett. The logistics were planned and directed by then Colonel George C. Marshall. The U.S. divisions of the AEF were oversized (12 battalions per division versus the French-British-German nine battalions per division), being up to twice the size of other Allies’ battle-depleted divisions upon arrival. All of the heavy equipment (tanks, artillery, and aircraft) was provided by the Allies (mainly by the French Army). For the Meuse–Argonne front alone, this represented 2,780 artillery pieces, 380 tanks, and 840 planes.
Concerning armored support, the 35th Division was completed by the 1st Tank Brigade (under George S. Patton) with 127 American-crewed Renault FT light tank and 28 French-crewed Schneider medium tanks. The 3rd US Tank brigade with 250 French-crewed tank was also involved supporting the V Corps. The 37th and 79th Division were augmented with a French tank regiment (Renault FT light tank) and 2 groups of medium tank (St-Chamond). The 91st Division was augmented with an equivalent force (1 light tank regiment and 2 groups medium tank).
As the battle progressed, the Americans brought in reinforcements. Eventually, 22 American divisions participated in the battle at one time or another, representing two full field armies.
The opposing forces were wholly German. During this period of the war, German divisions procured only 50 percent or less of their initial strength. The 117th Division, which opposed the U.S. 79th Division during the offensive’s first phase, had only 3,300 men in its ranks. Morale varied among German units. For example, divisions that served on the Eastern front had high morale, while conversely divisions that had been on the Western front had poor morale. Resistance grew to approximately 200,000–450,000 German troops from the Fifth Army of Group Gallwitz commanded by General Georg von der Marwitz. The Americans estimated that they opposed parts of 44 German divisions overall, though many fewer at any one time.
By October 31, the Americans had advanced 15 km (9.3 mi) and had cleared the Argonne Forest. On their left the French had advanced 30 km (19 mi), reaching the River Aisne. The American forces reorganized into two armies. The First, led by General Liggett, moved to the Carignan-Sedan-Mezieres Railroad. The Second Army, led by Lieutenant General Robert L. Bullard, was directed to move eastward toward Metz. The two U.S. armies faced portions of 31 German divisions during this phase. The American troops captured German defenses at Buzancy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse–Argonne_offensive
The Game
One of my old gaming buddies was in town visiting after going to Historicon. I wanted to squeeze in one more game in before he left. I opted for a fight on the edge of the Argonne Forest. My Americans are my largest force, so I would be able to do an attack/defense game. I had planned on having six players, but only four showed up, so I had to jostle the forces around a bit (it was originally four companies, using the same forces). One always has to be flexible with these things!
The Germans had a force of two companies. Each was of two small platoons, an HMG platoon, and a section of mortars and 37mm ATGs. There was also one battery of 105mm Guns off table. The would be supported by the Luftstreitkraefte. The planes would arrive on a roll of 4+ and could either do a strafe mission or chase of a US spotter ballon for one turn.
The Americans also had two forces. Each was formed around four large platoons and an HMG platoon. The force also had two platoons of FT-17s in support. Two of the platoons and the tanks would arrive as reserve to simulate the Americans attacking from the march. In addition to the on table forces, the US had two six gun batteries of 75mm guns off table, one for each company. Each had one balloon also off table that could operate as a spotter, with visibility over the entire table.
The terrain was a factory complex (Crescent Root) surrounded by woods and hills. I played out the terrain and supplied all the troops. It would be the first time my Americans and German saw the table, so a good time to shake off the dust!
The Americans would have to set up their on board forces first anywhere within the woods out of site of the German lines, to simulate the Germans seeing them approaching from observation aircraft. The Germans could deploy anywhere around the factory complex and the forward hill. All German units would be on the board and dug in.
The German mission was to hold out for eight turns (when the game would end), to give the civilians enough time to evacuate the supplies from the factory complex. The winner of the game would be based on who controlled the most buildings at the end. With that we got started.
The game began with the Americans advancing to the front of the woods in each attack sector. Unfortunately for them, the Germans had a heavy machine gun platoon at this point and shot them up pretty good (mostly eliminating a platoon of US HMGs) and caused pins on all units.
The Americans tried to jostle forward for a few turns and even launched a few assaults. However, everything was thrown back with middling casualties. It did not help that the German dice were hot and kept saving every hit for three turns!
The German dice cooled off a bit and the US artillery started to land (one balloon had been driven off the first three turns!) and cut into the German units, pinning the entire front line. This also thinned things out a bit and allowed the Americans to try for another attack. This worked out and the Germans were thrown off the forward hill.
The Americans kept up the pressure (helped by the German dice going cold) and advanced into the factory complex. The lead platoon swept forward and took two building and cleared out a third. Things were looking good! However, the other platoons were slow to move up and provide support and gave the Germans time to reorganize the defense.
The Americans kept pushing and took two more buildings, with ease. They just needed one more for the victory. However, they lost a bit of heart and slowed their advance and decided to go for the draw. The Germans scratched together one last counter attack to take back the large building. German fire was successful in suppressing all the forward American units and getting in to the building against all odds. A failed counter attack by the Americans left the Germans in control and the game ended with a German victory. The cost was high, as one of the companies was almost wiped out, but the Germans had the day.
- Manteuffel