USA > Wisconsin > Racine County > Racine county in the world war > Part 23
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of the city he gained little. On the west he crossed the Marne, but made slight progress. His path was everywhere blocked. In this battle 85,000 American troops were engaged- the Forty-second division to the extreme east of Champagne, and the Third and Twenty- eighth to the west, near Chateau-Thierry.
The turning point of the war had come. The great German offensives had been stopped. The initiative now passed from Ludendorff to Mar- shal Foch, and a series of allied offensives be- gan, destined to roll back the German armies beyond the French frontier. In this continuous allied offensive there may be distinguished six phases of major operations in which the Ameri- . can expeditionary forces took part. In four of the six operations the American troops en- gaged were acting in support of allied divi- sions and under the command of the generals of the allies.
The moment chosen by Marshal Foch for launching the first counter-offensive was on July 18, when it was clear that the German Champagne-Marne drive had spent its force. The place chosen was the uncovered west flank of the German salient from the Aisne to the Marne. The First, Second, Third, Fourth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-eighth, Thirty-second, and Forty-second American divisions, together with selected French troops, were employed. When the operation was completed (Aug. 6) the salient had been flattened out and the allied line ran from Soissons to Rheims along the Vesle.
Two days later the British struck at the Somme salient, initiating an offensive which, with occasional breathing spells, lasted to the date of the armistice. American participation in this operation was intermittent. From Aug. 8 to 20 elements of the Thirty-third division, which had been brigaded for training with the Australians, were in line and took part in the capture of Chipilly ridge. Later the Twenty- seventh and Thirtieth divisions, who served throughout with the British, were brought over from the Ypres sector and used in company with Australian troops to break the Hinden- burg line at the tunnel of the St. Quentin canal (Sept. 20-Oct. 20).
In the meantime simultaneous assaults were in progress at other points on the front. On Aug. 18, Gen. Mangin began the Oise-Aisne phase of the great allied offensive. Starting from Soissons-Rheims line, along which they had come to rest on Aug. 6, the French armies advanced by successive stages to Aisne, to Laon, and on Nov. 11 were close to the frontier. In the first stages of this advance they were
assisted by the Twenty-eighth, Thirty-second and Twenty-seventh American divisions, but by Sept. 15 all of these were withdrawn for the coming Meuse-Argonne offensive of the Ameri- can army.
The day after the opening of the Oise-Aisne offensive the British launched the first of a series of attacks in the Ypres sector which con- tinued with some interruptions to the time of the armistice and may be termed the 'Ypres- Lys offensive.' Four American divisions at different times participated in this operation. The Twenty-seventh and Thirtieth were en- gaged in the recapture of Mount Kemmel from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2. The Thirty-seventh and Ninety-first were withdrawn from the Meuse- Argonne battle and dispatched to Belgium, where they took part in the last stages of the Ypres-Lys offensive (Oct. 31 to Nov. 11).
With the organization of the American first army on Aug. 10, under the personal command of Gen. Pershing, the history of the American Expeditionary forces entered upon a new stage. The St. Mihiel (Sept. 12-16) and Meuse-Ar- gonne (Sept. 26-Nov. 11) offensives were major operations planned and executed by American generals and American troops.
In addition to the twelve operations above mentioned, American troops participated in the battle of Vittorio-Veneto (Oct. 24 to Nov. 4), which ended in the rout of the Austrian army in Italy.
The first distinctly American offensive was the reduction of the St. Mihiel salient carried through from Sept. 12 to Sept. 15, largely by American troops and wholly under the orders of the American commander-in-chief.
In the attack the American troops were aided by French colonial troops. The Ameri- cans were also aided by French and British air squadrons.
The attack began at 5 a. m., after four hours of artillery preparation of great severity, and met with immediate success. Before noon about half the distance between the bases of the salient had been covered and the next morning troops of the First and Twenty-sixth divisions met at Vigneulles, cutting off the salient within twenty-four hours from the be- ginning of the movement.
Two comparisons hetween this operation and the battle of Gettysburg emphasize the magni- tude of the action. About 550,000 Americans were engaged at St. Mihiel; the union forces at Gettysburg numbered approximately 100,- 000. St. Mihiel set a record for concentration of artillery fire by a four-hour artillery prep- aration, consuming more than 1,000,000 rounds
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of ammunition. In three days at Gettysburg union artillery fired 33,000 rounds.
The St. Mihiel offensive cost only about 7,- 000 casualties, less than one-third the union losses at Gettysburg. There were captured 16,000 prisoners and 443 guns. A dangerous enemy salient was reduced and American com- manders and troops demonstrated their ability to plan and execute a big American operation.
The object of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, said Gen. Pershing in his report of Nov. 20, 1918, was "to draw the best German divisions to our front and to consume them." This sentence expresses better than any long de- scription not only the object but also the out- come of the battle. Every available American division was thrown against the enemy. Every available German division was thrown in to meet them. At the end of forty-seven days of continuous battle our divisions had consumed the German divisions.
The goal of the American attack was the Sedan-Mezieres railroad, the main line of sup- ply for the German forces on the major part of the western front. If this line were cut, a re- tirement on the whole front would be forced. This retirement would include, moreover, evac- uation of the Briey iron fields, which the Ger- mans had been using to great advantage to supplement their iron supply. The defense of the positions threatened was therefore of such importance as to warrant the most desperate measures for resistance. When the engage- ment was evidently impending the commander of the German Fifth army sent word to his forces, calling on them for unyielding resist- ance and pointing out that defeat in this en- gagement might mean disaster for the father- land.
On the first day, the twenty-sixth of Septem- ber, and the next day or two after that, the lines were considerably advanced. Then the resistance became more stubborn. Each side threw in more and more of its man power un- til there were no more reserves. Many Ger- man divisions went into action twice, and not a few three times, until, through losses, they were far under strength. All through the month of October the attrition went on. Foot by foot American troops pushed back the best of the German divisions. On Nov. 1 the last stage of the offensive began. The enemy pow- er began to break. American troops forced their way to the east bank of the Meuse. Toward the north they made even more rapid progress, and in the seven days reached the outskirts of Sedan and cut the Sedan-Mezieres railroad, making the German line untenable.
THE WORLD WAR
In the meantime (Oct. 2 to 28) our Second and Thirty-sixth divisions had been sent west to assist the French who were advancing in Champagne beside our drive in the Argonne. The liaison detachment between the two armies was for a time furnished by the Ninety-second division.
The battle of the Meuse-Argonne was be- yond compare the greatest ever fought by American troops, and there have been few, if any, greater battles in the history of the world.
Following is the number of German prison- ers captured by each American division during the war:
Second, 12,026; First, 6,469; Eighty-ninth, 5,061; Thirty-third, 3,987; Thirtieth, 3,848; Twenty-sixth, 3,148; Fourth, 2,756; Ninety- first, 2,412; Twenty-seventh, 2,357; Fifth, 2,- 356; Third, 2,240; Twenty-ninth, 2,187; Thirty- second, 2,153; Ninetieth, 1,876; Eightieth, 1,- 813; Thirty-seventh, 1,495; Forty-second, 1,317; Seventy-ninth, 1,077; Twenty-eighth, 921; Eighty-second, 845; Thirty-fifth, 781; Seventy- seventh, 750; Thirty-sixth, 549; Seventy- eighth, 432; Eighty-first, 101; Seventh, 69; Ninety-second, 38; Sixth, 12; Eighty-eighth, 3. Total, 63,079.
Following is the number of kilometers each United States division advanced against the enemy during the various offensives:
Seventy-seventh, 711/2; Second, 60; Forty- second, 55; First, 51; Eighty-ninth, 48; Third, 11; Eightieth, 38; Twenty-sixth, 37; Thirty- second, 36; Thirty-third, 36; Ninety-first, 34; Thirty-seventh, 30; Thirtieth, 291/2; Fifth, 29; Ninetieth, 281/2; Fourth, 241/2; Seventy-eighth, 21; Thirty-sixth, 21; Seventy-ninth, 191/2; Eighty-second, 17; Thirty-fifth, 121/2; Twenty- seventh, 11; Twenty-eighth, 10; Ninety-second, 8; Twenty-ninth, 7; Eighty-first, 51/2; Seventh. 1: Sixth, 0; Eighty-eighth, 0. Total, 7821/2.
The aggressive tactics of the Americans and their constant superiority over the German soldiers are shown easily enough by the bare facts that no American unit ever lost a foot of ground which was not regained within twen- ty-four hours; that practically every American division which was in action at all had to its credit a considerable advance made against ac- tual opposition by the enemy; that the Ameri- can army gained every objective laid out for it by the high command, and while it had heavy casualties due to being constantly on the of- fensive, the American army lost only 2,082 prisoners as opposed to more than 60,000 cap- tured from the enemy. Fully as significant, is the fact that the number of German dead
GROWTH AND DEPARTURE OF THE A. E. F. IN FRANCE FROM MAY, 1917, UNTIL AUG. 31, 1919
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RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR
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buried by Americans almost equalled the total number of Americans killed in action.
During their operations in France, there never was a time when any American soldier felt any doubt, or had any real reason to have any doubt, as to his superiority over the Ger- man soldiers.
"The total battle deaths in the recent war were greater than all the deaths in all wars for more than 100 years previous," says Col. Leon- ard P. Ayres in "The War With Germany."
"Of every 100 American soldiers and sail- ors, who served in the world war, two were killed or died of disease during the period of hostilities.
"Russian battle deaths were thirty-four times as heavy as those of the United States, those of Germany thirty-two times as great, the French twenty-eight times, and the British eighteen times as large.
"The number of American lives lost at home and abroad was 122,500, of which about 10,000 were in the navy, and the rest in the army and the marines attached to it.
"In the American army the casualty in the infantry was higher than in any other service, and that for officers was higher than for men.
"For every man killed in battle seven were wounded.
"Five out of every six men sent to hospitals on account of wounds were cured and returned to duty.
"In the expeditionary forces battle losses were twice as large as deaths from disease.
"In this war the death rate from disease was lower, and the death rate from battle was higher than in any other previous American war.
"Inoculation, clean camps, and safe drinking water, practically eliminated typhoid fever among the troops in this war.
"Pneumonia killed more soldiers than were killed in battle. Meningitis was the next most serious disease.
"Of each 100 cases of venereal disease record in the United States, ninety-six were contract- ed before entering the army and only four afterwards.
"During the entire war available hospital facilities in the American expeditionary forces have been in excess of the needs."
Corrected figures a year after the war end- ed showed that the army abroad and marine corps units attached, had a total of 116,492 killed and 205,690 wounded, a total of 322,182. These figures include losses to army and ma- rine units on all fronts. Killed in action to-
taled 35,585, or 11 per cent of the entire list; died of wounds, 14,742; died of disease, 58,073; died of accidents and other causes 8,092.
A list of battle casualties by divisions fol- lows:
Battle
Division
Deaths. Wounded.
Second
4,478
17,752
First
4,411
17,201
Third
3,177
12,940
Thirty-second
2,915
10,477
Twenty-eighth
2,551
11,429
Forty-second
2,644
11,275
Twenty-sixth
2,135
11,325
Fourth
2,611
9,893
Seventy-seventh
1,992
8,505
Twenty-seventh
1,789
7,201
Thirtieth
1,629
7,325
Fifth
1,976
6,864
Eighty-second
1,298
6,248
Eighty-ninth
1,433
5,858
Thirty-fifth
1,067
6,216
Ninetieth
1,392
5,885
Thirty-third
989
6,266
Seventy-eighth
1,384
5,861
Seventy-ninth
1,419
5,331
Eightieth
1,132
5,000
Ninety-first
1,414
4,364
Thirty-seventh
977
4,266
Twenty-ninth
951
4,268
Ninety-third
584
2,582
Thirty-sixth
600
1,928
Seventh
302
1,516
Ninety-second
176
1,466
Eighty-first
251
973
Sixth
93
453
Eighty-fifth
142
395
Eighty-third
112
319
Forty-first
154
263
Fortieth
79
81
Eighty-eighth
29
89
Eightieth
6
29
Eighty-seventh
2
30
1
1
Two out of every three American soldiers who reached France took part in battle. The number who reached France was 2,084,000, and of these 1,390,000 saw service at the front.
Of the forty-two divisions that reached France twenty-nine took part in active combat service. Seven of them were regular army di- visions, eleven were organized from the nation- al guard and eleven made up of national army troops.
American divisions were in battle 200 days and engaged in thirteen major operations.
From the middle of August, 1918, until the end of the war the American divisions held
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RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR
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CO. D, 340th INFANTRY, 85th DIVISION, AT CAMP CUSTER. THIS COMPANY INCLUDED ABOUT 125 MEN FROM RACINE COUNTY
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RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR
during the greater part of the time a front longer than that held by the British.
In October the American divisions held 101 miles of line, or 23 per cent of the entire western front.
On the first of April the Germans had a superiority of 324,000 in rifle strength. Due to American arrivals the allied strength exceeded that of the Germans in June and was more than 600,000 above it in November.
In the battle of St. Mihiel 550,000 Americans were engaged, as compared with about 100,000 on the northern side in the battle of Gettys- burg. The artillery fired more than 1,000,000 shells in four hours, which is the most intense concentration of artillery recorded in history.
The Meuse-Argonne battle lasted forty-seven days, during which 1,200,000 American troops were engaged.
The total battle advances of all the Ameri- can divisions amount to 782 kilometers, or 485 miles, an average advance for each division of
seventeen miles, nearly all of it against des- perate enemy resistance. They captured 63,- 000 prisoners, 1,378 pieces of artillery, 708 trench mortars, and 9,650 machine guns.
In June and July the American army helped to shatter the enemy advance toward Paris and to turn retreat into a triumphant offensive. At St. Mihiel they pinched off in a day an enemy salient which had been a constant men- ace to the French line for four years. In the Argonne and on the Meuse they carried lines which the enemy was determined to hold at any cost, and cut the enemy lines of communi- cation and supply for half the western battle front.
American troops saw service on practically every stretch of the western front from Brit- ish lines in Belgium to inactive sectors in the Vosges. On Oct. 21, 1917, Americans entered the line in the quiet Toul sector. From that date to the armistice American units were somewhere in the line continuously.
CHAPTER XXI
THE NAVY IN ACTION
T HE United States Navy began to func- tion efficiently and with pronounced ef- fect from the very moment of the dec- laration of war on April 6, 1917.
A telegraphic order put the ships that were in reserve into full commission. All supplies were on hand where needed. The wireless notified distant ships and stations that the war was on. The Navy was in action.
Guns and gun crews were placed on all American merchant vessels starting for the submarine zone. A destroyer flotilla was mobilized and started for Queenstown on April 24, to report to Admiral Bayly of the British Navy for convoy and other service off Ireland. Admiral Sims, U. S. N., had sailed to England before war was declared, and he was at once invested with the com- mand of the foreign fleets operating in Euro- pean waters. He became American member of the Allied naval council, with headquarters at London. Under his charge were subse- quently the destroyers at Queenstown, Brest, and Gibraltar, the submarine-chasers at Corfu and Plymouth, a mixed force at the Azores and the battle squadrons at Scapa Flow with the Grand Fleet, and at Berehaven, Ireland.
While Admiral Sims was commander-in- chief of all these detachments, and could send them wherever he wished, they were under the direct command of British naval authori- ties when going out on specific missions. This situation was the same as that of American army units in France, which were under com- mand of Gen. Pershing but occasionally were sent to operate with British or French armies.
The Navy's task was, first, to co-operate with the navies of the Allies in controlling the submarine menace and maintaining a fleet at Scapa Flow sufficiently large to insure the defeat of the German Navy if it should venture from its place of concealment. As soon as these missions were accomplished, or well be- gun, the Navy had to take charge of getting
American soldiers to France. How well it did this is shown from the fact that 2,079,880 troops were transported; 911,047 in American naval transports and 41,544 in other United States ships. British ships carried 1,066,987 men across the Atlantic, and the balance trav- elled in French and Italian vessels. Not one American transport was sunk on the way to France, and only three on the return trips. The loss of life in these was very small. Sev- eral hundred lives were lost in the sinking of the British transports Tuscania, Moldavia and Otranto, carrying American troops.
The American Navy furnished convoys for its own transports and also for many of those belonging to our allies. This wonderful move- ment of troops will stand as a monument to both the Army and Navy as the greatest feat of the sort ever attempted. One ship, the Leviathan, formerly the German liner Vater- land, alone carried 100,000 soldiers across the ocean without accident. She made her voyages without escort excepting for the last twenty- four hours of each east-bound trip, and for a similar period at the beginning of her return voyages.
In addition to the work of the Navy at sea, sailors manning huge long range 14-inch guns were at the front in France before the war ended and did great work in destroying rail- road lines and gun emplacements far inside the German territory.
Other gigantic tasks assigned to the Navy were the construction of the "mine barrage" of 70,100 mines across the North sea; the building of an oil pipe line clear across Scot- land, the reconstruction of ports and wharves for landing men and supplies in France and the patrol of the French coast.
The Navy operated all wireless stations in use in the United States, and constructed the largest radio station in the world at Bordeaux. It built its own aircraft factory at Philadel- phia and on March 17, 1918, the first aero-
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RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR
plane produced there was given its trial flight. Hundreds of seaplanes were turned out and sent abroad during the summer following.
The Navy also manufactured 2,800 cannon of medium calibre, 1,800 of which were placed in service.
There were 344 serviceable vessels in the navy when the war began. When the armi- stice was signed, the Navy was operating 2,000 ships of all classes, including transports, cargo carriers and barges. There were 777 strictly naval vessels, and 655 more of these under construction. Those in service included 39 battleships, eight armored cruisers, twenty- three cruisers, ninety-two destroyers, seventy- nine submarines, thirty-seven gunboats, 200 submarine chasers, and numerous torpedo boats, tugs, monitors, hospital ships, fuel ships, converted yachts, etc.
The main body of the Atlantic fleet was kept at home ready for a call to action from any part of the world.
Among the inventions and perfected appli- ances credited to American genius are the Y- gun for firing depth charges at submarines; a depth bomb which was safe to handle under all conditions; a new star-shell for illuminating enemy vessels without disclosing the position of the ship firing it; listening devices to de- tect the approach of other ships; the paravenc, to sweep mines from a ship's course and vari- ous minor devices.
As camouflage was perfected on land to conceal the presence of men or material from the enemy, so on sea there was developed the "dazzle system" of painting ships with: gro- tesque designs to make it difficult for a sub- marine commander to determine its exact size and shape, and the direction of its course. All ships going into the submarine zones were given a "dazzle coat" and it probably proved of considerable value. The designs are impos- sible to describe in detail, but they often con- sisted of huge diagonal stripes of black. white, gray, blue and even red running from the water line to the top of the ship, these stripes being of different sizes on different sections of the ship, and running in one direction near the bow and in the opposite direction near the stern. Near the waterline, curved lines were often painted in. The general effect in misty weather was to make a ship look like some shapeless monster. The camouflage could not make a vessel invisible against the sky, but it often fooled an enemy in regard to the proper place to direct a torpedo. Sometimes a long ship would look like two small ones, when seen in the dusk or mist.
The convoy system of conveying troops proved a success from the start. It was as old as maritime history, yet it had not been deemed useful under modern conditions. Ad- miral Sims pointed out its possibilities forcibly in April, 1917. The British naval council, pleading for more destroyers and sub-chasers, had declared that any square mile or two of sea could be made safe from submarines if destroyers were available. "Then," said Ad- miral Sims, "Why not make the square mile around a group of transports safe, and then move this square mile, so to speak, right across the ocean ?" It was not hard to see the point, and the method was tried out and never abandoned.
The first convoy of 14 troop and cargo ves- sels under guard of six cruisers and twelve de- stroyers left New York in a dense fog June 14, 1917. It was attacked twice on the way to France and in both cases the convoying destroyers chased the submarines away with ease.
The first American transport to be sunk was torpedoed off Ireland on Oct. 17, 1917, and sank in four minutes with a loss of 67 lives. It was the transport Antilles, homeward bound with 234 persons aboard. It was grouped with five other vessels returning to America. Com- mander D. T. Ghent gives the following de- scription of the sinking, which was typical of hundreds of submarine attacks during the war:
"Just after daylight a torpedo was sighted heading for us about two points abaft the port beam on a course of 45° with the keel. The torpedo was seen by the second officer on the bridge, the quartermaster and signalman on watch; by the first officer and first assistant engineer from the port side of the promenade deck, and by one of the gun crews on watch aft. They estimated the distance from 400 feet to as many yards. Immediately on sight- ing the torpedo the helm was put 'hard over' in an attempt to dodge it, but before the ship began to swing the torpedo struck us near the after engine-room bulkhead on the port side. The explosion was terrific; the ship shivered from stem to stern, listing immediately to port. One of the lookouts in the main top, though protected by a canvas screen about 5 feet high, was thrown clear over this screen and killed on striking the hatch. This case is cited as indicating the power of the 'whip' caused by the explosion. Guns were manned instantly in the hope of getting a shot at the enemy, but no submarine was seen.
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