Meuse-argonne

Overview

After Operation Michael, the 1918 German offensive, began well but ended with the disaster of Reims in front of the French and at Amiens to British forces. The French and British armies systematically pushed back a German army whose efficiency was decreasing rapidly. Before the offensive, the German soldiers had occupied the Meuse-Argonne area for years, including the east side of Meuse River and the Argonne Forest. They built fortified trenches and machine gun posts within the forest. 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 next day, British and Belgian divisions drove toward Ghent, Belgium. British and French armies attacked across northern France on September 28. 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.