The Americans in the Great War

In Short

This volume serves as both a detailed military history and an practical battlefield guidebook detailing the pivotal conflict of the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918. Published shortly after the war's conclusion, it documents the massive German offensives around Château-Thierry and Soissons, the subsequent Allied counter-attacks, and the decisive contribution of American divisions fighting alongside French, British, and Italian forces. The work endures because it combines granular tactical breakdowns and official military citations with precise, early post-war travel itineraries, offering a stark, contemporary snapshot of the devastated French countryside and the logistics of early twentieth-century memory.

The Story

The book opens with a detailed accounting of the German High Command's massive offensives launched between the Oise and Rheims in May 1918. Outlining the formidable German preparations—including thousands of artillery batteries, specialized storm-troops, and liquid-fire detachments—the text illustrates how initial enemy breakthroughs forced smaller Allied units back across the Aisne and toward the Marne. The narrative tracks the desperate defensive fighting south of Soissons, along the Ourcq Valley, and directly within the streets of Château-Thierry, where French Colonials and newly arrived American machine-gun units halted the German momentum.

By mid-July, the German command launched the Friedensturm or "Peace Battle," a fifty-four-mile offensive aimed at outflanking Allied positions, capturing Epernay, and opening an unobstructed path to Paris. The volume details how Marshal Foch and General Pétain anticipated this maneuver, using minimal forces to absorb the blow while secretly concentrating powerful reserves—including large contingents of fresh American troops, heavy artillery, and squadrons of French tanks—hidden within the Villers-Cotterets Woods.

The narrative shifts dramatically on July 18 with the launching of the Allied counter-offensive against the western flank of the Château-Thierry salient. The text catalogues the relentless press of the Allied divisions as they broke German lines, endured bitter counter-attacks, and recaptured vital strongpoints. It details the methodical clearing of strategic landmarks, including the bloody hand-to-hand fighting by the American Marine Brigade in Belleau Wood, the assault on Hill 204, and the recapture of heavily contested villages such as Epieds, Longpont, and Fismes.

The final portion transitions from operational military analysis into a three-day motor-tour itinerary designed for post-war visitors traveling from Paris through the battlefields. Moving through ruined towns, shattered forests, and nascent military cemeteries, the narrative reflects on both ancient historical contexts—such as the medieval abbeys and ancient Roman roots of the damaged towns—and the immediate, sobering realities of the war's aftermath, characterized by shell craters, leveled villages, and systematic destruction left behind by the retreating forces.

How It Unfolds

The enemy attacks German forces launch a massive multi-zone offensive between the Oise and Rheims, utilizing heavy artillery concentrations and storm-troops to break through vulnerable Allied lines.

Holding the Marne Allied resistance stiffens as reinforcements arrive, with French Colonials and American machine-gunners mounting a fierce defense to prevent the enemy from crossing the river at Château-Thierry.

The peace offensive collapses The German High Command initiates the Friedensturm on a fifty-four-mile front, but the ambitious drive to capture Epernay and push toward Paris is held by strategic Allied defense maneuvers.

The grand counter-offensive Hidden within the Villers-Cotterets Woods, a massive Allied striking force consisting of French and American divisions, supported by tanks and aircraft, launches a devastating surprise attack on July 18.

Clearing the salient Fierce hand-to-hand combat and coordinated artillery bombardments push enemy forces out of Belleau Wood, Hill 204, and across the Ourcq, forcing a major German retreat.

Pursuit to the Vesle Allied troops drive the enemy back through ruined villages, capturing prisoners and strategic positions near Fismes and Mont-Notre-Dame despite heavy counter-attacks by German reserves.

The touring itinerary A three-day automotive guide outlines paths from Paris through shattered battlegrounds, guiding visitors past damaged historical monuments, field fortifications, and fresh military cemeteries.

The People

• General Pétain: The French commander who displays shrewd discernment by recognizing major enemy attacks early, shifting vital reserves, and organizing the concentrated counter-offensive that turns the tide of the battle.
• General Foch: The Allied Commander-in-Chief who seizes the initiative of maneuver, quietly massing reserves and armor in the Villers-Cotterets Woods to strike the enemy's exposed flank.
• Major-General Clarence R. Edwards: Commander of the 26th American Division, whose troops act as a key pivot during the July 18 counter-offensive, aggressively capturing the Torcy-Belleau-Bouresches line and assaulting Etrepilly.
• The American Marine Brigade: The pioneer American infantry unit landing in France, tasked with storming the heavily fortified redoubt of Belleau Wood and enduring heavy casualties in relentless hand-to-hand fighting.
• Corporal Chevrel: A French tank driver who demonstrates exceptional personal valor by holding out alone against surrounding enemy forces for thirty-six hours inside his disabled vehicle.
• Corporal Cellier: A French tank driver who, collaborating with fifteen American soldiers, successfully captures seven hundred German prisoners, including a colonel and two artillery pieces.

In Its Own Voice

"The enemy order of battle between the Oise and Rheims on May 27, extended along three zones of attack--a central zone, from Leuilly to Berry-au-Bac, which was the principal sector of attack, and two secondary zones on the wings..." — Context: The opening foreword explains the massive tactical layout and overwhelming artillery preparations used by the German Army at the start of their mid-1918 offensive.

"The eagerness was such that it had to be restrained, to allow the wings to reach their assigned positions." — Context: The text describes the intense momentum of the 26th American Division as it launched its attack from Belleau Wood during the July 18 counter-offensive.

"In May, 1919, deeply moving traces of the fierce fighting were visible all along the road, and will probably long continue to exist." — Context: The guidebook introduces the practical automotive battlefield tour, noting the immediate post-war state of ruined villages, shell craters, and scattered debris.

What It's Really About

Beneath its dual identity as a military record and a practical travel guide, the book examines the mechanics of modern, industrial coalition warfare and the profound physical cost of total conflict. It demonstrates how unified command structures, technological parity—specifically through tanks and aviation—and the timely arrival of fresh American forces disrupted long-standing strategic stalemates. Concurrently, the text highlights a stark contrast between historical endurance and modern destruction; ancient French towns with deep medieval origins are set against the sudden, devastating impact of modern artillery. Ultimately, it serves as a testament to collective Allied effort and an early effort to codify public memory through organized, reflective pilgrimage.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to military historians, students of World War I, and readers interested in early twentieth-century travel literature. It provides an immediate, unvarnished look at the Western Front written in the direct aftermath of the armistice, free from decades of retrospective reinterpretation. Reading it offers a unique sense of historical immediacy, juxtaposing precise tactical summaries with practical advice for early automobile tourists navigating broken roads.

The work requires patience with its period-specific layout, which includes detailed military listings, troop movements, unit commendations, and granular driving directions. Modern readers must navigate dry operational logistics alongside stark descriptions of unexploded ordnance and ruined landscapes. However, what stays with the reader is the poignant juxtaposition of brutal, industrial-scale warfare against the timeless geography of the French countryside, providing a authentic window into how a traumatized world immediately began to visit, remember, and process the sites of its recent devastation.