St. Mihiel Offensive

Battle of Saint-Mihiel
Part of the Western Front of World War I
American engineers returning from the St. Mihiel front
Date 12–15 September 1918 Location Saint-Mihiel salient, France 48°53′21″N 05°32′37″E / 48.88917°N 5.54361°E / 48.88917; 5.54361Coordinates: 48°53′21″N 05°32′37″E / 48.88917°N 5.54361°E / 48.88917; 5.54361 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States France	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
John J. Pershing Hunter Liggett Joseph T. Dickman George H. Cameron Billy Mitchell	Max von Gallwitz
Units involved
First Army I Corps IV Corps V Corps II Colonial Corps	5th Army
Strength
American Expeditionary Forces – containing 14 divisions (550,000 men) French Army – containing 4 divisions (110,000 men) 419 tanks 1,481 aircraft 2,900 artillery pieces	German Fifth Army – containing 10 divisions averaging 5,000 men each. 213 aircraft
Casualties and losses
7,000 (4,500 KIA, 2,500 WIA)	22,500 (2,000 KIA, 5,500 WIA, 15,000 POW) 450 guns captured

First Army

The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12–15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States against German positions. The U.S. Army Air Service (which later became the U.S. Air Force) played a significant role in this action.

This battle marked the first use of the terms "D-Day" and "H-Hour" by the Americans. The fighting was depicted in the 1927 film Wings.

The attack at the St. Mihiel salient was part of a plan by Pershing in which he hoped that the Americans would break through the German lines and capture the fortified city of Metz. It was the first and only offensive launched solely by the United States Army in World War I, and the attack caught the Germans in the process of retreating. This meant that their artillery was out of place and the American attack, coming up against disorganized German forces, proved more successful than expected. The St. Mihiel attack established the stature of the U.S. Army in the eyes of the French and British forces, and again demonstrated the critical role of artillery during World War I and the difficulty of supplying such massive armies while they were on the move. The U.S. attack faltered as artillery and food supplies were left behind on the muddy roads. The attack on Metz was not realized, as the Germans refortified their positions and the Americans then turned their efforts to the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

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Wikipedia