Until June 6, 1945, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in the final weeks of the First World War held the title of the largest military operation the United States had ever undertaken. Involving over 1 million men, 2,700 field guns, and hundreds of tanks and aircraft, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive was America’s first foray into modern war and the massive organizational, logistical, coordination and communications problems it presented.[2] The story of the 79th Division and its attack on Montfaucon, nicknamed “Little Gibraltar” by the Germans, made up just a small part of the massive American war machine, but its story exemplifies the struggles encountered by the American Expeditionary Force as a whole upon seeing action in France, and how American forces were able to adapt to these new circumstances.[3] The story of the 79th Division, clearly exemplifies how the First World War proved vital in the US military’s adaptation to the growing prowess of operational science and the numerous tactics, strategies and technologies that would come to define warfare for decades to come.
About the Author
This website was created by Thomas Forte, a Dickinson College undergrad student for Prof. Pinsker's U.S. Military History Class. This website serves to educate others about an important evolutionary step in the American way of war, as well as to spread the story of the 79th and honor the sacrifice they made on the battlefields of France 100 years ago.
Citations
[1] Gene Fax, With Their Bare Hands, (Great Britain: Osprey, 2017), 21.
[2] Mark E. Groteleuschen, “Warfare 1917-1918 (USA),” 1914-1918 Online, 2014. [3] William T. Walker, Betrayal at Little Gibraltar, (New York: Scribner, 2016), 6.