MEUSE-ARGONNE FINAL OFFENSIVE PUSH

Meuse-Argonne final offensive push

As the First World War neared its close, American forces in France were still locked in brutal combat. On November 1st, 1918, the United States First Army opened a major new phase of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, attacking along a broad front toward Barricourt Ridge and Sedan. Weeks of hard learning in earlier assaults had taught painful lessons about coordinating infantry, artillery, tanks, and air support. This time, American units moved forward behind better-planned barrages and more efficient traffic control on roads jammed with guns, ammunition, and ambulances. Soldiers pushed through battered villages and shell-torn woods, taking objectives that had resisted earlier efforts. The success of this advance helped break remaining German defensive systems in the region and forced enemy commanders to confront the reality that they could not hold out much longer. Ten days later, the armistice took effect, and many of the same men who had gone over the top on November 1st were standing in stunned silence as the guns finally fell quiet.