"The Importance of the St. Mihiel Salient, Then and Now" Topic

"The reduction of the St. Mihiel Salient, on the southeast flank of Verdun was the first victory of a full American Army during the Great War. This is how four years of battling in this unique feature of the Western Front is encapsulated in most histories of the war. However, it was back in 1914, when the sector—neglected by the French which was advancing farther north in the Ardennes and south of Nancy and, thus, was freely occupied by German forces—began playing a significant role in how all the fighting unfolded from the English Channel to the Swiss border.

The struggle in the salient would be a critical aspect of the Battles of the Marne, the most important battle of the First World War. Subsequently, the salient would be the site of intense fighting for the rest of the war, much of which is neglected in English-language sources on the war. The thrust into the Western Front, however, presented both an ongoing threat to Verdun, a potential sally port for a deeper penetration into the French rear, while almost fully disabling the French rail system in eastern France. Also, occupation of the salient allowed Germany to exploit one of France's leading steel-producing areas around the town of Briey.

This constant struggling for advantage in the salient turned it into something of an open space museum to WWI-style warfare, with forts, trenches, bunkers, mining craters, sites of trench raids, and countless cemeteries and memorials. Furthermore, thanks to the work of the American Battle Monuments Commission staff (which included a Major Dwight D. Eisenhower), visitors with a car or bicycle can follow the post-trench, open warfare of 1918. (I always took my tour groups along the path of the George Patton-led first tank attack in American history.)…"

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Amicalement
Armand

With the 100 anniversary of WWI there has been something of a general revisionism, which is only natural since you really can't sell books or make a name for yourself in academic circles unless you challenge "conventional" wisdom, to the role the Americans played in the war. Some of it is accurate, some not…for example St. Mihel is dismissed as insignificant since the Germans were already planning on retreating.

It is significant for several reasons…it was the first test of the newly created American 1st Army and like any first test was replete with errors and missteps, but if you're going to work the kinks out of a system better to do it against a lackluster opponent.

Second the offensive witnessed the emergence of two significant personalities, Douglas McArthur and George Patton…it was the first use of tanks by an American Army under an American commander, Patton, and while sometimes appeared to be a comedy of errors, was a precursor to the later success of both Patton and McArthur.

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand