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Map of the Marne front line on May 31, 1918 from Belleau Wood to Dormans, where the French and Americans stopped the German advance of 1918. From The History of The A.E.F. by Shipley Thomas.
Map of the Marne salient showing the battle line of June 2, 1918. From The History of The A.E.F. by Shipley Thomas.
Tinted postcard of Marshal Ferdinand Foch. Made Commander-in-Chief of all Allied forces on the Western Front April 3, 1918, he led the Allies to victory in November.
Shared headstone of Paul Wiegandt, Unteroffizier (Sergeant), died June 3, 1918, and Heinrich Balg, Musketier (Infantryman), died June 6, 1918, Dormans German Cemetery, Dormans, France. © 2014 by John M. Shea
Headstones at La Nécropole Nationale de Pontavert. The cemetery contains the remains of 6,815 soldiers, 67 of them British, 54 Russian, and the remainder French. Of the total, 1,364 are entombed in the ossuary. © 2014 by John M. Shea
"On May 31st [1918], when the Germans were already in the outskirts of Château-Thierry, an American machine-gun unit was hurried thither in motor lorries. Château-Thierry lies on both banks of the Marne, which is spanned by a big bridge. A little to the northward a canal runs parallel to the river and is crossed by a smaller bridge.The Americans had scarcely reached their quarters when news was received that the Germans had broken into the northern part of Château-Thierry, having made their way through the gap they had driven in our lines to the left of the town and then pouring along the streets to the bridge, intending to establish themselves firmly on the south bank and capture the town.The American machine gunners and French colonials were thrown into Château-Thierry together." ((1), more)
". . . our casualties were increasing alarmingly; ammunition was running short and the problem of supply, in view of the large demands, became more and more difficult. It became all too clear that actions so stubbornly contested and involving us in such formidable losses would never enable us to capture Paris. In truth the brilliant offensive had petered out. This unpleasant fact was quickly realised by the High Command and the order came from General Ludendorff for us to consolidate the positions we had reached." ((2), more)
"(1) The line of conduct to be followed by the French Command is to stop the enemy's advance on Paris at all costs, especially in the region north of the Marne.(2) The means consists in a foot-by-foot defence of the territory in this direction, pursued with the utmost energy.(3) To accomplish this, it is essential that orders be drawn up prescribing exactly what the troops must do, and see that these orders are strictly carried out, by removing any commanding officer who shows signs of weakness.(4) All the Allied troops are oriented in the same direction, and they will be put into the battle as resources in transportation become available." ((3), more)
"The 7th Machine-gun Battalion held the Germans at bay, and gradually the attack died down. Meanwhile the 4th Infantry regiment relieved the French in the town of Château-Thierry. On June 3, the 9th Machine-gun Battalion of the 3rd Division relieved the 7th Machine-gun Battalion and on leaving the town for its short rest, the latter unit was given the highest praise by the French in orders:"The episode of Château-Thierry will remain one of the most remarkable deeds of this war. It is a pleasure for us all to know that our valiant allies have shared with us there."Contrary to popular belief, there was no gap in the line at Château-Thierry as there had been after March 21 in front of Amiens. The French lines were intact and the German drive had reached its limit." ((4), more)
"— On the 27th May, on the bridges across the Aisne, for whose destruction no orders were ever issued, German and French soldiers were crossing over side by side. The fact was that the Germans had been ordered to reach their objectives without stopping to make prisoners.— The 4th. A shell from the super-gun fell in the Rue des Gravilliers on some children coming out of school.— The 4th. Clemenceau has secured the adjournment sine die of a question on the military situation. Difficult and stormy sitting. He was tired. He referred to Foch as falling asleep over his map. There were 370 votes against 110." ((5), more)
(1) Beginning of a British press dispatch of June 5, 1918 on the fighting at Château-Thierry during the German Aisne Offensive. The defenders prevented German forces from crossing the Marne River, blowing the big bridge referred to. Three days earlier American troops working in unison with a French tank brigade and a platoon of French flame throwers had captured the village of Cantigny, and held it against repeated German counter-attacks. The action at Château-Thierry was critical in holding the line of the Marne.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, p. 196, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(2) Excerpt from 'Day 6. June 1.' the brief closing section of the account of the Aisne Offensive, the Third German Drive of 1918, by Major-General A. D. von Unruh, Chief of the General Staff, 4th Reserve Corps (Corps von Conta). German commander Erich Ludendorff made his bid for victory with repeated offensives in 1918. Unruh had faced four British divisions that had been devastated in Operations Michael and Georgette in March and April had been moved into what was expected to be a quiet sector, one held by the French. The offensive, successful in its advance, and in ground gained, created a salient that reached the Marne River from a base between Soissons and Reims. The Corps von Conta faced the Americans and French Colonial troops who held Château Thierry, a town that straddled the Marne.
The Last of the Ebb: the Battle of the Aisne, 1918 by Sidney Rogerson, page 146, copyright © Sidney Rogerson, 1937, publisher: Frontline Books, publication date: 2011
(3) Note from Allied Commander-in-Chief Ferdinand Foch to French General Henri Philippe Pétain after their meeting of June 2, 1918, and after the German advance of the Aisne Offensive. Foch adds that he added item (4) 'in order to restore confidence,' and that he 'took important steps to carry out this promise.'
The Memoirs of Marshal Foch, translated by Col. T. Bentley Mott by Ferdinand Foch, pp. 298–299, copyright © 1931 by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., publisher: Doubleday, Doran & Co., publication date: 1931
(4) American machine gunners and French colonials held the town of Château-Thierry on May 31, 1918 during the German Aisne Offensive, the third German offensive of 1918. The defenders prevented German forces from crossing the Marne River, blowing the bridge over it. The first German offensive, Operation Michael, had been launched on March 21 against British forces which, though driven back, held Amiens.
The History of The A.E.F. by Shipley Thomas, page 90, copyright © 1920, by George H. Doran Company, publisher: George H. Doran Company, publication date: 1920
(5) Entries for June 4, 1918 from the diary of Michel Corday, a senior civil servant in the French government writing in Paris. The German advance in Operation Michael in March 1918 put the French capital within range of 'the Paris gun,' a new weapon that could throw a shell into the stratosphere before its violent end. On May 27, the Germans launched the Aisne Offensive, which quickly crossed that river, and advanced on Paris, reaching the Marne River and within 50 miles of the city before being stopped. Some French politicians demanded the sacking of Allied Commander in Chief Ferdinand Foch and French Army Commander Henri Philippe Pétain, a move blocked by Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau. By securing the adjournment sine die, Clemenceau had ensured there was no specification of when the subject of the command of the Army would again be addressed.
The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, page 351, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934
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