Soissons: Through the wheat

In July of 1918, Allied forces began to prepare for a large offensive that would hopefully push back the German army and bring an end to the war. The Aisne-Marne campaign focused on attacking the Marne salient, a large area in northeastern France held by German forces since the spring of the same year. Stretching from the city of Soissons in the west to the town of Reims in the East, and the Aisne River in the north to the Vesle River in the south, the Marne salient was a key German offensive, and defensive, position. Most of the German attention in the salient was concentrated near Soissons, located about 50 miles northeast of Paris and positioned along a key road which lead right into the French capital. The Paris-Soissons and the Soissons-Chateau-Thierry roads were vital lifelines for the German soldiers in the Marne salient. Cutting both was the primary goal of the Allied forces, disrupting German logistics and aiding future offensives.

General Beaumont Buck of the First Division noted that the disruption of these “German lines of supply and communication . . . would doubtless force the Germans to withdraw from the salient.” Although having proved itself at Cantigny, the First Division was not given independent command for the battle. The French Tenth Army was assigned to deliver the main attack. Assigned to the Tenth Army was the French XX Corps, which included the 1st Division and 2nd American Divisions and the French 1st Moroccan Division. As part of XX Corps, the First Division’s mission would be to fight east, towards Reims (about 9 kilometers away), and cut the Soissons to Paris road and railroad and the Soissons to Chateau-Thierry road and railroad. It would take the Division four days of hard fighting to accomplish this.

On the night of July 17th, just hours before the beginning of the battle, the First Division marched to its jumping-off point south of Soissons. The march to the front was difficult in the dark and hampered by the arrival of a sudden rain storm. The roads were turned into muddy quagmires, causing Major Joseph Patch of the 26th Inf. to describe the scene as a nightmare, with “every kind of man, animal, and vehicle struggling to get through.” At 0100 hours, two hours late, the Division reached its position and waited for the signal to attack.

Day 1

At 0435 on July 18th, the men of the First Division went over the top, advancing rapidly through waist high wheat behind a rolling barrage towards the Paris-Soissons road.

Shortly after advancing, the 2nd Brigade’s momentum was halted by fortified German forces located along the Missy Ravine to the southeast of Soissons. General Buck defined Missy Ravine as a “nasty, miry, brush-tangled stream . . . fortified with gun emplacements, machine gun nests, and wire entanglements.” Missy ravine was well defended due to its location alongside the Paris-Soissons road. Any attempt to control the road and cut German supply lines running along it would have to first neutralize the threat posed by ravine. After incredible losses in the ravine, the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade pushed through the ravine’s east side to the Paris-Soissons road. During the 2nd Brigade’s ordeal at Missy ravine, the 1st Brigade had pushed past the Paris-Soissons road to the south and, although facing flanking fire to its left due to the 2nd Brigade’s slow advancement, managed to seize the village of Missy-aux-Bois by the end of the day.

Day 2

Advancing behind a rolling barrage in the early morning on July 19th, both the 1st and 2nd Brigades moved forward about a kilometer, with the 1st Brigade lagging slightly behind. At 1730, both Brigades had advanced a full two kilometers and ended the day in a much stronger position than that held the day before. Berzy-le-Sec was reassigned to the First Division’s exhausted 2nd Brigade that night. Capturing the town meant controlling the Soissons-Chateau-Thierry road and railway and moving victory ever closer for the Allied forces. The 1st Brigade was assigned the task of crossing Chazelle Ravine and the Crise River in order to take control of Buzancy and also command the Soissons-Chateau-Thierry road.

Day 3

Soldiers of the 1st Brigade pushed forward at 0445 on the morning of the 20th behind a rolling barrage and managed to capture Buzancy. Meanwhile, the 2nd Brigade, still facing staunch German resistance, received aid from American artillery which pounded Berzy-le-Sec for nearly three hours. Following the artillery barrage, the men of the 2nd Brigade swept forward in three waves beside their French allies and captured the town at 0915. With the Division’s two Brigades having reached their objectives, the Soissons to Chateau-Thierry road and railroad was now in Allied possession.

Day 4

At midnight on July 22nd-23rd, the 15th Royal Scots Division relieved the First Division and took over its sector with the support of the Division’s artillery. When the Division reassembled at the rear, the brutality and cost of the battle became immediately apparent. The men were so exhausted that one had to “shake them to get their attention,” wrote General Buck. “Battalions looked like companies, companies like squads. Some companies were commanded by corporals or privates.” Despite heavy casualties, “some 3,500 [German] prisoners and 68 field guns” were taken, the men of the Division had mauled “7 German divisions,” and, most importantly, control of the Paris-Soissons and Soissons-Chateau-Thierry roads and railroads had been taken away from German forces.

Allied victory in the Marne salient meant a major German loss of land and marked a turning point in World War I. Allied soldiers now had the German army on the defensive and were in a strong position to make a final push to end the war. After its defeat at Soissons and the loss of the Marne salient, German command (including Kaiser Wilhelm) thought the war was over. A seized German 7th army report summed up the fears of the German command in stating that “the 18th of July constitutes a turning point in the history of the World War.” The A.E.F. and the First Division contributed greatly to this “turning point” and proved once again that the American fighting force could hold its own on the battlefields of Europe. General Charles Mangin, C.O. of the French Tenth Army, commended American troops for their bravery and skill in an address made on July 30th. “Your magnificent courage completely routed a surprised enemy,” General Mangin said, “and your indomitable tenacity checked the counter-attacks of his fresh divisions. . . . I am proud to have commanded you . . . and to have fought with you for the deliverance of the world.”