The 4G Blog

<– Part 209 – July 21, 1918 | Part 210 – July 28, 1918 | Part 211 – August 4, 1918

Gefreiter Hitler seated far right

Fighting ended at Soissons on July 22, with a decisive victory for the Allies on the Western Front. One German soldier, a Gefreiter Hitler, received the Iron Cross First Class, a rare honor for someone of his low rank (the equivalent of a US Private E-2). The Germans suffered 168,000 casualties (57,000 dead), and the Allies 107,000 (32,000 dead).

Elsewhere at the Second Marne, the Germans reached their defensive positions, and the Allies spent the week in costly attacks with minimal success.

<– Part 208 – July 14, 1918 | Part 209 – July 21, 1918 | Part 210 – July 28, 1918

Attack on the Marne

The final phase of Germany’s Spring Offensive, the second battle of Marne, began July 15. 52 German divisions attacked 58 Allied divisions along the Marne River near Paris. The artillery barrage to commence was scheduled for 12:10 am, but French aerial reconnaissance spotted the massing troops and began firing at 11:30pm, disrupting and unsettling the attackers. The eastern part of the front saw the French forward trenches nearly empty, and the German artillery hit no one; the German creeping barrage then outpaced the infantry as they encountered the main French line and were stopped, unable to advance further. To the west, much heavier artillery and poison gas fell for 3 hours before the German stormtroopers swam, waded, and boated across, taking a bridgehead. One US infantry regiment, the 38th, led by Ulysses G. McAlexander, held so strongly that both the commander and unit are now called the “Rock of the Marne,” as they not only held but also counterattacked. Nonetheless, despite the German bridgehead, this flank received nearly 100,000 reinforcements, stalling the German advance by July 17.

The Allies, led by Ferdinand Foch, had planned an attack on the 18th, as Foch had spotted weaknesses in the German lines. False plans were put into a suitcase, handcuffed to a soldier dead of pneumonia, who was placed in a jeep and run off the road near a German-held bridge. The plans were recovered by the Germans who prepared for the attack – leaving their weak points now even weaker when hit by surprise at 0445 that morning, as no artillery barrage preceded the attack, but instead, a rolling barrage began precisely at the Allies went over the top. The Allies took heavy casualties (including the Italian Corps losing 9,300 of 24,000 men), but by July 20 the Germans began to retreat. Floyd Gibbons, an American reporter with the US troops, remarked of the fresh American Expeditionary Force soldiers that “I never saw men charge to their death with finer spirit.” The lines intermingled, leading some American troops to find themselves technically behind enemy lines at Château-Thierry (where the Allies lost 1,900 to the German 5,300), but were able to reunite with other units and push the Germans back. The Allies haved seized the advantage, finally, on the Western front.

On July 17, fearing the nearby Czechoslovak legion and other loyalist troops, former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, and children were awakened early in the morning and told they were being moved to a new location. They were taken to the basement and told to wait for the truck. Bolsheviks entered and told them that the soviet had ordered their immediate execution. Nicholas, facing his family, turned, saying “What? What?” before the Bolsheviks opened fire, filling the room with such smoke that none could see. The neighbors were awakened, and the commander ordered them to finish the execution with bayonets and clubs. When the smoke cleared, only the Tsar and his wife were dead, and only one child injured. The children were bayonetted, clubbed, and shot at close-range. The entire execution took nearly 20 minutes, as many of the guards were drunk and poor shots. The bodies were disposed of in a mine after being stripped, molested, and disfigured with acid.

On July 19, Honduras declared war on Germany.

On July 21, SM U-156 surfaced near Orleans, Massachusetts, and opened fire on a nearby tug boat, damaging it and sinking 4 barges. It then began to shell the town, though most landed on the beach and nearby (empty) land. A boat with the United States Life-Saving Service rowed out under fire and rescued 32 sailors from the tug boat, before 9 seaplanes flew out and began to dive-bomb the sub, forcing it to withdraw. Additional counter-fire was provided by an angry civilian who fired on the sub from shore with a double-barrel shotgun. No casualties were reported. This marks the first time that US soil was attacked by foreign artillery since the siege of Fort Texas in 1846, and to-date is the only area to be attacked at all by the Central Powers. Additionally, this is the only time in US history [including to now, 2018] that US planes engaged an enemy ship in the western Atlantic.

In Persia, the British Army has captured large amounts of Mesopotamia and are preparing refugee camps for the Assyrians and Armenians. In Africa, members of the Zaian tribe killed a French translator, prompting public calls for retaliaion.

<– Part 207 – July 7, 1918 | Part 208 – July 14, 1918 | Part 209 – July 21, 1918

On July 12, Haiti declared war on the German Empire.

British Empire forces on the Jordan came under attack Sunday, July 14, at Abu Tellu. British observation posts along the front are spread very thin, yet strongly-held; British commanders view them as able to hold out for quite a while, even if surrounded, but unlikely to stop a concentrated assault. Temperatures have been increasing all week, with shade temperatures recorded at 115 Fahrenheit. Since 1am, troop movements have been heard. The first attack came at 03:30 on the western part of the front at Abu Tellu. The regimental commander in that sector had just moved his headquarters back, barely escaping capture. He observed large numbers of soldiers approaching him and assumed they were from the British outer posts pulling back until they began cutting the wire, prompting his 12 men to open fire. The German attacks on the eastern area have cut off many posts from all communication, yet the posts have held, even when surrounded, except for two that pulled back, and one that had all defenders killed. Yet the Ottomans on the German flanks have been unable to provide support, and the Germans find themselves in a crossfire from all directions, including the posts they had bypassed earlier. On the right flank of the German attack, one Ottoman force scaled a cliff to attack a British post, but the officer, holding incendiary bombs, was shot, “burst into flames,” and provided light for the British to see and shoot his men.

British reinforcements arrived, and, coupled with pinpoint British artillery, prompted the Germans to surrender to smaller units; one Australian advancing force of 9 men captured 40 Germans, put them into the custody of 2 of their force, and then captured another 80 Germans with the remaining 7. By 0800, the majority of the front had been retaken, though some front posts suffered nearly 85% casualties, losing 17 of their 20 men. At the Wadi Mellaha, large enemy forces seen at dawn were attacked twice by elements of an Australian Light Horse regiment troop; an officer led 14 men with bombs to within 20 yards of 150 Germans, and each Australian took a prisoner. 2 hours later, the same officer led 20 men against Ottoman forces, attacking with bayonets and bombs. 3 of them were wounded, while they killed 25 Ottomans, wounded 30, captured 45, and forced the rest to retreat 1,000 yards. All told, the western bank of the Jordan saw 6.5 hours of heavy hand-to-hand fighting, and took 450 prisoners, while the Australians suffered 108 casualties.

On the eastern bank of the Jordan, large Ottoman cavalry movements were attacked by elements of the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade several times, spoiling the movements, killing many Ottomans with their lances, and taking many horses, while suffering 28 casualties over the course of the morning. Emboldened, other cavalry elements began crossing the Jordan and attacking in the early afternoon, pushing the Ottomans back and providing cover for machine guns to advance and force the Ottomans farther back.

All told, the Germans and Ottomans suffered 540 prisoners and 1,000 casualties, while the British suffered 189. Also on display is the German-Ottoman relations’ serious deterioration following Ensha Pasha’s attack on Russia in May, violating the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The Germans and Ottomans in field hospitals have to be separated on both sides to prevent fighting. The German see the Ottomans as sub-par and having let them down, while the Ottomans see the Germans as arrogant, and are envious of their being well-supplied. The Germans have good uniforms, boots, water, and medical supplies, while the Ottoman uniforms are falling apart, many have rags on their feet, and they are forced to forage for food and water. Also on display is the Australian cavalry’s abilities here; while British forces from other nations have proven themselves elsewhere, this victory by Australian cavalry, facing German stormtroopers for the first time on this front, has cemented their reputation as more than convicts and would-be soldiers.

<– Part 206 – June 30, 1918 | Part 207 – July 7, 1918 | Part 208 – July 14, 1918

American, Australian, and British troops the day before the battle

The concentrated artillery barrage, with German flares going up.

Following extensive planning and preparation by the commander of the Australian Corps, Lieutenant General John Monash, fighting at Hamel village began. The planning included two weeks of artillery barrages at the same time before dawn, getting the Germans “conditioned” to it, plans for medical supplies and ammunition to be dropped by planes, and tanks to be used for resupply. Other tanks, for the attack, have been painted colors for each battalion to help the infantry know which tank to follow. The plan calls for combined battalions of Australian, English, and American infantry, and the battle will begin July 4 out of deference to the Americans.

June 3, at 22:30, the British tanks began rolling to the front; engineers cut the wire for them while infantry marked tracks for the tank advance. At 3:02 a.m. on the 4th, the artillery opened fire with gas and artillery shells, as usual, prompting the Germans to enter the routine of putting on gas masks – limiting their visibility, maneuverability, and ability to communicate. The artillery also served to mask the sound of 60 tanks moving the last half mile to the front. The guns gradually shortened their range for the next 8 minutes to reach the start line, dropped smoke screens on the flanks, and pounded an area covering 200-600 yards from the infantry. The infantry rose en masse at 3:10 and advanced to within 75 yards of the artillery (some killed by shortfalls of shells), after which both began advancing together.

The Pear Trench, with dead German machinegunner in the center. The Allies advanced up, over, and down the hill to the right.

British RE8 plane plummeting to the ground after its engine was hit by a faulty shell

The center of the line was the “Pear Trench,” a German strong point. Artillery problems had failed to cut the wire, so the Australian troops were forced to do so while under fire from the German Maxim machine guns. High crops forced the Allied Lewis gunners to fire from the hip, suppressing German fire while sacrificing accuracy and suffering heavy casualties. The Australians were finally able to rush two German positions; another opened up on the flank, when Private Henry Dalziel charged with a revolver, killing the 2-man German crew and capturing another. Fighting became chaotic; some Germans attempted to surrender while others attack, so the call for no-quarter was given.

To the south, at the “Kidney Trench” (also named for its shape), the Australian commander and sergeant-major were killed. Lance-Corporal Thomas Axford led the attack with multiple grenades thrown, then stormed the German trench at bayonet point, killing 10 Germans and capturing 6 others, before the trench was finally taken. At the actual village of Hamel, the combined infantry/armor/artillery/planes proved effective as well. To the north, a feint attack succeeded in pulling German forces away from the main battle; it also captured parts of the German trench. The advance ended after 93 minutes, only 3 minutes longer than Monash’s calculations. Mopping-up operations had ended by 7am; British planes had taken pictures of the new front lines by 4:45am. The German counter-attack came the evening of July 5 at 10pm, forcing a gap of 200-yards between the Allies; an Allied counterattack four hours later with grenades and trench clubs pushed the shocked German troops back out. Altogether, the 7,000 Allies suffered 1,400 casualties, while the 5,600 German lost 2,000 killed, 1,600 captured.

“Jack” Axford, 1918

Henry Dalziel, with bandage visible under his hat, 1918

On July 6, US President Woodrow Wilson agreed to send 5,000 US troops to Siberia to assist the Russian Imperial government and provide relief to the Czechoslovak Legion. The US Navy is also conducting mining operations in the North Sea to hinder German submarine movements.

View west from the German trench towards Hamel and beyond. The German front line had originally been at the crest of the hill in the mid-distance; the trench in the foreground became 200-yards BEHIND the new front line after the battle (the front line is now behind the photographer)

<– Part 205 – June 23, 1918 | Part 206 – June 30, 1918 | Part 207 – July 7, 1918

On June 26, the US Marines at Belleau Woods finally captured the woods after six attacks, and in turn fought off 5 divisions of German counter-attackers, often reduced to bayonets and hand-to-hand fighting. The Marine commander’s report of the victory said simply, “Woods now U.S. Marine Corps entirely.” The Marines suffered 9,800 casualties, including 1,800 killed; German losses are unknown other than 1,600 prisoners. They have received high praise from the other Allied powers, including receiving the French Croix de guerre and praise from the Germans for their “vigorous, confident, skilled marksmen.”

In Persia, Armenian forces have attacked several Ottoman-held cities, but have been repulsed at each attempt.

<– Part 204 – June 16, 1918 | Part 205 – June 23, 1918 | Part 206 – June 30, 1918

Italian forces after the battle

At the Piave, Italian forces counter-attacked the weakened Austro-Hungarian flanks on June 19, further crushing the lines in that area. Westward, Austro-Hungarian forces continue assaulting the Italian lines, despite suffering heavy casualties ever time. On June 20, Emperor Karl, who had taken personal command of the forces, ordered their retreat; by the 23, the Italians had retaken all territory south of the river. Despite encouragement by the other Allied powers to press the advantage, the Italian general recognized that his strength on defense would become a weakness on the attack, as the Austro-Hungarian failure had shown.

In the Caucasus, the German Expedition continues advancing with the Turks’ Islamic Army of the Caucasus towards northwestern Persia.

<– Part 203 – June 9, 1918 | Part 204 – June 16, 1918 | Part 205 – June 23, 1918

Italian machine gun position near Cand, awaiting the expected Austro-Hungarian attack.

The morning of June 10 saw the US Marines at Belleau Wood advance north into the forest, facing intense opposition, while another battalion attack from the west the early morning of June 11. This battalion, advancing along the wrong axis, was caught in interlocking machine gun fire, but was able to roll the Germans’ southern trench. One German private, seeing three-quarters of his company wiped out, remarked, “We have Americans opposite us who are terribly reckless fellows.” The Americans have resorted to much hand-to-hand and bayonet combat.

At Matz, on June 11, the German Spring Offensive’s latest thrust was crushed by a sudden French counter-attack, catching them by surprise (as it had no preceding artillery bombardment). The German attack was called off the following day, despite advancing 10 miles along a 23-mile front. The Allies suffered 35,000 casualties to the Germans’ 35,000.

Another Czech government in Russia was formed on June 13, the Provisional Siberian Government, at Omsk.

In Italy, the past few months have seen innovations on both sides, and the Austro-Hungarians prepared to launch an attack across the entire front at the Piave River on June 15. However, the Italians, having learned the exact time of the Austrian attack, launched a huge artillery bombardment on the packed enemy trenches 30 minutes before the jumping off. Despite, this, Austrian forces on the Adriatic coast crossed the Piave and secured a bridgehead 5 miles deep and 15 miles wide, before being pushed back towards the river. Subsequent Italian artillery destroyed the bridges on Piave, leaving the Austrians isolated. This, coupled with the easy targets for Italian riflemen, led the Austrians to attempt to flee back across the river – a river so swollen with flooding that an estimated 20,000 Austro-Hungarians drowned attempting to swim back. Just west of this, Austrian forces towards Vicenza made some advances, but also were halted by Italian resistance, losing 40,000 in that sector. The Austrian attack seems doomed to fail.

The German Caucasus Expedition arrived at Tiflis, Georgia, June 10, holding a military parade, and rallying recently-released German prisoners from Russia, with colonists who had settled the area in the mid-19th century. The Turks responsed with an attack on Vorontsovka, with the Germans threatening a complete withdrawal of their forces from the empire. The Ottoman force in Persia defeated Armenian resistance near Dilman June 15, though the overall Turkish thrust must now shift from north to northeast.

<– Part 202 – June 2, 1918 | Part 203 – June 9, 1918 | Part 204 – June 16, 1918

Belleau Wood, June 6

Ernest A. Janson

A US tanker, the Herbert L. Pratt, was damaged by a mine laid by U-151, on June 3.

With the Ottoman forces still within striking range of their capital, the Treaty of Batum was signed June 4 between the Turks and the First Republic of Armenia, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Georgia. The Ottomans received several areas of free passage, allowing railroads to be built between strategic areas. Germany, meanwhile, has dispatched an Expedition to the Caucasus to secure oil wells from falling into the hands of either Russia or the Turks.

Germans forces were within 35 miles of Paris on June 3, but fatigue, lack of reinforcements, and supply issues forced them to halt their advance June 6, having suffered 130,000 casualties to the Allies’ 127,000. On June 9, yet another massive offensive, “Gneisenau,” was launched at Matz, but the Allies were ready, having learned of it from German prisoners. The Germans, nonetheless, show signs of rapid advancement in the south.

At Belleau Wood, the US Marines were attacked June 3 but waited until the Germans were within 100 yards to open fire, cutting down multiple waves of enemy soldiers and forcing them to retreat and try again. The Marines have repelled numerous German attacks for several days. The Allies counter-attacked June 6, and, despite failing to adequately scout, and advancing by bayonet across an open field, taking horrific casualties from German machine guns, the Marines took their target – Hill 142 – and have held it. In a counter-attack by the Germans, one Gunnery Sergeant, Ernest A. Janson, spotted 12 Germans crawling towards his position, five of whom had light machine guns. Shouting a warning to his group, he charged them, bayonetted the two officers, and forced the rest to abandon their weapons and flee. He has been nominated for two Medals of Honor – one each by the Army and Navy – making him the first Marine to receive it.

Daniel Daly

The Black Watch in trenches at Arsuf after the fighting

That evening, the Marines were ordered to take the Belleau Wood in the second phase of the attack. Again crossing through an open field, swept by machine gun fire, Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly, a two-time Medal of Honor recipient for actions in the China Relief in 1901, and the US Invasion of Haiti in 1915, shouted to his men, “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” Despite again taking heavy casualties – the most in Marine history – they took their position on the south of the wood.
By the night of June 7/8, both sides were exhausted, and attacks had failed. To break the German defense in the wood, a massive artillery bombardment on the woods devasted the forest.

On June 8, in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, British forces took two observation hills at Arsuf from the Ottomans, repelling two counter-attacks, thus providing the Allies with an observation post to see the Turkish rear, and denying the Turks the same.

In Persia, the Ottoman forces recaptured Tabriz. The rebelling Czechoslovak Legion continues occupying Russian cities, defeating Red Guards near Samara, and forming an anti-Bolshevik government there on June 8.

<– Part 201 – May 26, 1918 | Part 202 – June 2, 1918 | Part 203 – June 9, 1918

Battle of Cantigny

Soldiers of the Worcestershire Regiment on the south bank of the Aisne, May 27

The Armenians have scored a stunning victory against the Ottoman Empire. At Sardarabad, an Armenian force flanked the entrenched Turks May 27 and attacked them from the rear, forcing a full rout by May 29. This was matched with a similar Ottoman withdrawal at Abaran the same day, and a victory at Karakilisa May 28 (although Ottoman forces were able to enter the town and massacre all 4,000 inhabitants). The Armenian National Council declared the independence of the first Republic of Armenia on May 30 (retroactively dated to May 28).

German forces launched an enormous offensive at Aisne, the third of the war, on May 27, with an artillery bombardment from over 4,000 guns. The British had heavy losses, as reluctance to evacuate the target of the bombardment, the Chemin des Dames Ridge (held by Germany from 1914-1917), was captured last year in the 2nd Battle of the Aisne. The forces were ordered to huddle in the forward trenches. This was followed by a poison gas drop, and then 17 Strumtruppen divisions attacked as soon as the gas lifted. They advanced 25 miles in less than 6 hours, reaching the river Aisne, surprising rear forces, and taking another 9 miles in certain sectors by the end of the day. By May 30, they had captured 50,000 Allied soldiers, and are nearly 40 miles from Paris today.

Positions at the 2nd Battle of the Marne. Belleau Wood is in the south-west quadrant.

May 28 saw American forces’ first major battle, at Cantigny. the U.S. 28th Regiment, 1st Division launched out of their trenches at 06:45, following an hour of artillery bombardment on a small German salient, with a rolling barrage of 100 meters every 2 minutes suppressing German defenders. French forces provided much-needed air support, artillery, mortars, tanks, and flamethrowers. The American forces took their objectives within a half hour and continued to their final objective from there. A German counterattack at 8:30 was stopped, but German artillery harried them all day. A large German counterattack at 17:10 was halted by Major Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and other counterattacks the following hours and days similarly repulsed. The German salient was reduced, and the American front advanced a mile. The American suffered 1,603 casualties (199 killed) in their force of 4,000, with the Germans suffering 1,400, with another 250 captured. The Americans have proven their worth in Europe.

In Greece, the newly-formed Army of National Defense saw its first action at Skra on May 30. After a day’s artillery bombardment, Allied forces took the town from Bulgarians, and held it from that evening through May 31. The Allied suffered 2,800 casualties to the Bulgarians’ 600 killed, 2,300 POW (with wounded).

On the Western Front, the advancing Germans pierced Allied lines June 1 just to the left of the U.S. 2nd and 3rd Divisions, at Belleau Wood. It was plugged by a forced-march of U.S. Marines through the night of June 1/2, who, despite French orders to dig trenches in the rear, instead were ordered by the American General to “hold where you stand.” The Marines thus have dug shallow positions, allowing them to fight prone with fixed bayonets as needed.

June 2 – “Black Sunday” – the German sub U-151 sunk six US ships and damaged two others off the coast of New Jersey. Around a dozen sailors have died, the result of a capsized lifeboat.

<– Part 200 – May 19, 1918 | Part 201 – May 26, 1918 | Part 202 – June 2, 1918

On May 23, Costa Rica declared war on Germany.

The telegraph cable connecting New York and Nova Scotia was cut May 21, and May 25 saw three US schooners off the coast of Virginia stopped, crews imprisoned, and ships sunk by the German sub U-151, which remains at large.

Ottoman forces have invaded the Russian Transcaucasus along three axes, each having 10-15,000 soldiers, drawing protests from Germany as a violation of last December’s armistice. The Ottomans goal, besides taking the valuable oilwells of the region, includes eliminating the last area of Armenian territory, which has seen hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians enter following the Ottoman elimination and genocide of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire’s own territory. Due to the Russian Army’s evacuating the area, a native Armenian army has been formed, and the area is seen as the Armenian’s last stand. Church bells rang for six days, calling all able-bodied men to muster, and others, including children, have volunteered to carry supplies. A minor skirmish towards Sardarabad May 20 saw the Turks brush aside an Armenian unit, with another victory against an Armenian force of 600 infantry and 250 cavalry on May 21. The Armenian 5th Regiment was orered to conduct guerilla operations against the advancing Turks, and were successful on May 22 at halting the Turkish advance at the Araks River, and have been opposing the Turks since, though they have since entrenched along the mountain heights, and have been in near-constant contact since.

An additional force attacked May 21 towards Yerevan, but following three days of intense fighting with an Armenian force half their size, the Armenians counter-attacked on May 25 and have begun pushing the Ottomans back.

The final prong of the Ottoman attack, facing no opposition at first, has finally encountered Armenian resistance mustered from the nearby population centers on May 25 near Karakilisa, and has been engaged in brutal fighting for several days.