The Somme

[jmm99]

Ten American divisions trained (or were scheduled to train) under British supervision before Pershing pulled the plug on most of them. The American II Corps (27th and 30th Inf. Divs.; both National Guard units) remained under British Imperial commands at Ypres and Bellicourt (breaking the Hindenburg Line). The Rawlinson-Monash plan at Bellicourt worked out badly for the 27th (which was decimated), but well for the 30th.

The latter lucked out because of a dense fog, some decent improvised orders (esp. for the 117th Inf. Reg., which switched from the 30th's far north reserve to its far south attacking force), and good arty and mopping up tactics; but more because of the spectacular success of the 46th British to the 30th's south. The 46th's crossing of the canal allowed the 117th Inf. Reg. of the 30th to link up with the 46th on both sides of the canal. Thus, the 117th gained the handle "Breakthrough", which it carried into WWII (where the ETO historians rated the 30th as the best US infantry division).

Refs:

Yockelson, Borrowed Soldiers: Americans under British Command, 1918 (2008):

The combined British Expeditionary Force and American II Corps successfully pierced the Hindenburg Line during the Hundred Days Campaign of World War I, an offensive that hastened the war’s end. Yet despite the importance of this effort, the training and operation of II Corps has received scant attention from historians.

Mitchell A. Yockelson delivers a comprehensive study of the first time American and British soldiers fought together as a coalition force—more than twenty years before D-Day. He follows the two divisions that comprised II Corps, the 27th and 30th, from the training camps of South Carolina to the bloody battlefields of Europe. Despite cultural differences, General Pershing’s misgivings, and the contrast between American eagerness and British exhaustion, the untested Yanks benefited from the experience of battle-toughened Tommies. Their combined forces contributed much to the Allied victory.

Yockelson plumbs new archival sources, including letters and diaries of American, Australian, and British soldiers to examine how two forces of differing organization and attitude merged command relationships and operations. Emphasizing tactical cooperation and training, he details II Corps’ performance in Flanders during the Ypres-Lys offensive, the assault on the Hindenburg Line, and the decisive battle of the Selle.

Featuring thirty-nine evocative photographs and nine maps, this account shows how the British and American military relationship evolved both strategically and politically. A case study of coalition warfare, Borrowed Soldiers adds significantly to our understanding of the Great War.

Blair, The Battle of the Bellicourt Tunnel: Tommies, Diggers and Doughboys on the Hindenburg Line, 1918 (2011):

In November 1918 the BEF under Field Marshal Haig fought a series of victorious battles on the Western Front that contributed mightily to the German army's defeat. They did so as part of a coalition and the role of Australian 'diggers' and US 'doughboys' is often forgotten. The Bellicourt Tunnel attack, fought in the fading autumn light, was very much an inter-Allied affair and marked a unique moment in the Allied armies' endeavors. It was the first time that such a large cohort of Americans had fought in a British army. Additionally, untried American II Corps and experienced Australian Corps were to spearhead the attack under the command of Lieutenant General Sir John Monash with British divisions adopting supporting roles on the flanks.

Blair forensically details the fighting and the largely forgotten desperate German defense. Although celebrated as a marvelous feat of breaking the Hindenburg Line, the American attack failed generally to achieve its set objectives and it took the Australians three days of bitter fighting to reach theirs. Blair rejects the conventional explanation of the US 'mop up' failure and points the finger of blame at Rawlinson, Haig and Monash for expecting too much of the raw US troops, singling out the Australian Corps commander for particular criticism.

Overall, Blair judges the fighting a draw. At the end, like two boxers, the Australian-American force was gasping for breath and the Germans, badly battered, backpedalling to remain on balance. Overall the day was calamitous for the German army, even if the clean break-through that Haig had hoped for did not occur. Forced out of the Hindenburg Line, the prognosis for the German army on the Western Front - and hence Imperial Germany itself - was bleak indeed.

Regards

Mike