July 18-21: Allied Counter-Offensive Begins
French General Ferdinand Foch, the Allied Supreme Commander, took advantage of the German failure at Reims. Uniting French, British, American and Italian forces, Foch planned a surprise counter-offensive on 18 July. Allies attacked from the east, west and south of the Marne salient in order to push the Germans out. Using aircraft, tanks and ground troops, they inflicted high casualties on the Germans. On the first day alone, Allies captured 20,000 prisoners, a number surpassing the 17,000 German prisoners taken at Amiens on August 8, which Ludendorff considered to be a "black day" for the Germans.
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July 19:
American units south of Soissons start meeting fierce resistance. The German air force commands the air.
BATTLEFIELD MESSAGE: |
July 20:Germans order a retreat back across the Marne.
"We are retreating. We won't be able to attack again after this massive offensive. We have no more men and no more ammunition. But the campaign goes on--the dying continues..." from Erich, Remarque, All's Quiet on the Western Front, quoting the main character's thoughts in mid-1918. "Impossible for me to describe the doings of these terrible days. Dead, dead, and more dead. I will probably be the next....Allies are going on but paying a price" American soldier" (American soldier, as in Neiberg, 138)
July 21:Château-Thierry retaken by Allied forces. Germans retreat to the Ourcq River
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"The night of July 24, the regiments camped in the woods along the Marne and the men had their first experience with enemy airplane night-raiders. Certain units of the Pennsylvania regiments had been sent out to guard bridges across the river, and at about 3:00 am the Germans attempted to bomb and destroy these bridges, in order further to retard the advance of our troops. However, the air defense was too quick for them and the Boche fled before the air barrage put up by our big guns" (An American soldier)
July 25: 778 Americans gassedJuly 26: Germans withdraw to north of Orecq |
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"August 1 and 2, the Pennsylvanians were relieved and dropped back to rest for two days. The men were nervous and 'fidgety,' to quote one of the officers, for the first time since their innaugural “bath of steel” south of the Marne. Both nights they were supposed to be resting they were shelled and bombed from the air continuously. Both days they were put in at the 'camions sanitaire,' or 'delousing machines,' where each man got a hot bath and had his clothes thoroughly disinfected and cleaned. There was evidently 'reason” 'n large number why the men were 'fidgety.'"
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