WWI US British French Army 1918 Battle of Aisne Marne Campaign History Book

Description

This is a reprint of the classic 1919 Book by the Michelin Company. It is in an 8 ½ x 11 staple bound format with 180 Pages.
The First World War touched the lives of many thousands of people at the time around the world, both on the fighting fronts and on the home front. Many people from France, Belgium, the United States, and the Great Britain wanted to journey to the battle fields to see, and experience, where their beloved soldiers had seen and sacrificed so much.
Michelin came up with the idea of providing tours of the battlefields along with complimentary souvenir history books on the battle and of the tour. Provides fascinating insight into the battle, the towns, and the region before and after the battle.
A great read!
The battle began on 15 July 1918 when 23 German divisions of the First and Third armies—led by Bruno von Mudra and Karl von Einem—assaulted the French Fourth Army under Henri Gouraud east of Reims (the Fourth Battle of Champagne (French: 4e Bataille de Champagne). The U.S. 42nd Division was attached to the French Fourth Army. Meanwhile, 17 divisions of the German Seventh Army, under Max von Boehn, aided by the Ninth Army under Johannes von Eben, attacked the French Sixth Army led by Jean Degoutte to the west of Reims (the Battle of the Mountain of Reims (French: Bataille de la Montagne de Reims)). Ludendorff hoped to split the French in two.
East of Reims the French Fourth Army had prepared a defense in depth to counter an intense bombardment and infiltrating infantry. Their main line of resistance was four to five km behind the front, beyond the range of the enemy field guns, it was a continuous trench line — to prevent infiltration— dug on a reverse slope so it could not be overlooked by enemy artillery observers on the ground. Between the front and the main line of resistance were two lines of strong points, again mostly on reverse slopes. The French gun line behind the front was lightly manned, but the remaining guns fired frequently, so the Germans did not detect its weakness from rate of firing, although aerial observers did spot a concentration of field guns behind the main line of resistance. German offensive tactics stressed surprise, but French intelligence based on aerial observation gave clear warning and from twenty-seven prisoners taken in a trench raid they learned the hour for the attack.
This was the last major effort of the war by the German Army to go on the offensive.