The Battle of St. Mihiel
September 12th-15th, 1918
By September 1918, the salient of trenches around St. Mihiel was controlled by the Germans and was chosen by the Americans as a place to launch their first major offensive(besides their minor Cantigny Offensive launched in May). American Expeditionary Force (AEF) commander John Pershing prepared for the major U.S. offensive by sending 300,000 troops to the St. Milhiel front in early September. With the Germans all across the Western Front retreating closer to the Hindenburg Line, the German troops at St. Mihiel (who knew that an American Offensive that was going to happen soon) partially withdrawled from the area. While the Germans were still withdrawling troops from the salient, the Americans launched their offensive aided by 110,000 French troops and over 1,400 airplanes commanded by General William Mitchell. The U.S. offensive was proven to be quite successfull with a successfull break through German lines, the capture of the entire St. Mihiel area, and the French capture of the village of Dommartin all by September 16th. On the first day alone, the Americans advanced 14 miles reaching Thiancourt.
The Germans suffered 5,000 casualities along with having 15,000 troops being taken as prisoners by the AEF. The Americans suffered 7,000 casualities but were still able to capture the St. Mihiel salient feeding momentum to the U.S. troops.
The Germans suffered 5,000 casualities along with having 15,000 troops being taken as prisoners by the AEF. The Americans suffered 7,000 casualities but were still able to capture the St. Mihiel salient feeding momentum to the U.S. troops.