https://www.loc.gov/resource/20001931/1919-03-21/ed-1/?dl=all&sp=1&st=gallery
The Stars and Stripes newsletter was founded during the period around World War I by American General John J. Pershing, and it functioned to “[document] the experience of American soldiers during wartime”[1], and thus boost morale and promote unity within the American Expeditionary Forces. For this specific newsletter, enlisted men and several career journalists had the responsibility of writing, editing, and illustrating war effort-related topics in occupied France for other enlisted soldiers and their families.
This entry in the Stars and Stripes Newsletter, entitled “Bitter Fighting After First Rush of Argonne Drive”, is an informative text which recounts the timeline of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, a battle that took place between September 26 and November 11, 1918. This battle was one of the attacks that brought an end to World War I and involved over a million American soldiers[2]. Some important historical contexts must be considered; Before the entry of the United States into World War I, the Allies (France and Great Britain) were locked in a stalemate with the German army[3]. The Meuse-Argonne offensive was an attempt at utilizing French and newly joined American forces to break through the Western Front.
This historical source recounts the great barrage of death that the AEF encountered upon their arrival at Meuse-Argonne. The 37th and 91st divisions of the AEF advanced through the trenches and across No Man’s Land, only to be met with an array of machine guns and German resistance. Throughout the battle, the distribution of arms was difficult, as there were too few horses, and therefore a limited ability to advance munitions into more tactical positions.[4] Dead and wounded soldiers were dotted across the battlefield, and medics could not keep up with the bodies; Sergeant William F. Triplett of the 35th Division of the 140th Infantry recounted, “Fellows you know [are] saying, ‘Try to get a stretcher for me,’. . . [but] the stretcher men are two or three days behind their schedule right now”[5]
Furthermore, the author speaks of a “savage fight” in the Wilderness, where American and French forces led a surprise attack on the German army, causing a scramble for reinforcements on the German front. The author has several other instances where they utilize certain vocabulary to paint a picture of the battle being fought. Not only do they speak of a “savage fight”, but they use words and phrases such as “terrific gunfire”, “put down”, and “beaten”. These words have strong negative and violent connotations; “Terrific” evokes an image of vast, immense chaos and power, which highlights the intensity and sheer scale of the offensive on both fronts. “Put down” and “beaten” evoke similar violent images, mostly having to do with forceful military action. Despite these challenges, the entry speaks of hope, positivity, and victory. Although allied soldiers were injured and exhausted, the author speaks not of demoralization, but resilience amidst heavy counter-threats. Ultimately, the author’s word choice provides context into the morale of soldiers within the offensive and sheds light on the vast scale of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. While it was clear that casualties were heavy, it took months and eventually years before more precise numbers were released. In infantry brigades, the death toll was as great as 50%[6].
[1] “Stars and Stripes: The American Soldiers’ Newspaper of World War I, 1918 to 1919,” Library of Congress, LOC.gov, November 13, 2023, https://www.loc.gov/collections/stars-and-stripes/about-this-collection/
[2] “The Meuse-Argonne Offensive,” National Archives, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, April 4, 2023, https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww1/meuse-argonne.
[3] David E. Shi “America: A Narrative History (Brief Twelfth Edition) (Vol. 2). 12th ed., (W.W. Norton and Company, 2022), 907.
[4] Paul Strong and Sanders Marble, Artillery in the Great War, (Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military, 2011), 107.
[5] James H. Hallas, Doughboy War: The American Expeditionary Force in World War I. (Stackpole Books, 2009), 251.
[6] Robert H. Ferrell. Collapse at Meuse-Argonne : The Failure of the Missouri-Kansas Division. (Columbia: University of Missouri), 2004. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=e900xww&AN=122126&site=eds-live.service-sgp-sgpbatches-batch_dlc_argonne_ver03-data-20001931-print-1919032101-0007pg1 service-sgp-sgpbatches-batch_dlc_argonne_ver03-data-20001931-print-1919032101-0007