The Battle of Saint-Mihiel occurred between September 12 and 15, 1918, in and around the town of Saint-Mihiel, France, nearly two hundred miles east of Paris. It became the only American led offensive in World War I. US General John J. Pershing pressured French General Ferdinand Foch to give American forces responsibility over this sector. Pershing wanted American troops to show their abilities; he did not want US forces to operate as components of the integrated Allied forces, under the command of seasoned French and British senior officers. He hoped the Saint-Mihiel operation would penetrate German defenses and capture the strategic city of Metz, near the German border. The battle resulted in an American victory, even if it did not reach Metz. Foch’s desire to begin what became the war’s final push, meant that the Allied leadership rerouted US forces for the final battle of the war. Captain George Marshall, responsible for logistics, managed an incredibly complex shift of men and material in just about a dozen days so US forces could start the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the US sector of the final battle, on September 26, 1918.
The US Army Air Service played a critical role in the battle’s outcome, pivoting victory towards the Allies with its use of close air support and the denial of Central power air superiority. While Allied air assets included British, French, and Italian pilots and aircrewmen, forty percent of Allied airpower was American. Roughly 1,500 Allied aircraft made the Battle of Saint-Mihiel the largest air operation of the war. Allied leadership and strategy also played a significant role in shaping the battle’s outcome. Pershing employed a combined-arms approach to penetrate stiff German trenches, using mixed unit composition to further the American advance. US forces suffered 7,000 casualties of a force of 550,000 troops. Noteworthy American officers included, the aforementioned George C. Marshall, who led the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II, as well as William "Billy" Mitchell, the father of American air power, and George Patton, the seasoned tank commander of World War II (1939-1945). US military officer candidates study the leadership of small field unit officers at Saint-Mihiel today.
“St. Mihiel American Cemetery.” American Battle Monuments Commission. Accessed October 26, 2019, https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/st-mihiel-american-cemetery.
“The Final Efforts: St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne.” The United States World War One Centennial Commission. Accessed October 26, 2019, https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/edu-home/edu-topics/592-on-to-victory-the-hundred-days/5020-the-final-efforts-st-mihiel-and-the-meuse-argonne.html.