Blanc Mont Ridge 1918

The dominating Blanc Mont Ridge complex in the Champagne region of France was home to some of the most complex German defences on the Western Front. Its heights offered artillery observation that made even approaching the ridge virtually suicidal. Pessimistic about the ability of depleted and demoralized French units to capture the position, Général Henri Gouraud was granted the use of two American divisions: the veteran 2nd “Indianhead” Division, including the 4th (Marine) Brigade, and the untested 36th “Arrowhead” Division of the Texas and Oklahoma National Guard. This fully illustrated book describes this Allied offensive with American troops in the vanguard, and shows how despite the heavy losses it sustained to both manpower and supporting armour, they eventually forced the Germans to abandon most of the region in one of the largest withdrawals of the war.