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The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a World War I battle fought from 12–15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States against German positions. The United States Army Air Service (which later became the United States Air Force) played a significant role in this action.〔Hanlon (1998)〕〔History of War (2007)〕 This battle marked the first use of the terms "D-Day" and "H-Hour" by the Americans. The fighting was depicted in the 1927 film Wings. The attack at the St. Mihiel salient was part of a plan by Pershing in which he hoped that the United States would break through the German lines and capture the fortified city of Metz. It was one of the first offensives launched solely by the United States in World War I, and the attack caught the Germans in the process of retreating.〔 This meant that their artillery was out of place and the American attack, coming up against disorganized German forces, proved more successful than expected. The St. Mihiel attack increased the stature of the U.S. Army in the eyes of the French and British forces, and again demonstrated the critical role of artillery during World War I and the difficulty of supplying such massive armies while they were on the move. The U.S. attack faltered as artillery and food supplies were left behind on the muddy roads.〔Giese (2004)〕 The attack on Metz was not realized, as the Germans refortified their positions and the Americans then turned their efforts to the Meuse-Argonne offensive.〔Spartacus (2002)〕 ==Background: The Saint-Mihiel salient== Saint-Mihiel is a town in the Meuse department in northeastern France. Since the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War, the town was no longer considered important strategically and military installations were not developed. This changed early in World War I with the town inside the battlefront. In 1914, the German command wished to take the Verdun fortifications which formed a strong point in the French lines. A first attempt, at Bois-le-Pretre (''Priesterwald'' in German), failed despite violent fighting. During two more attempts (Battle of Flirey), German troops took Saint-Mihiel and the fort at Camp des Romains, but they were ultimately stopped at the Fort de Troyon to the south of Verdun. During the course of the war the front did not change much in this area. Saint-Mihiel formed a salient inside the French lines, blocking communications between Nancy and Verdun. The area near St. Mihiel would know much fighting:〔http://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/page/affichelieu.php?idLieu=3111&idLang=en〕 *The ''Crête des Éparges'' (Les Éparges crest): February–April 1915.〔http://www.en.verdun-tourisme.com/file-introduction_musee-1542-UK-V-EPARGES-DECOUVRIR_SE_SOUVENIR.html〕〔http://eng.verdun.fr/Universal-city/Verdun-and-World-War-I/1914-on-the-outskirts-of-Verdun〕 *The ''Bois d'Ailly'' (Ailly Wood) and the ''Tranchée de la Soif'' (Trench of Thirst): isolated behind German lines, Commander d'André's men fight three days without food or water before surrender in May 1915.〔http://www.warwalker.co.uk/reims/reimstour10.shtml〕 *''Bois Brûlé'' (The Burned Forest): many casualties when German conquer a redoubt on December 1914. It is here that the sub-officer Jacques Péricard pronounced the famous words: "''Debout les morts!''" (Dead men, arise!) on 8 April 1915.〔http://lesaillantdesaintmihiel.fr/pages/brule.htm〕 *The ''forêt d'Apremont'' (Apremont forest), the ''Tête à vache'' (Cow's head) trenches, Calonne trenches… But despite French attacks the German forces were able to retain this strategic location until the last months of the war. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Saint-Mihiel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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