Meanwhile, with every advance that its divisions made, the position of Bullard's 3d Corps became more wickedly exposed to the fire from across the Meuse where the German artillery from its heights looked down upon our men as upon the arena of an amphitheater. But here, as elsewhere, there was no cessation of the offensive. Hershey's 4th Regular Division, schooled in the Château-Thierry fighting, showed an endurance in keeping with its skill by remaining in line for over three weeks; the 5th Regulars, first commanded by MacMahon and then by Ely, which had learned their first lesson in attack by its taking of Frappelle in the Vosges Mountains, and which had again at Saint Mihiel shown a mettle which promised to make it dependable for any kind of an emergency, had now come in to take the place of Cronkhite's 80th in that trough of hell where it was to begin its long and thrilling career of accomplishment in the great battle. On its right, Allen's 90th National Army from Texas had come in on the left and immediately, though it had not been long in France, proved that it was worthy of the best traditions of its home State by its stoicism under gas and shells and the attacking fervor which were to give it a place of honor until the armistice was signed—after its crossing of the Meuse.
The Germans were now bringing in their best veteran shock divisions and countless machine guns manned by chosen "no quarter" gunners. It is significant that on September 29, 1918, three days after we had begun our Argonne attacks, Hindenburg had informed the German Government that it ought to sue for peace, and on October 3, 1918, after the British assault, which included our 2d Corps, had broken the Hindenburg line and the ferocious attacks against the positions in the Rheims sector had developed, that he informed the German Government that the situation of the German army was hopeless. Therefore the Germans on the Meuse-Argonne front were fighting with the desperation of men with their backs against the wall to save the line of communications for their retreat. Our lack of sufficient fresh divisions in reserve and of sufficient artillery in the second week of October, 1918, for extensive operations may have given them hope of success; but we were gathering our forces for another general attack.
Meanwhile it became increasingly evident that something must be done to stop the flanking fire into our 3d Corps from across the Meuse where the 17th French Corps was calling for American divisions to assist in mastering the heights where the plentiful German artillery was in position. Bell's redoubtable 33d Division of Illinois National Guard had crossed the river from the left bank, after a most remarkable feat of bridge building under heavy fire, and had swung north as a part of a general attack against these heights. Here the fighting was to be equally as fierce and quite as thankless as on the main battle front; for here the Germans were in the area of their old Verdun offensive, and they were perfectly familiar with the ground and had at their backs all the roads and barracks which they had used in 1916. The main line of hills and ridges, and the covering positions of the lesser heights and slopes which they held, were already prepared with dugouts and cement pill boxes, while in place of Württembergers they brought in their best Prussian troops, with ample machine guns, to assist an artillery defense which had the sweep of a half-mile circle east and west of the Meuse, thus enabling them not only to concentrate at any point on our 3d Corps on the west bank of the Meuse, but upon the 17th French Corps on the east bank.
Our approach to these defenses was through the ruined villages of the Verdun battle fields and along the roads which led us into the bottom of a cup, with its rim occupied by the enemy, through a ravine which was truly called "Death Valley." Morton's 29th, National Guard of New Jersey, which was to have its first important battle experience in conquering positions which would have baffled the skill of the most veteran of divisions, advanced on the right of the 33d. Later Edwards's 26th "Yankee" Division, which had known all the kinds of fighting which the American army had to offer, arrived from its drive in closing the Saint Mihiel salient for a period of a remorseless, grinding fighting which was in keeping with its experience. Against pill boxes, woods, and twisting ravines, across open spaces swept by machine-gun fire, repulsed by counterattacks and attacking again, the 33d (until it was relieved), the 29th for a long period, and the 26th had a battle of their own under the 17th French Corps.
The Germans had even stronger reasons for not yielding the heights on the east of the Meuse than they had on the west of the Meuse. Once we had Belleu Wood and Pylon Observatory we looked down on a broad valley and were approaching the last of the hills which separated us from the plain of the Woevre and German soil. Indeed, this portion of the east bank of the Meuse was the very key to the positions where the Germans would have made their stand on a shorter line if they succeeded in withdrawing their army.
October 11, 1918, was memorable in the history of the organization of the American Expeditionary Force, as, on that day, General Pershing appointed Major General Hunter Liggett our pioneer corps commander, to command the 1st American Army, and appointed Major General Robert L. Bullard to the command of the 2d Army which was operating on the Saint Mihiel salient. Both were veterans who had won the additional star of a lieutenant general which they now received for long service in France. General Bullard had commanded the 1st Division; and two other men who had been trained in that veteran school also received promotions. Major General John L. Hines, who had come to France as a major, succeeded General Bullard in command of the 3d Corps and Major General Charles F. Summerall was given command of the 5th Corps in place of General Cameron. Major General Dickman, who had commanded the 3d Division in the Château-Thierry operations, succeeded General Liggett in command of the First Corps.
On October 14, 1918, another general attack for the length of the main battle front took place. The Germans could not afford to lose any great depth of ground or their main positions defending the crest of the whaleback would be in danger. All their skill was applied in their maze of machine-gun positions, to utilize every detail of advantage of that monstrously favorable ground of slopes, woods, and ravines. The American divisions, steeled now to this ruthless fighting against a hidden enemy, took machine guns only to find that there were machine guns behind them; they took woods, ravines, and crests only to find that there were more woods, ravines, and crests yet to be conquered. They made vital gains and fought off fierce counterattacks to hold them. And the Germans brought in still more divisions and still more artillery and machine guns in their desperate determination which they set against that unremitting offensive spirit and unyielding will of the Americans. Under cold rain and mist in the soaked earth the grinding continued.
After the 77th Division had come out victorious from its long fight in the Argonne Forest, McCrea's 78th "Lightning" National Army Division had relieved it in that inconceivably hard and thankless task of cleaning up the town of Grand Pré and the positions north of the gap of Grand Pré. Day after day it kept on attacking even when there was a lull in other parts of the line. When Wright's 89th Division came into the line we had in these men of the Middle West, well drilled and in fine fettle, another new force in the battle which was to bring honor to the National Army and the nation. The 89th and the 90th and 5th Divisions and other divisions improved their opportunities in the final week of October, 1918, by taking positions which were valuable for the general attack, now in preparation, which was to take place on November 1, 1918.
With ample artillery and fresh reserves at our command we were determined to gain the summit of the whaleback in a final drive. This was the third phase of the battle, the second having been the long merciless hammering throughout the month of October, 1918, in which the endurance, the nerves and the aggressive spirit of American soldiers were tested as they never were before. Every day we were becoming more skillful in combat and our traffic arrangements were improving in their organization. The line from left to right on the morning of November 1, 1918, was: the 78th, 77th, 80th, 2d, 89th, 90th, and 5th Divisions. Our infantry, protected by the best artillery service which it had ever had, with the exception of some delay at certain points, irresistible in its sweep everywhere, gained its objectives, mastering the heights for which it had fought for six weeks. On November 2, 1918, the German communiqué made its confession to the German people that the American army had broken the German line.
The battle now became one of skillful maneuvers and rapid pursuit down the apron of lesser heights and slopes toward the Meuse. Behind the 1st Corps in reserve was the 42d Division; behind the 5th Corps in the center the 1st; and behind the 3d Corps on the right the 32d. These three veteran divisions, after their rest from the fearful fighting of the second phase of the battle, now had the opportunity finally, as the movement spread, to join in the glorious final phase which saw that army of regulars, guardsmen, and draftmen, the strongest force America had ever had under arms, as citizens victorious in the cause of democracy.