Soissons: Where the Yanks Learned About the Lethality of German Machine Guns

German Machine Gunners

The Battle of Soissons was part of a series of operations in July and August 1918, collectively known as the Second Battle of the Marne. After French intelligence had warned him of the German attack east of Château-Thierry that would begin on 15 July, Generalissimo Foch set the date for his counterattack as the 18th. Consequently, as the Germans were attacking on the eastern flank of the salient, the Allies would be attacking against their exposed western flank. The two most experienced divisions of the AEF, the 1st and 2nd, played the key roles in the attack. Marines of the 2nd Division were in the opening advance.

[On the 18th] we moved forward at a slow pace, keeping perfect lines. Men were being mowed down like wheat. A whiz bang hit on my right and an automatic team that was there a moment ago disappeared. . . 

 Lt. Samuel Cumming, 5th Marines

Soissons would subsequently become the battlefield where the AEF learned of the skills of experienced machine gunners in hindering attacks over open country. This made advancing difficult on the first day of the attack, and would prove almost insurmountable for the inexperienced Marines and Doughboys on subsequent days at Soissons when the Germans had better organized their defenses.

Of all the American units that fought at Soissons, the 6th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Division may have faced the most determined opposition. With the 6th Marine Machine Gun Battalion and the 2nd Engineer Regiment in reserve, they joined the battle on the second day after the German army had reinforced the sector to avoid a rout. Furthermore, they were ordered to attack over the entire 2nd Division frontage. The division's other three infantry regiments were depleted and exhausted from the first day's advance. The 6th Marines would face relatively fresh infantry using machines for both direct and indirect fire, and artillery guided by observation balloons, which the Americans lacked since the Germans held air superiority over the sector. Marine historian Edwin Simmons estimated the 6th regiment suffered over 1,200 casualties, mostly on the single day of 19 July 1918.

 On the 19th, the second day of the attack, it was not until 6:30 a.m. that the leading battalion of the regiment received orders to lead the attack that day. The Germans were still desperately attempting to stop the Allies' drive. The 6th Marines, under Lt. Col. Harry Lee, advanced on a 2500-yard front. The 1st Battalion, commanded by Major John A. Hughes was on the left flank. The 2nd Battalion, commanded by future USMC Commandant Major Thomas Holcomb, was on Hughes's right, and the 3rd Battalion, commanded by Major Berton W. Sibley, was in reserve. The ground was level and contained no cover except for an occasional wheat field. This attack started in full view of the enemy and with insufficient artillery support.

The ground was absolutely flat, some planted in wheat, with bare fields here and there. Artillery and machine gun fire caused heavy losses. After advancing about a mile the right was stopped in front of Tigny and the left at La Râperie, the head of the Villemontoire Ravine. The center continued on a little farther to the Bois de Tigny. A gap opened between the 1st and 2nd Battalions, which was filled by the 3rd. This line was held the rest of the day. Farther advance was impossible without fresh troops, and there were no more to send in. 

Division Marker at the Farthest Advance of the 6th Marines
(Note flat terrain)

Two Sergeants of the 6th Marines Later Described That Day:

 We moved down into the Vierzy Ravine, and then went forward, past Vierzy. My battalion came up out of the Vierzy Ravine and deployed on the edge of a wheat field. The Germans, who were over on the right on a hill, spotted us, They were about 1,800 yards away, but they started throwing machine gun bullets at us. . . . I could see Holcomb's battalion come out of the orchard way off to our left and deploy and move out. . . . We lay there, and after a while we heard rumbling. It was the tanks. . . . When the tanks passed through, the command came, "Forward." We got up and started going with them. On our battalion front there was a tank every 50 yards. They attracted furious German artillery and machine gun fire. In a matter of minutes all tanks save one in our battalion zone were disabled and on fire. The advancing Marines were a machine gunner's dream. Flesh and blood can take just so much. Under the veritable hail of shells and bullets, platoons simply melted. The Germans had massed their artillery on a hill about three or four miles off in front of us. It was all direct fire. . . . Our attack collapsed. The attack was over.

Gunnery Sergeant Gerald C. Thomas, 1st Battalion

The German machine gun fire did not cease during the day so we dug as deep as possible. It was sure death to stick one's head up. . .It must have been past midnight when a French out fit came up to relieve us. I spoke to a French [officer] and he told me that they had come up to the front on condition that they would only occupy the second line and not the first line. It told him in French, of course, that our line was the second line. As it was pitch dark he believed me and what was left of us vamoosed out of there and went to the rear. 

 Sgt. Victor D. Spark, 2nd Battalion

  

Men of the 6th Marines