Monument Américain du Blanc Mont

This monument was erected by the United States Government to commemorate the achievements of her soldiers and those of France who fought in this region during the World War.
It stands on the crest of Blanc Mont Ridge which was captured by the American 2nd Division on October 3, after terrific fighting.
The memorial has the form of a tower, and its sturdy, though graceful, shape harmonizes with the bleak and desolate landscape.
The golden brown stones, of different shades, give an unusually attractive effect to the exterior and the monument as a whole is representative of a fine type of American architecture.
Between the road and the monument is a German trench and beyond it in the open field are the entrances to several German dugouts. The neighborhood contains many trenches and other indications of the war. A walk in the vicinity will prove to be most interesting.
On the exterior walls of the monument are carved the dedicatory inscription and the names of the American divisions which the monument commemorates, their insignia, the inclusive dates that they served in this region and four places where each division had hard fighting.
The American monument on Montfaucon, 27 miles away, can be seen when the atmospheric conditions are favorable.
This monument is near the center of the dominating Blanc Mont Ridge. On an offshoot of this ridge was located Médéah Farm, which is about 1 mile to the left.
The ridge has great natural defensive strength due to its height above the surrounding country and the many wooded and cleared places on its summit. The chalky character of its soil made the construction of field fortifications comparatively easy and many trenches, dugouts and obstacles had been constructed.
The offensive of the French Fourth Army, which started on September 26 from a line about 1 mile beyond the location of the Navarin Farm monument, which is to the right of and beyond Sommepy, was shattered against the German positions at the foot of this ridge.
The repeated French assaults were without avail and the French advance had been definitely stopped when the American 2nd Division on October 2nd took over the front line just this side of Sommepy.
A general offensive was fixed for October 3rd. The 2nd Division’s task was to force the enemy from this ridge and thus open the way for the French Fourth Army to advance to the Aisne River, about 14 miles to the rear of the observer.
The division plan of attack, though hurriedly drawn, was cleverly conceived. An assault was not ordered for its entire front, but the Marine Brigade was directed to advance from the low ridge seen just this side of and to the right of Sommepy, and the Infantry Brigade was directed to jump off from a line just beyond the far edge of the wood seen to the left of front.
The direction of advance of this last attack was directly against the eastern end of Blanc Mont Ridge and then along it.
The zones of action of the two attacks converged at the crossroads seen to the right rear near this monument. No assault was made from this side of Sommepy thus avoiding a frontal attack against a very strong part of the ridge.
The attack was launched at 5:50 a.m. on October 3rd, after a brief but heavy artillery bombardment. It was accompanied by tanks and was preceded up these slopes by an artillery barrage.
The Infantry Brigade found its jump-off line, which was in the zone of action of a French division, occupied by Germans who had made a local attack and had advanced there the day before.
In spite of this and heavy enemy shellfire, the assault units lined up farther to the rear and attacked with overpowering force on scheduled time.
Hill 210 was soon captured and the advance progressed rapidly along the ridge. By 8:30 a.m. the brigade objective, that part of the road in rear of the observer extending to the left from here as far as Médéah Farm, was reached and a defensive position along it was promptly organized.
The Marine Brigade, attacking from the right of Sommepy, drove forward vigorously and about 8:30 a.m. reached its objective, that part of the road in rear of the observer from the crossroads near here to the right as far as Blanc Mont.
Its greatest troubles then began, as the French division alongside it had made no appreciable gain and the brigade flank, about 1 mile to the observer’s right, was 2 miles ahead of the French line and entirely exposed.
The Germans, realizing the critical situation of the unit, drove in heavily against the exposed flank but were repulsed with severe losses by a company on that flank which had previously faced in the direction of the observer’s right in preparation for such a contingency.
Other support units faced in that direction also and thus filled the wide gap which had existed in the line.
To the right front, is the high, partially wooded ridge called Notre Dame des Champs, which was holding up the French.
On the left end of that ridge was a powerful German position called Essen Hook. That strong point had been unsuccessfully attacked by the French several times, the last attack having been repulsed by the Germans early on October 3.
During the morning of October 3rd, the position was taken by the Marines in a flank attack and turned over to a French division, which lost it later in the day when the German troops counterattacked.
St. Etienne-à-Arnes is the village which is seen to the northwest of our position.
The 2nd Division at 2:OO p.m. on October 3rd ordered an advance from its newly-won positions along the road running in front of here.
The Marine units, in line beyond the road junction seen to the left, between 6:OO and 7:OO p.m. received this order to attack, but being heavily engaged on the division’s left flank the battalion commanders agreed among themselves to attack early the next morning.
The Infantry Brigade, in front of and to the right of here, jumped off late in the afternoon of the 3rd and advanced more than a mile, well beyond the units on each side of it.
In spite of its precarious position with both fianks exposed, the brigade tenaciously held to its gains. At the end of its first day of attack the crest of Blanc Mont Ridge was firmly in the grasp of the 2nd Division and both of its flanks were far ahead of the adjoining French units.
Its main mission had been accomplished and as a result, the German High Command that day decided to retreat to the Aisne River on all the Champagne battle front.
This decision caused no great change in the severity of the fighting in this region, as from then on the Germans fought even more desperately to gain time to make the withdrawal in good order and thus avoid excessive losses of men, supplies and matériel.