This page contains materials for the Meuse Argonne Staff Ride, 2019.
CMH Overview on the Meuse Argonne – the major campaign for the 35th Division in the war
From Vauquois Hill to Exermont – a narrative recounting the 35th in World War One, digital book.
Analysis of the 35th Division’s Application of Operational Art During World War One – a MA thesis
35th Division sector map, Meuse-Argonne
The 35th (“Santa Fe”) Division, 1918
The 35th Division consisted of about 10,000 Kansans and 14,000 Missourians. Their geographic origin made the “Santa Fe” Division a fighting unit that represented the best quality of the United States of America. Many called them the “Fighting Farmboys.”
EARLY ACTIVITY
Shortly after arrival in France in May 1918, the 35th Division was responsible for occupation duty shared with English and French armies. The 35th first trained at Camp Doniphan, OK until the beginning of April 1918 when it moved to the ports of New York and Philadelphia for transportation to Europe.
In France, the Division was first attached to the British 30th Division at Picardy and then to the French 22nd Division at Alsace for training. It came under the administrative control of the United States II Corps for front line training.
A disturbing pattern emerged, as leadership of 35th was replaced upon arrival in Europe with little explanation. This became a consistent issue throughout the War. Still, much like the National Guard during wartime, the unit persevered in doing its duty.
On 18 June 1918 elements of the 35th Division moved into positions in the southeastern portion of the Western Front near Epinal, France. Two days later, elements of the 69th Brigade, consisting of the 137th and the 138th Infantry Regiments, took over front line sectors.
One month later the 35th Division’s other brigade, the 70th, relieved the 69th. From 27 July to 2 September 1918, the Division occupied the Wesserling and the Gerardmer Sectors. Later, the use of field artillery to aid movement in the field proved a key strategy in advancing the lines for the Division.
SAINT-MIHIEL OFFENSIVE, 12-16 SEPT. 1918
This campaign marked the true entry of the Santa Fe onto the battle field. It was here that Gen. Pershing specified that the 35th Division be incorporated into the First Army’s reserve, along with the active duty 80th and 91st Divisions.
As part of this strategy, the Saint-Mihiel campaign swiftly ended and allowed the Allies an unprecedented chance to use the carefully planned momentum into a final, grand overture that would end the Great War.
BATTLE OF THE MEUSE-ARGONNE, 26 SEPT-11 NOV 1918
Starting on 26 September 1918, according to the U.S. Army Center for Military History, “… the Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the most important American military contribution to the Allied effort to the War.”
The division then went into reserve for the First U.S. Army until 15 September when it moved to the Meuse-Argonne front. During the night of 20 September the 35th moved into forward positions in preparation for the Meuse-Argonne offensive. At 0530 hours, 26 September the division launched its attack and for the next four days kept up the attack against heavy German resistance. The division suffered hundreds of casualties among its infantry regiments, hastening its relief, where the 35th and its subordinates went into reserve status.
BATTLE OF CHEPPY: A FIRM TURNING POINT
At the Battle of Cheppy, battle lines ran north-south in a short-lasting yet intense maneuver. Here, among other elements of the 35th, the 138th Infantry Regiment, fought valiantly.
It was learned that guards held the line of defenses before Cheppy on the night of 26 September. Their orders were to hold the village at all costs. Difficulty of orientation in the attack against the Germans proved constant, as fog, smoke, failure of equipment (especially artillery movement), and having to rely on runners in the operation due to equipment failure.
Three platoons of men located machine gun nests of the Germans, thereby cinching the takeover of Cheppy along with large store of provisions. However, it was not known which company was first to enter the village.
Throughout the 26th of September, the battle persisted.
Here, the U.S. I Corps provided flank support; tanks from LTC George Patton’s adjacent tank brigade also aided the 35th Division’s attacks. Patton organized an attack on a group of German machine gun nests, but wounded during the fighting. After subsequently taking the village of Vauquois, the 35th Division pushed on to the southern environs of Charpentry before dusk.
Heavy casualties and leadership problems halted the “Santa Fe’s” advance after all this combat. Yet the persistence of this Division defied the odds¸ thanks in part to an officer whose time of fame would come decades later. This officer was CPT Harry S Truman, battery commander of Battery “D”, whose assignment was to ensure that his artillerymen provided adequate cover for the infantry combatant on ground level.
Prior to the start of Meuse-Argonne, the 129th Field Artillery undertook one of the most brutal road marches of the war, from the Vosges Mountains to the Argonne Forest. The Soldiers guided their horses and equipment over one hundred miles of crowded, muddy two-track roads to the new American sector. The ammunition trains pulling this equipment had some of the toughest work in all the war.
This
march and the five days of intense combat that followed were the ultimate test
for Battery D and the 35th. In the closing weeks of the war, the 129th Field
Artillery moved into action for the final time on the old battlefields of
Verdun. They fired their last shots fifteen minutes before the Armistice took
effect. Battery D had fired more than 10,000 shells during the war.
EPILOGUE
Two weeks, later the 35th Infantry Division reentered the front line where it served until shortly before the armistice. The Division returned to the United States in April 1919 and was demobilized on 30 May 1919.
35TH Division Summary:
Campaigns: Meuse – Argonne, Alsace 1918, Lorraine 1918.
Killed in action: 1,018
Wounded in action: 6,287
First Sergeant Darrel W. Haeffele was born on September 25, 1940, in Falls City, Nebraska. He graduated from Atchison High School in 1958. He attended Concordia College in Seward, NE for two years before starting a career in retail.
CW5 Roland E. “Ron” Kassebaum was born on February 21, 1946 in Deshler, Nebraska. He graduated from Hebron High School, Hebron, Nebraska in 1964. He attended Fairbury Junior College, Fairbury, Nebraska and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, and received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of the State of New York in 1991. He later attended Liberty University, Lynchberg, Virginia, for courses in accounting and Allen County Community College, Iola, Kansas, for a course in Business Law.
Chief Warrant Officer Four Ronald E. Mullinax was born on August 25, 1946, in Norton, Kansas to Earl and Mary Posson. He was adopted by John and Ada Mullinax. He grew up in Lenora, Kansas, graduating from Lenora Rural High School in 1965. After completing a Denver Automotive Institute training program, Ron worked at Look Body Shop in Norton until 1968.
CCMSgt Valerie D. Benton was born on Dec. 10, 1959 in Racine, Wisconsin, where she spent her childhood. She graduated from Washington Park High School in 1978. Soon after graduation she enlisted in the U. S. Air Force and headed to Basic Training at Lackland AFB, Texas in December of 1978. After completion of Basic training, she attended Technical Training at Lowry AFB, Colorado, and graduated as a Food Service Specialist.
General James H. Lane was a militia leader during the Bleeding Kansas period, the commander of the Kansas “Jayhawker” Brigade during the Civil War, and was one of the first United States Senators from Kansas.
Sergeant Major Joseph T. “Jody” Muller was selected for the Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame for his exceptional service as a citizen soldier in the Kansas National Guard for over 41 years.
Brigadier General Jonathan P. Small served as The Adjutant General of Kansas from November 1, 2003 to January 4, 2004, culminating a 35-year military career as a distinguished attorney, community leader, citizen-soldier, and military leader. He served as Assistant Adjutant General-Army from 1999 to 2003, and as Commander of the Land Component for the Joint Force Headquarters-Kansas.
Brigadier General Deborah Rose entered military service with a direct commission into the United States Air Force Nurse Corps in March 1983, assigned to the 184th Tactical Fighter Group. She transferred to the 190th Clinic in December 1985. In October 1990, she deployed to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where she served in an Air Transportable Hospital during Desert Shield. In February 1991, she was activated and deployed to Offutt AFB, Nebraska, assigned to the hospital.
Master Sergeant Greg Gilroy was born on July 25, 1947 at Ottawa, Kansas. He was a lifelong resident of Ottawa, graduating from Ottawa High School in 1965. He then attended Emporia State University during the 1965-66 school year.
Sergeant Major Lynn E. Holt built his distinguished Kansas Army National Guard career developing strength, retaining Soldiers and insuring Soldiers received proper training. He served from the Detachment through State level. He is known for his ability to recognize Soldier needs at all levels. The same care he felt for Soldiers carried over into his community activities. SGM Holt’s passion for people and their needs exemplifies his true character. He devoted his entire adult life to the betterment of our nation, our state and the Kansas National Guard.
