The battle of St. Mihiel was fought September 12th, 1918. It was notable not only for the completeness of the victory, but also because it was the first great battle planned and fought wholly under American direction. The St. Mihiel salient had been formed during the first invasion by the Germans in 1914 and had been held by them for four years. In two days the American First Army wiped it out of existence. The red dots indicate the line of the contending armies when the battle was joined. The broad red line shows the position three days later. The salient was crushed by the irristible onset of the Americans, and 152 square miles of territory, including seventy-two villages, were taken. In twenty-seven hours after the attack was launched 15,000 prisoners and hundreds of guns were captured, together with vast stores of munitions and supplies, while a force of Germans, estimated from 90,000 to 100,000 men, was in headlong retreat. The battle was of immense strategic importance, as it freed Verdun from menace on its right flank and placed the dominating heights of the Meuse in Allied hands. MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE The battle of the Argonne Forest has been described as the greatest of the war. It was certainly the most difficult. The story of its taking is an epic and reflects imperishable glory on American arms. The forest had been held by the Germans for four years. Its natural difficulties were so great that Napoleon himself had refused to attack it, believing it impregnable. To these natural obstacles the Germans had brought all the aids of military science. Every foot of it had been ranged for their artillery. Thousands of miles of barbed wire had been wound from bush to bush and tree to tree. Myriads of machine-gun nests commanded all strategic points. The ground had to be won foot by foot. It was believed even by many of the Allied commanders that success was impossible. The Germans realized the tremendous importance of the position, and had brought up their best divisions for its defense. But the power and fury of the American attack could not be denied. The American First Army began the battle September 26, 1918, between the Meuse and Aisne Rivers, directly east of Rheims, on a front of twenty miles. They took 5,000 prisoners on the first day, and 3,000 more on the second, besides obtaining all their objectives. Day by day the struggle continued, the Americans always advancing, until by October 16 Grand Pré was taken and the forest was practically cleared. From that point the First Army under General Liggett, and the Second under General Bullard fought their way to the Meuse. The red dotted line shows where the offensive began, and the broad red line indicates the position when the armistice was signed, November 11, 1918.] [Illustration: New Map of Europe. NEW MAP OF EUROPE