I will get them.

Sergeant Earl Gregory, Headquarters Company,

116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, Bois de Consenvois, October 8th, 1918.

Music October 8th, 1918. The The Hey folks, welcome to the Battles of the First World War podcast, episode 80, the Meuse Heights.

Shout out to Rockport High student and machinist David, who listens to the show while he works nights

at a machine shop, goes to school during the day.

Sounds to me like a hard worker folks

and Mrs. BFWP says he is

and that he has a bright future ahead of him.

Keep it up, man.

Outstanding.

Patreon peoples, thank you so much for your continued patience.

I am working on the second barn and we'll have something out soon.

We are otherwise light on admin notes for this episode, folks. So I'll spare you all the pitches and talks and let's just do it.

Let's get back to the front.

A week into October 1918, the American command in the Meuse sector finally had to do something about the German artillery on the right bank of the River Meuse.

Ever since the beginning of the Meuse Argonne Offensive on September 26th, the enemy's guns had pounded hell out of the third and fifth corps sectors from the relative safety of the other side of the river.

American attacks had been continuously harassed and even destroyed by the relentless rain of shells that came from the German gun emplacements on the Houtes de Meuse.

In English, the Meuse Heights.

AEF and AEF First Army, Commander-in-Chief General John J. Pershing,

had already agreed, in principle, with Allied Supreme Commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch,

that the American offensive needed to be expanded onto the right bank of the Meuse.

...