World War I Douglas MacArthur

1 world war i

1.1 rainbow division
1.2 champagne-marne offensive
1.3 battle of saint-mihiel , meuse-argonne offensive

world war i
rainbow division

brigadier general macarthur holding crop @ french chateau, september 1918

macarthur returned war department, promoted major on 11 december 1915. in june 1916, assigned head of bureau of information @ office of secretary of war, newton d. baker. macarthur has since been regarded army s first press officer. following declaration of war on germany on 6 april 1917, baker , macarthur secured agreement president wilson use of national guard on western front. macarthur suggested sending first division organized units of different states, avoid appearance of favoritism toward particular state. baker approved creation of formation, became 42nd ( rainbow ) division, , appointed major general william a. mann, head of national guard bureau, commander; macarthur chief of staff, rank of colonel. @ macarthur s request, commission in infantry rather engineers.

the 42nd division assembled in august , september 1917 @ camp mills, new york, training emphasized open-field combat rather trench warfare. sailed in convoy hoboken, new jersey, france on 18 october 1917. on 19 december, mann replaced division commander major general charles t. menoher.

champagne-marne offensive

the 42nd division entered line in quiet lunéville sector in february 1918. on 26 february, macarthur , captain thomas t. handy accompanied french trench raid in macarthur assisted in capture of number of german prisoners. commander of french vii corps, major general georges de bazelaire, decorated macarthur croix de guerre. menoher recommended macarthur silver star, later received. silver star medal not instituted until 8 august 1932, small silver citation stars authorized worn on campaign ribbons of cited in orders gallantry, similar british mention in despatches. when silver star medal instituted, retroactively awarded had been awarded silver citation stars. on 9 march, 42nd division launched 3 raids of own on german trenches in salient du feys. macarthur accompanied company of 168th infantry. time, leadership rewarded distinguished service cross. few days later, macarthur, strict men carrying gas masks neglected bring own, gassed. recovered in time show secretary baker around area on 19 march.

macarthur promoted brigadier general on 26 june. in late june, 42nd division shifted châlons-en-champagne oppose impending german champagne-marne offensive. général d armée henri gouraud of french fourth army elected meet attack defense in depth, holding front line area thinly possible , meeting german attack on second line of defense. plan succeeded, , macarthur awarded second silver star. 42nd division participated in subsequent allied counter-offensive, , macarthur awarded third silver star on 29 july. 2 days later, menoher relieved brigadier general robert a. brown of 84th infantry brigade of command, , replaced him macarthur. hearing reports enemy had withdrawn, macarthur went forward on 2 august see himself. later wrote:

it 3:30 morning when started our right @ sergy. taking runners each outpost liaison group next, moving way of had been no man s land, never forget trip. dead thick in spots tumbled on them. there must have been @ least 2,000 of sprawled bodies. identified insignia of 6 of best german divisions. stench suffocating. not tree standing. moans , cries of wounded men sounded everywhere. sniper bullets sung buzzing of hive of angry bees. occasional shellburst drew angry oath guide. counted hundred disabled guns various size , several times number of abandoned machine guns.

macarthur reported menoher , lieutenant general hunter liggett germans had indeed withdrawn, , awarded fourth silver star. awarded second croix de guerre , made commandeur of légion d honneur.

battle of saint-mihiel , meuse-argonne offensive

the 42nd division earned few weeks rest, returning line battle of saint-mihiel on 12 september 1918. allied advance proceeded rapidly , macarthur awarded fifth silver star leadership of 84th infantry brigade. received sixth silver star participation in raid on night of 25–26 september. 42nd division relieved on night of 30 september , moved argonne sector relieved 1st division on night of 11 october. on reconnaissance next day, macarthur gassed again, earning second wound chevron.

general pershing (second left) decorates brigadier general macarthur (third left) distinguished service cross. major general charles t. menoher (left) reads out citation while colonel george e. leach (fourth left) , lieutenant colonel william joseph donovan await decorations.

the 42nd division s participation in meuse-argonne offensive began on 14 october when attacked both brigades. evening, conference called discuss attack, during charles pelot summerall, commander of first infantry division , v corps, telephoned , demanded châtillon taken 18:00 next evening. aerial photograph had been obtained showed gap in german barbed wire northeast of châtillon. lieutenant colonel walter e. bare—the commander of 167th infantry—proposed attack direction, defenses seemed least imposing, covered machine-gun barrage. macarthur adopted plan. wounded, not severely, while verifying existence of gap in barbed wire.

summerall nominated macarthur medal of honor , promotion major general, received neither. instead awarded second distinguished service cross. 42nd division returned line last time on night of 4–5 november 1918. in final advance on sedan. macarthur later wrote operation narrowly missed being 1 of great tragedies of american history. order disregard unit boundaries led units crossing each other s zones. in resulting chaos, macarthur taken prisoner men of 1st division, mistook him german general. performance in attack on meuse heights led being awarded seventh silver star. on 10 november, day before armistice ended fighting, macarthur appointed commander of 42nd division. service chief of staff , commander of 84th infantry brigade, awarded distinguished service medal.

his period in command brief, on 22 november he, other brigadier generals, replaced, , returned 84th infantry brigade. 42nd division chosen participate in occupation of rhineland, occupying ahrweiler district. in april 1919, entrained brest , saint-nazaire, boarded ships return united states. macarthur traveled on ocean liner ss leviathan, reached new york on 25 april 1919.