Following a very successful Small-Group Battlefield Tour of the Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel Salient in 2018, Randal Gaulke and German historian, Markus Klauer, are proud to announce this tour.  It will take a unique look at the Meuse-Argonne and will explore the AEF occupation of Germany after the war.

The War was Over, but Many in the AEF Would Remain in Europe for Months or Years…

After more than four years of trench warfare, the towns in the Meuse-Argonne region were in shambles.  Complete villages had been destroyed.  Others were badly damaged, and four years of combat and shelling left the region littered with dead bodies, instruments of war and unexploded ordnance.  All of this had to be addressed starting in late 1918.

The terms of the Armistice gave the defeated Imperial German Army only fourteen days to evacuate from the invaded countries, and only another sixteen days to evacuate the West Bank of the Rhein (Rhine) River and three 30-kilometer long bridgeheads on the East Bank of the Rhein–Koeln, Mainz and Koblenz.  By Christmas 1918, eight AEF divisions would be stationed in Germany.  American forces would remain in Germany until 1923.

This tour will focus on the last phase of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the immediate-post war period, and the American Zone of Occupation in Germany.  For spouses and participants alike, it will also focus on the sights and culture of the Mosel and Rhein River Valleys.  This is one of the most beautiful and historic regions in Germany and Germany’s major wine producing region.

To find out more information on this small-group battlefield tour, consult the flyer below:

Reconstruction and Occupation Tour Flyer Final