Tag Archives: Great War

People of the Meuse-Argonne: John Schooley

April 9, 2019 by Randy
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Even today French locals, other Europeans and Americans find themselves drawn to the Meuse-Argonne region of France.  Once drawn there, many return time and again; often working on a multi-year research or preservation project.  In this irregular interview series, the Webmaster hopes to introduce readers to some of these individuals and their labors of love.         John Schooley came to the Webmaster’s attention when he published a five minute video on his experience cycling the battlefields of the 109th Field Artillery Regiment, Continue reading →

Books & Movies: Over There with Private Graham–The Compelling World War I Journal of an American Doughboy

April 4, 2019 by Randy
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    “Over There with Private Graham” is a “compelling” AEF war diary–especially with regards to the 28th Division.  The finding and publishing of the diary is a story worth telling too.   Private William J. Graham of Philadelphia was a cop before the war with a wife and seven children.  At the advanced age of thirty-eight he joined the A.E.F. as a military policeman in Company B, 103rd Military Police Battalion, 28th Division.  To quote from the preface:  “Private / Bugler William J. Graham Continue reading →

Travel Tips: Noyers-Pont-Maugis French and German Cemeteries, the “Race to Sedan” and more History

March 29, 2019 by Randy
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Few American battlefield visitors drive as far north as Sedan, because it is approximately one hour (55km / 35 mi) north of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon.  However, for those with the time, it is worth the drive because Sedan and vicinity is steeped in military history.  On 2 Sept. 1870 Prussian troops captured Emperor Napoleon III and a large number of his troops there during the Franco-Prussian War.  (Thereafter, Imperial Germany celebrated Sedan Day annually as a major holiday.)  In August 1914, the Imperial German troops of the Continue reading →

Thinking of Touring Europe this Year? Join Either our Reconstruction / Occupation Tour or the Battle of the Bulge Tour

March 26, 2019 by Randy
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  Space is still available for the two tours that historians Randy Gaulke and Markus Klauer are offering:  In mid-September there is the 1918-19 Reconstruction / Occupation of Germany Tour and in early October there is the Ardennes 75th Anniversary Battle of the Bulge Tour.   The Reconstruction / Occupation tour is designed to focus less on the fighting in the Meuse-Argonne and St. Mihiel regions and more on the post-war reconstruction.  It will also focus on the American Third Army’s occupation of Germany; which Continue reading →

People of the Meuse-Argonne: Lee S. Anthony, Ph.D.

February 12, 2019 by Randy
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Even today French locals, other Europeans and Americans find themselves drawn to the Meuse-Argonne region of France.  Once drawn there, many return time and again; often working on a multi-year research or preservation projects.  In this irregular series, the Webmaster hopes to introduce readers to some of these individuals and their labors of love.   Through these interviews the Webmaster has met many wonderful and unique personalities.  He was thoroughly impressed by the 86-year-young Lee S. Anthony; who was touring the Meuse-Argonne independently late September Continue reading →

New Product Introduction: U.S. Army Tracings of German Situation Maps–German 5th Army and Army Detachment C

February 2, 2019 by Randy
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Throughout the 1920s and 1930s the Army War College had representatives at the German Reichsarchiv in Potsdam who were making exact copies of Imperial German military documents so they could be studied and analyzed by the U.S. military.  One subset of documents is the tracings of daily situation maps (singular, Lagenkarte) created by the individual German Armies.  These situation maps are an important resource for examining the German side of the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives.     Created at the individual Army-level, the original Continue reading →

New Feature Article: When an American Woman Rediscovers the Memory of a Small Village in the Meuse

January 11, 2019 by Randy
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  Webmaster’s Introduction:  The story of Laurie Button, her “adopted” Doughboy, Walter “Wave” Miguel, and their ties to the Village of Louppy-sur-Loison is one of the most interesting stories to emerge from the 2018 Centennial Commemorations.  As a result of Laurie’s persistent writing from the U.S. and willing supporters in France, the parties involved organized a Commemoration Ceremony on 10 November that filled the local church and chateau.  Those of us who were present will not forget this day of Franco-American unity!  This story is Continue reading →

La Vie en France #38: “Where Words Leave Off, Music Begins”

November 15, 2018 by Randy
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    This quote by German poet Heinrich Heine seems appropriate as my final days in Lorraine, France wind down in 2018 and that melancholy feeling (of leaving France) begins to set in.  During the last two years I have had the great experience of being able to live in France for eight months as freelance tour guide!  I plan to continue offering tours in 2019; but I have to balance my tour plans with the realistic need to find a real job again too.  Continue reading →

Travel Tips: On the Road (Autoroute) Again

November 13, 2018 by Randy
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    Autoroutes are one of the things that work well in France. (See “La Vie en France #28:  What Works in France.”)  However, they are absolutely terrifying to most first-time drivers–largely because of the toll booths.  This post will extol the virtues of the French autoroutes; provide a few basic rules; and explain the toll system.     The Virtues of France’s Autoroute System There are virtually no potholes.  The Webmaster believes that there are several reasons for this:  First, construction starts with a Continue reading →

Travel Tips: Walking in Their Footsteps Should Mean More Than a Cemetery Stop or a Day Trip From Paris

November 13, 2018 by Randy
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Griffin Group Photo AM322.  Cross-Roads at Le Chene Tondu.  The Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof is just to the left of this photo.  Most American tourists know only this part of the plateau; but there is a German Camp (the Borrieswaldlager), a German concrete signal bunker (aka Blinkstelle) and a 100+ year-old tree within a few hundred meters?  Also, one can see the foxholes in which the German two battalions of Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 125 held off the 111th and 112th Infantry Regiments, 28th Division for more than a Continue reading →