Chatel-Chehery
Alvin York's action in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive · October 8, 1918 · Ardennes, France
13 contours at 10 m, traced from SRTM 30 m elevation data. Every 5th line is drawn heavier.
What happened
During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, a patrol of seventeen American soldiers got behind German lines and was cut down by machine gun fire from a ridge. Corporal Alvin York, left effectively in command, silenced the guns and walked out with 132 prisoners.
Why the ground mattered
The Argonne is steep, wooded and full of narrow ravines, which is why the Germans held it for four years and why the offensive to clear it was so expensive. That same broken ground is what made the action possible: the patrol slipped through a gap in the line because the woods hid it, and when the machine guns opened up from the ridge above, York was down in a hollow off to the flank where the gunners had to raise their heads over the crest to aim at him. He was shooting uphill at silhouettes.
Watch
The One-Man Army Who Captured 132 Germans - Alvin York
York's action in these woods, including how a conscientious objector from Tennessee ended up with the Medal of Honor.
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