4 APR--This Day in US Military History

2015-04-04T15:33:12-04:00

1918 – During World War I, the Second Battle of the Somme, the first major German offensive in more than a year, ends on the western front.

On March 21, 1918, a major offensive against Allied positions in the Somme River region of France began with five hours of bombardment from more than 9,000 pieces of German artillery. The poorly prepared British Fifth Army was rapidly overwhelmed and forced into retreat. For a week, the Germans pushed toward Paris, shelling the city from a distance of 80 miles with their “Big Bertha” cannons. However, the poorly supplied German troops soon became exhausted, and the Allies halted the German advance as French artillery knocked out the German guns besieging Paris.
On April 2, U.S. General John J. Pershing sent American troops down into the trenches to help defend Paris and repulse the German offensive. It was the first major deployment of U.S. troops in World War I. Several thousand American troops fought alongside the British and French in the Second Battle of Somme. By the time the Somme offensive ended on April 4, the Germans had advanced almost 40 miles, inflicted some 200,000 casualties, and captured 70,000 prisoners and more than 1,000 Allied guns. However, the Germans suffered nearly as many casualties as their enemies and lacked the fresh reserves and supply boost the Allies enjoyed following the American entrance into the fighting.

https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/april-4/

April 4

4 April 1776 - The first Columbus, a 24-gun armed ship, was built at Philadelphia in 1774 as Sally; purchased for the Continental Navy in November 1775, Captain Abraham Whipple in command. Between ...

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Apr 4 at 2015 10:24 PM

2015-04-04T22:24:39-04:00

I love this stuff. RallyPoint members should get 1 college credit every quarter in military history if they read and participate in discussions...lol.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Apr 4 at 2015 11:19 PM

2015-04-04T23:19:55-04:00

Apparently muzzle awareness wasn't a big deal back then as it is now.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 5 at 2015 12:09 AM

2015-04-05T00:09:26-04:00

That big Bertha gun was a mutha fo....if you know what I mean. If I were in charge, it would be my time to put together some mean reconnaissance teams to do some LRRP to knock out those mofos.