The World War 1 Meuse Argonne Campaign compared to the World War II Battle for Normandy

This is a follow up to a previous post about my grandfathers involvement in World War 1.

World War 1 seems almost forgotten these days. Compare the little remembered Meuse-Argonne Offensive with the Battle for Normandy. Each of these campaigns is considered a major contributor towards ending a tragic war.

  • The Meuse-Argonne Offensive lasted 47 days from September 26,1918 till the end of the war, November 11, 1918.
  • The Battle for Normandy lasted 86 days, from June 6,1944 to August 30, 1944.
  • The Meuse-Argonne Offensive involved 1.2 million American and French troops and about 450,000 German troops.
  • The Battle for Normandy involved 1.45 million Allied troops and about a million German troops
  • During the the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the French and Americans suffered about 187,000 casualties and the Germans about 100,000 casualties.
  • During the battle for Normandy, the Allies suffered about 225,000 casualties and the Germans around 425,000 casualties.
  • It seems a bit of a shame that the loss, pain and suffering of hundreds of thousands of people in World War 1, has nearly been forgotten.

    2 thoughts on “The World War 1 Meuse Argonne Campaign compared to the World War II Battle for Normandy

    1. Well, there Armistice Day, Nov 11, which has been renamed Veteran’s Day, and now honors veterans of all wars. Then there is Memorial Day at the end of May, which honors those that died while serving in the armed forces. As far as I can tell, World War 1 specific events are practically nonexistent, but that isn’t the whole of it. There have been many documentaries of various aspects of our other wars, large and small, but I can’t remember the last time I noticed anything on World War 1. Seems like the memory of the war disappeared with the veterans.

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