Grandpa Sam's Final WWI Conflict: The Battle of the Meuse-Argonne

 Even though we were headed for Normandy, there were two stops left on our World War One road trip: the Mount Faucon American Monument, and the Muese-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial. 

This area is where Grandpa Sam fought the final battle between Axis and Allies,

 Under the command of Major Paul H. Weyrauch. 

On September 20th, two days after the end of the St. Mihiel Assailant, Grandpa hauled his 14-ton gun 48 kilometers to the village of Marre near the front lines.

Over the course of the next month and a half he would drag it another 25k to Nantillois, and finally another 15k to Villers-Devant-Dun where the war would end on November 11th at 11:00 A.M.  

 A monk, Saint Balderic, founded Mount Fauchon, 

After being guided to the sacred hill by a falcon.  

 We climbed the Monument's stairs to see the view the bird saw 1500 years ago. 

 On September 25th, down in the valleys below, the battle began at 11:30 PM. It was a constant barrage of artillery until the end,  

(Which came well before November 11th for many):

A concentration of enemy shells striking in their midst struck them down in large numbers and the hand grenades which they carried in their hands and belts exploded, cutting their bodies into a thousand pieces.*

The town gave up on Balderic's vision, 

And moved to the bottom of the hill. 

 (Not a bad choice as it was used as a battery position by Germans in WWII)

For our part, we descended the stairs and walked over to the church.

The kids played tag in the ruins, until the boys stole my niece's coat.

Dad quickly put an end to the conflict by counting to three. 

 On the morning of November 11th, the men got word that the armistice had been signed, 

But they didn't believe it,  

Until the hour of 11:00 A.M. when guns on both sides of the battle line ceased to give forth their deafening roars.*

*The History of the 66th Field Artillery Brigade