UncleBourbon Posted 7 October , 2019 Share Posted 7 October , 2019 I'm very interested in small engagements and encounters between American Expeditionary Forces and Austro-Hungarian Army soldiers due to the obscurity. The only major battle of the Western front I'm aware of where American and Austro-Hungarian troops faced each other was the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. However I have two photos of Americans with Austro-Hungarian prisoners in Souilly, France, and I don't doubt there were small skirmishes and engagements. I'll be posting the photos bellow. Any information on the topic is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 7 October , 2019 Share Posted 7 October , 2019 The 33rd Division astride the Meuse (crossed at Consenvoye) were opposed by well led strong Austro Hungarian units during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. I have all sorts of details on this - what sort of thing are you interested in? The ILNG museum in Springfield IL with whom I work a fair bit, hold a number of artifacts related to a Medal of Honor won in this engagement - which includes a Mannlicher M95 bayonet etc. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleBourbon Posted 7 October , 2019 Author Share Posted 7 October , 2019 19 minutes ago, 4thGordons said: The 33rd Division astride the Meuse (crossed at Consenvoye) were opposed by well led strong Austro Hungarian units during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. I have all sorts of details on this - what sort of thing are you interested in? The ILNG museum in Springfield IL with whom I work a fair bit, hold a number of artifacts related to a Medal of Honor won in this engagement - which includes a Mannlicher M95 bayonet etc. Chris Thank you for your reply! Frankly the whole engagement interests me, but if I were to ask only a few questions, Who was the Medal of Honor recipient in this engagement? Do you have an image of the Mannlicher M95 bayonet? Who was the commander of the Austro-Hungarians and what happened to him? Where can I read more on this engagement in detail? Also, I went on a cross country roadtrip last June, and while I stopped at the National WWI Museum in Kansas City, I didn't think to stop by the ILNG Museum. That will need to be a stop for another time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 7 October , 2019 Share Posted 7 October , 2019 (edited) The Medal of Honor recipient was Johannes Anderson. I do have a picture of the bayonet but I will need to dig it out from a file somewhere. The ILNG Museum at Camp Lincoln (Springfield IL) holds Anderson's medal and a nice collection of items related to him donated by his family. They also have a diorama in the museum showing a similar action. There are a number of accounts of the engagement - probably the best overview is in Huidekoper's multi volume Official history of the 33rd Div I have written several short summaries and presentations covering the action which I think I could send on to you when I get back to my home computer. I have quite a few maps and photos also. Some were posted here I am not sure what happened to the commander (he was well regarded by the American officers and I believe highly decorated by the Germans...the precise details escape me now but I should be able to supply more tomorrow) One reference that might help: Glaise von Horstenau,Edmund: Österreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg, 1914 - 1918 Vol. 7. Das Kriegsjahr 1918 Chris Edit - just found a note - the Commander of the AH forces may have been : Oberstleutnant Rudolph Popelka of Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 5 and I believe he was awarded the Pour le Merit. Edited 7 October , 2019 by 4thGordons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleBourbon Posted 7 October , 2019 Author Share Posted 7 October , 2019 14 minutes ago, 4thGordons said: The Medal of Honor recipient was Johannes Anderson. I do have a picture of the bayonet but I will need to dig it out from a file somewhere. The ILNG Museum at Camp Lincoln (Springfield IL) holds Anderson's medal and a nice collection of items related to him donated by his family. They also have a diorama in the museum showing a similar action. There are a number of accounts of the engagement - probably the best overview is in Huidekoper's multi volume Official history of the 33rd Div I have written several short summaries and presentations covering the action which I think I could send on to you when I get back to my home computer. I have quite a few maps and photos also. Some were posted here I am not sure what happened to the commander (he was well regarded by the American officers and I believe highly decorated by the Germans...the precise details escape me now but I should be able to supply more tomorrow) One reference that might help: Glaise von Horstenau,Edmund: Österreich-Ungarns letzter Krieg, 1914 - 1918 Vol. 7. Das Kriegsjahr 1918 Chris Edit - just found a note - the Commander of the AH forces may have been : Oberstleutnant Rudolph Popelka of Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 5 and I believe he was awarded the Pour le Merit. Thank you again! Very interesting information, much appreciated. I would definitely appreciate a summary/presentation tomorrow when you have the time, if it's not too much. I'll also read the History of the 33rd Division when I have the opportunity. Right now I have several history books backlogged. Popelka definitely seems to fit the bill. Apparently he's the only foreign born non-General to receive the Pour le Merit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James A Pratt III Posted 9 October , 2019 Share Posted 9 October , 2019 Note Austria-Hungary's last War 1914-1918 is online in both English and German and the 1918 volume does deal with the KUK Armee fighting with the US Army. Note its not that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturmmann1918 Posted 30 January , 2020 Share Posted 30 January , 2020 (edited) Hopefully I’m not shamed for brining up an older post- but just recently I was reading about the 316th infantry division from 1917-1919 from their official book, printed sometime in the 1930s I believe. I do recall reading about an encounter they had with A-H soldiers. The author says they were sleeping in a basement in which I believe was Nantillois. ( can check later) The door opened, in which someone shouted “ the Germans are coming!” A few grenades were tossed in, and when the 316th made their way out of the basement, it was found that it was infact A-H troops that did the shouting and grenade throwing, with a few of their dead nearby. Edited 30 January , 2020 by Sturmmann1918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Burns Posted 19 March , 2020 Share Posted 19 March , 2020 The US 29th Division engaged Austro-Hungarians during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The 115th & 116th Infantry Regiments encountered them at Samogneux on October 8th, I beleive. The 29th Division was operating alongside the 33rd Division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeReise Posted 20 March Share Posted 20 March I'd recommend you this article, "The Austro-Hungarian Divisions on the Western Front, 1918" by Ian Jones: The Austro-Hungarian Divisions on the Western Front, 1918 (osu.edu) According to the source, the US 33rd Division along with the 29th Division did encounter the Austro-Hungarian 1st Infantry Division during the Meuse–Argonne offensive, while the one in the St. Mihiel sector is the 35th Infantry Division. They both joined the Western Front in July 1918. The sources also provide more info about the other units as well, including the artillery units that did participate in the front much earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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