Meanwhile in France…
Among the items of the Greg’s War collection are various photographs from the Somme sector, which as far as we know he never visited. And since Tuesday 28 May 1918 was Greg’s last full day in Hampshire, he was certainly not there for the Battle of Cantigny – a small village 3½ miles (5.5 km) ENE of Montdidier – which was fought that day. The battle’s tactical objective – the elimination of a small German salient whose high ground was inconveniently favourable for the enemy’s artillery – was arguably dwarfed by the greater strategic effect of establishing the capabilities of the American Expedition Force as an effective fighting unit, for the encouragement both of the allied Entente Powers and of the enemy. Michael Seymour’s article sets out the context of the battle:
Five striking aerial photographs of that engagement are published here today. Possibly they were taken by a French squadron[1], as France was responsible for providing air cover to the American troops undertaking operations on the ground in their first major battle of the Great War.
The Battle of Cantigny Photographs
These aerial photographs of the Battle of Cantigny are all from the Greg’s War Collection, and are reproduced here with their original captions:
Attack on Cantigny by Americans May 1918.
1. The Bombardment
Cantigny Then and Now
Cantigny today is still a tiny place, albeit more peaceful, with the poignantly named Rue de 28 Mai 1918. Compare Photograph 1 above with its contemporary equivalent below:
The Tanks…
A number of French Schneider CA-1 tanks [2] were active with the US troops, which was a new experience for both. The Schneiders were fairly small, turret-less boxes (~21 ft/6 m long by ~7 ft/2 m wide), with a characteristic boat-like prow. This is visible in this magnified detail of the centre portion of Photograph No. 3:
(Note, incidentally, how the tracks that the tanks have left behind them in the spring crops curiously foreshadow the ‘tram lines’ made by the large farm implements of modern agriculture.)
One Schneider CA-1 survives today in the Musée des Blindés at Saumur:
The marine-looking prow is seen clearly in this photograph, as is the steel spur above it. The purpose of this configuration was cut and crush barbed wire.
The US troops gained their objective fairly early in the day, and hung on tenaciously in the face of a brutal counter attack. Their defence of the newly gained was all the more impressive for it being inadequately supported by artillery as a result of rapid redeployment to resist the Blücher-Yorck offensive. The Battle of Cantigny was a success for the allies, and particularly for the Americans.
Notes
[1] I’m grateful to Timothy Slater (Twitter: @SlaterTimothy) for this:
“The annotations on the photographs confirm they were taken by the French 42nd Sqn (SPA 42). SPA 42 was the French Sqn attached to the 1st American Division between Apr & Aug 1918.”
Great pictures. The annotations on the photographs confirm they were taken by the French 42nd Sqn (SPA 42). SPA 42 was the French Sqn attached to the 1st American Division between Apr & Aug 1918. https://t.co/bgT4i5QJ2a #WW1
— Timothy Slater (@SlaterTimothy) May 28, 2018
[2] A post on the Great War Forum (https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/176720-cantigny-french-flame-and-tank-support/) has a photograph indicating that the tanks were French-manned.
Header Image: detail from Photograph 1 (Greg’s War Collection)
Post edited 13 September 2018