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World War I
History of The Iowa National Guard
CW2 David L. Snook
During the half
century before 1914, Europe was a tinderbox. Territorial,
military, economic and colonial rivalries gave rise to the
development of two great alliances – the Triple Alliance and
the Triple Entente. Arrayed on one side were Austria-Hungary,
Germany and Italy. Opposing them were Russia, France and the
United Kingdom. Repeated crises threatened to erupt into military
conflict.
On June 28, 1914,
a young Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary,
and his wife. The royal couple was visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia.
Bosnia was a province of Austria-Hungary but included a large
Serbian population. A month-long diplomatic crisis followed the
murders. Austria’s determination to punish Serbia led to a
tragic sequence of events that eventually pulled most of Europe
and much of the rest of the world into what came to be known as
the Great War (World War I).
After the initial
German offensive of 1914 was stopped just north of Paris, a war
of attrition developed along a 300-mile front that extended from
France’s border with Switzerland to the North Sea. During
the next four years, hundreds of thousands of young men died, as
both sides attempted to break the stalemate. On the Eastern
Front, where the battlefield situation remained more fluid, an
even more appalling loss of life occurred. Finally, in 1917, the
Russian war effort collapsed. In the months that followed, the
Romanov dynasty was swept away, eventually replaced by the
Bolsheviks (Communists) under Vladimir Lenin.
The United States
was faced with the possibility that Britain and France, Europe’s
two great democracies, might actually lose the war. As a result
of Germany’s resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare,
American public opinion had already begun to move in favor of
military intervention. The Zimmerman Telegram, which revealed and
ill-advised attempt by Germany to enlist Mexico into an alliance
against the United States, added momentum to this movement. In
April of 1917, President Woodrow Wilson called Americans to arms
in a great crusade "to make the world safe for democracy."
At the beginning
of 1917, the United States was woefully unprepared for war. The
first soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force did reach
France in June, but it would be almost a year before their
numbers reached the point where they could make a really
significant impact on Allied operations. Eventually, more than
one million American fighting men would bolster the Allied cause
along the Western Front.
Seventeen
National Guard divisions were assigned to the AEF during World
War I. One of the first National Guard divisions to reach France
was the 42nd (Rainbow) Division. The 42nd
Division was a composite division made up of soldiers from many
states. It included Iowa’s 168th Infantry
Regiment. Major General William Mann commanded the Division.
Major, later General of the Army, Douglas MacArthur was his chief
of staff. It was MacArthur who first suggested "Rainbow"
as the Division’s name. The 168th Infantry was
commanded, in turn, by Colonel Ernest Bennett and Colonel Matthew
Tinley.
The 168th
Infantry was a consolidated force made up of three prewar
regiments of the Iowa National Guard infantry. It was the only
Iowa National Guard unit to participate, intact, in the
hostilities in France. Many other Iowa Guardsmen, most notably
those serving in the 34th Division, were sent overseas.
They were sent as replacements, however, and saw active service
with the organizations to which they were assigned.
The
42nd Division saw its first action at Luneville in
February of 1918. During the next ten months, the Division took
part in engagements at Baccart, Esperance-Souaine, Champagne-Marne,
Aisne-Marne, Essey-Pannes, and the final great Allied offensive
at Meuse-Argonne.
The Champagne-Marne
offensive was one of the most decisive battles of the World War I.
Fought over a four-day period (July 15-18, 1918), it was a daring
attempt by the German General Staff to drive a wedge between the
British and the French and end the war before the bulk of
American forces could arrive in France. Several American
divisions already in France, including the 42nd,
played an important role in stopping the German attack. As one
soldier of the 168th wrote "By noon of July 15,
the German offensive had been halted, but both sides maintained a
terrific artillery duel until the 18th.
 Life around our part of the country was an
inferno, with earth quaking from the shock of artillery, and the
sun blotted out by the dense clouds of gray-black smoke." (Reilley,
Henry J., Americans All – Rainbow at War)
By October of
1918, the eve of the decisive Meuse-Argonne offensive, the 42nd
Division had established a sterling reputation, not only among
Allied commanders but among German commanders as well. On October
9, the Weekly Summary of Information of the German Group of
Armies which held the front from the Argonne to the Meuse gave
the following assessment: "The engagement of the 42nd
Division is expected soon.
It is in splendid fighting condition and is counted among the best
American divisions." (Reilly) This assessment proved to be
correct. By the end of the war, the 42nd Division had
reached Sedan. This was the northernmost point attained by the
American First Army in its advance toward Germany.
At the conclusion
of hostilities, the 42nd Division was credited with
164 days of actual combat. The only American divisions to exceed
this were the 1st, with 220 days, and the 26th,
with 193 days. The Division suffered a 30.6% casualty rate with 2,810
killed and 11, 873 wounded. Of this total, the 168th
Infantry suffered over 700 killed and 3,100 wounded.
The men of the
168th also received numerous awards for heroism,
including the Italian Croce di Guerra (1), the Belgian Croix de
Guerre (1), the Belgian Ordre de Couronne (2), the French Croix
de Guerre (74), the French Legion of Honor (5), the French
Military Medal (20), the Distinguished Service Cross (4), and the
Distinguished Service Medal (1).
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