Argonne, Battle of

   The battle of the Argonne was a major battle of World War I, fought in fall 1918 between the U.S. First Army, including units of the XVII French Corps, and German forces. Part of an Allied assault in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, as it is also known, it was part of an effort to weaken the highly fortified German Hindenburg Line of western Europe. The American general John J. Persh-ing commanded the Allied forces. Lasting for two months, the Argonne offensive involved 1,200,000 U.S. troops, of whom 60,000 took an active part in the battle. The conflict extended over 500 square miles [1,295 sq km] and took 117,000 Allied casualties, killed or wounded. German losses were 94,000 killed or wounded, with 30,000 captured by the French and 26,000 taken prisoner by the Americans. The Battle of the Argonne was a major factor in the final breakdown of the German line of resistance and helped to bring about the German initiative for an armistice, which was finally achieved on November 11, 1918.