II Corps in the Pursuit to the Selle

The Story of the American Expeditionary Forces

II Corps

II CORPS

IN THE

PURSUIT TO THE SELLE

Prisoners Captured in the Sector

After the capture of the St. Quentin canal, the two divisions stayed under British command and were re-deployed north of St. Quentin on October 6th. On the morning of October 7th the 30th Divison attacked from the vicinity of Montbrehain and advanced 10 miles over the next four days. After reaching the banks of the River Selle, they were relieved by the 27th Division which held the river line for six days.

Major General Edward Lewis
Commander of the 30th Division

Locate the Sector on a Map of the Western Front.
On the 17th the 30th Division returned to the line and both units participated in an attack across the Selle. Both divisions advanced to heights 6,000 yards to the east of the river. By October 20th both of the exhausted divisions had been sent to the rear for rest. Between them they captured nearly 4,000 prisoners during this operation.

This overall operation was the final British push of the war and in an historical irony ended up at Mons exactly where the British Expeditionary Force first saw action in 1914.

27th Division Machine Gunners

The two divisions of the II Corps were the only units of the AEF to fight exclusively under foreign command for their entire service in France. Composed of National Guardsment from New York and the southern states of Tennessee, North and South Carolina the 27th and 30th Divisions fought with distinction in Flander and the Somme sector while suffering nearly 16,000 killed and wounded.

Sources and thanks: Compiled by the Editor from American Armies and Battlefields in Europe. Regular contributors Ray Mentzer and Herb Stickel provided the Photos. MH

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