WWI Battlefield Tours: American Expeditionary Forces in Belgium

This World War I Battlefield Tour includes Google Maps links at each stop. Click the headings to travel along virtually or map the full route and take a drive along this historic battlefield route in Belgium.

Operations in Flanders

From the onset of World War I, the Flanders region of Belgium saw nearly continuous combat. Belgian, British, and French forces fought the German Army in massive, terrible clashes around the cities of Ypres and Passchendaele.

In this bloody and cruel landscape, John McCrae, a Canadian doctor serving under British command, wrote perhaps the most famous poem of the war, "In Flanders Fields." In just a handful of stanzas, McCrae captured the wartime feelings of melancholy, sacrifice and determination that continue to characterize World War I commemoration to this day. McCrae wrote his poem in 1915, in a site near Ypres, years before the United States entered the war.

American Expeditionary Forces, reflected the position of his government in insisting that an independent U.S. Army would rise to fight alongside the Allies in a sector of its own. Pershing's vision required intensive training, but the realities of war intervened. German offensives launched between March and July 1918 in Northern France created a crisis for the Allies and forced the commitment of American divisions to British or French operational control. In the face of battle, American divisions made a name for themselves. They proved to be invaluable and adapted to the ways of their new partners as well as the harsh realities of military life.

By July 1918, the Allies had the initiative. American troops were quickly proving vital to the Allied war effort. Approximately 10,000 American soldiers were arriving in France daily, to be trained and equipped by the British and French. As part of the overall Allied plan to attack across the front, the British Army would carry out offensive operations in Belgium. Four American infantry divisions would fight in this offensive.

The 27th Division, New York National Guard, was commanded by Gen. John O'Ryan. Its insignia was a stylized monogram of the letters "NY" with the constellation Orion superimposed, as a tribute to the division's popular commander. Only soldiers deemed fully competent by the division commander were allowed to wear this insignia. Other American units in Flanders included the 30th "Old Hickory" Division, made up of National Guardsmen from the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee, and the 37th "Buckeye" Division came from Ohio. Draftees from states along the Pacific Coast and Mountain West made up the 91st "Wild West" Division.

The 27th and 30th had served alongside British forces since their arrival in Europe in May 1918. By the time they reached Flanders in August, a brutal war of attrition had long been underway, with Allied and German forces facing off across a war-torn battlefield. American soldiers adjusted to the cruel realities of modern warfare. They encountered seemingly endless artillery barrages, machine gun fire, and horrific chemical gas attacks from a determined German Army dug in along fortified networks of trenches and bunkers. German forces had captured much of the area during their recent offensives in the spring of 1918.

South of Ypres, the 30th Division occupied a sector facing Voormezeele, while the 27th faced Vierstraat. The Germans were dangerously exposed in a salient along the Lys River. Allied attacks intended to reduce this salient if the Germans failed to withdraw. The strongest positions to the German rear constituted the formidable defenses of the Hindenburg Line.

The German Army suffered heavy losses during Allied offensives launched near Amiens on Aug. 8. Foch and other members of the Allied leadership rightly surmised that the Germans would attempt to withdraw back to the Hindenburg Line. In Belgium, British and Belgian armies pushed into the Lys Salient in mid-August to preclude an orderly German withdrawal. The Germans were not yet committed to a general retreat and gave ground grudgingly. This led to fierce battles and determined rear guard actions.

Fearing a major Allied attack, German troops began withdrawing just days after the Americans reached the front lines. From Aug. 29 to Sept. 4, 1918, the two U.S. divisions pushed forward and captured over 1,500 meters to liberate Vierstraat Ridge and Vormezeele.

To the south, German troops occupied Mount Kemmel, one of the highest points above the Flanders plain. American soldiers advanced eastward across open stretches of no-man's land devastated by years of concentrated artillery fire. Beyond this desolation waited a network of complicated concrete fortifications. Serving with the British, the American forces helped break through these formidable obstacles.

The 27th Division attacked and seized Vierstraat on Aug. 31. Advancing beyond the town they weathered fierce counterattacks and heavy machine gun fire but nevertheless pushed on another thousand yards to secure the trench on the slopes of Wytschaete Ridge.

The 30th Division serving with the British II Corps attacked and seized Voormezeele on Sept. 1 and repulsed a German counterattack near Lankhof Farm on Sept. 2. The German withdrawal was skillful, integrating artillery fire, booby traps, machine gun fire and snipers to delay the Allied advance. A particularly pernicious German tactic was the widespread use of mustard gas, which penetrated wool clothing, caused horrific burning, and could remain active for weeks in trenches, shell holes, and low ground. The momentum of the attack was to be sustained by a rotation of units, and on Sept. 4, British divisions replaced the 27th and 30th. By the time the divisions were relieved, the 27th had suffered 1,300 casualties, and the 30th about 800.

Battered by recurrent Allied attacks across a broad front, the Germans committed to a general withdrawal to the formidable defenses of the Hindenburg Line. The Allies pursued but were hindered by logistical difficulties when bringing supplies and ammunition forward across battle damaged terrain they had recently captured.

With synchronized Allied offensives in France already under way, the Allied armies in Flanders resumed the attack on Sept. 28 after a brief but intense artillery barrage. The British and Belgian armies advanced rapidly at first, but the advance stalled by Oct. 5, delayed by rainy weather, mud, badly damaged transportation infrastructure, and skillful German resistance. Artillery and supplies proved particularly difficult to move forward in the saturated terrain. Delays allowed the Germans to rush in reinforcements from their dwindling reserves. The Allies paused to bring forward artillery, supplies, and reinforcements, repair damaged infrastructure, and reorganize. At this time, at the request of Foch, the 37th Division, composed of Ohio and West Virginia National Guardsmen, and the 91st Division, a draftee division made up of men from California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, which had been fighting in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive near Verdun, were repositioned in Flanders.

Now commanded by King Albert I of Belgium, the Allied armies in Flanders renewed the offensive on Oct. 14. By Oct. 20 progress in Belgium had again stalled, again victim to battle damaged bridges and roads, weather, and skillful German resistance. King Albert again reorganized to sustain momentum, and to this end removed depleted French forces from the line, to be replaced by the 37th and 91st.

On Oct. 30, the 37th and 91st took over a frontline sector at Waregem. The attack began in the early hours of Oct. 31, and featured a brief preparatory artillery assault, followed by intense moving barrages timed to correspond with the advance of the troops. The 37th captured Cruyshautem, fought its way to the Scheldt between Heuvel and Eyne, forced a crossing of the river, threw footbridges across it, and defended their bridgehead against a German counterattack. The 91st attacked past Waregem, cleared the dense wooded area known as Spitaals Bosschen, and fought its way to the Scheldt at Audenarde. On Nov. 4, the 37th and 91st were relieved from their positions, and withdrew to prepare for another phase of renewed assaults. The Allies once again paused to bring up supplies, reinforcements, and artillery. But by Nov. 8 it became apparent the Germans were withdrawing from the line. The American divisions resumed their advances east of the Scheldt. By Nov. 11 the 37th reached Dickele and Zwartenbroek, and the 91st reached Elst and Boucle-St. Blaise. At 11 a.m. that day, the campaign and war came to an end when an armistice agreed to by the Allies and Germans at Compiegne went into effect.

Stop 1 - Ypres Cloth Hall

The Ypres Cloth Hall, constructed in the Middle Ages as a commercial hub for the flourishing regional textile industry, was destroyed by artillery fire during World War I. After the war, it was painstakingly reconstructed. Today, the building is home to the In Flanders Field Museum, which tells the story of World War I in the area, including the American involvement. The belfry affords a spectacular view of the city and the surrounding battlefields. There is also a tourist office here.

Stop 2 - Site John McCrae Dressing Station

A native of Ontario, Dr. (Lt. Col.) John McCrae, entered the service of the Canadian Expeditionary Force soon after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. While stationed at this site in the spring of 1915, tending to masses of wounded during the Second Battle of Ypres, McCrae wrote the evocative poem "In Flanders Fields." Published in December of that year, the poem gained widespread attention and immediately resonated with public sentiments regarding wartime sacrifice. His evocative words were the inspiration for the name of the only American World War I cemetery in Belgium.

McCrae himself never saw the full impact of his words. He succumbed to illness on Jan. 28, 1918. He is buried in a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Wimereux, Northern France, not far from where he wrote his famous poem.

Stop 3 - Kemmel American Monument

Kemmel American Monument is located on a slight rise, to give visitors a perspective of the battlefield. It is dedicated to the 27th and 30th Divisions that fought in this area. The monument includes bayonets carved in relief, along with an American World War I helmet set upon a wreath. ABMC dedicated the monument in 1937.

There is a small interpretive sign here with a map to help you orient yourself. Looking north, the small village of Vierstraat was one of the objectives of the 27th during the Ypres-Lys Offensive. The road that runs east-west through Vierstraat was the dividing line between the constituent units of the 27th; the 105th and 106th Infantry Regiments. Each regiment was restricted to attack in its zone, to prevent friendly fire incidents.

The 27th occupied Vierstraat on Aug. 31, 1918, and set up a front line directly to the east. The following day, after a three-and-a-half-hour artillery bombardment, the 27th attacked in the direction of Wyschaete. After capturing a series of machine-gun nests, the offensive stalled in the face of fierce German counterattacks.

Looking back towards Vierstraat, to the right you may be able to see the church steeple of Voormezeele through the trees. This town was captured by the 30th on Sept. 1, 1918.

This region experienced years of combat prior to the Ypres-Lys offensive. There are multiple British and French cemeteries in this area. The reconstructed Bayernwald German trenches are about a five-minute drive to the east.

Map this route: https://maps.app.goo.gl/m4sZpcyxkhu8wPZT9

Download a PDF of ABMC's full World War I Battlefield Companion.