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What is your conclusion (synopsis) of what was the direct cause? Was it the material, the lack of upkeep, the over-whelming push of the storm, the Barge or all of the above.

Actually, all of the above "except" the barge. The first three were causes; the barge was simply a correlation.

I know the pull of the Barges and the undertow from swimming in a river that had huge barges come around the bend and take you by surprise. We would all get out of the water as fast as we could and watch the barge pull the water from the banks of the river. After it went by the water would recede. It was really scary when we were still in the water swimming like hell for shore.

Your example actually confirms my point. What you felt as a child and expressed as "the pull of the barges" was in reality the pull of the water displaced by the barge as it passed by rushing back in to fill the trough in the barge's wake. Ask yourself, did the barge actually touch you? No, the only thing touching you, that could exert a force, or "pull" on you, was the water.

One additional point: timing could be a factor in the perception of this incident. If the barge "just happened" to arrive and strike the levee at the same time the visible portion of the levee collapsed, it could indeed appear to an observer that the barge "smashed" through.