Download or read book The 4th Marine Brigade at Belleau Wood and Soissons written by J. Michael Miller and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2020-06-29 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The battles of Belleau Wood and Soissons in June and July of 1918 marked a turning point in World War I and in the stature of the US Marine Corps, whose fighting proved so critical in repelling the Germans that the French would later rename Belleau “Bois de la Brigade de Marine.” In this book J. Michael Miller, a historian of the Marine Corps and veteran chronicler of battle, takes us to the battlefields of Belleau Wood and Soissons, immersing us in the experience of a single brigade of marines at the forefront of the fighting. Through a close-up look at the doughboys’ singular impact on Allied victory in 1918, his work illuminates America’s bloody sacrifice during World War I. The 4th Marine Brigade at Belleau Wood and Soissons for the first time treats these two battles as one campaign and demonstrates why it is impossible to fully understand one without the other. Miller outlines the company and platoon levels of combat throughout the campaign, establishing a basic tactical understanding of the fighting; he also draws on letters, diaries, memoirs, and interviews to create a vivid and personal reconstruction of the battles. His use of French and German sources, also a first, adds unprecedented insights to this boots-on-the-ground account. The book includes detailed mapping of both battlefields, with a thirty-six-stop guide linking the text with the actual terrain. For each of these stops Miller gives GPS coordinates to provide a virtual tour of the sites he discusses. With its strategic overview and ground-level perspective, Miller’s work suggests a new interpretation and offers a new experience of an iconic moment in American military history—and in the story of the Marine Corps.
Download or read book Devil Dogs Chronicle written by George B. Clark and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2013-03-02 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 4th Marine Brigade, with roughly 10,000 men, was the only large Marine unit to see major action in World War I. Dubbed "Devil Dogs" by the Germans, the 4th was part of the 2nd Division of the American Expeditionary Forces, nicknamed the "Race Horse Division" for its rapid and devastating pursuit of the enemy. The 4th Brigade fought at Verdun, Soissons, St. Mihiel, Blanc Mont, and the Meuse-Argonne, and its signature victory at Belleau Wood saved Paris from falling into German hands. It was also one of the major reasons that the 2nd Division advanced more miles, captured more territory, and amassed more casualties than any other in the war. George Clark, a former Marine and expert on Marine Corps history, here draws upon memoirs, diaries, letters, and post-war interviews-most of which have not been seen since the war ended-to create a chorus of voices chronicling the 4th Brigade's experiences. Through the words of these Marines, Clark captures the rigors of training at Paris Island and Quantico, the ferocity of combat overseas, and the strange quietude of occupation. He reveals what it was like for these men to fight in trenches while knee-deep in mud, with rats playing over them as they slept; going days between meals, often surviving on what they could forage from dead German or French packs; and even wishing for a wound that would allow some time off far from the terrors of the front. He also illuminates the dread and despair of Marines who beat the odds during one blood bath, surviving when most of their comrades did not, only to find themselves flung into an even worse battle not long afterward. One German soldier remarked that these "Americans are savages. They kill everything that moves," a caustic testament to the Marines' intensity and prowess. But that came at a cost: by war's end the 4th had suffered a severe casualty rate of 150 percent. Vividly reflecting the horrors of that "war to end all wars," Devil Dogs Chronicle pays tribute to the Marines whose bravery helped the Allies achieve victory in the first global conflict.
Download or read book The Fourth Marine Brigade in World War I written by George B. Clark and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-04-22 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War I, the American Expeditionary Force Second Division saw more action and captured more ground and enemy combatants than any other, including the vaunted First Division. The 4th Marine Brigade, especially, earned a reputation as a steadfast unit of superb fighting men. Drawing on battle reports and other official documents, this volume follows those Marines through their service in France in 1917 and 1918, their postwar occupation of Germany, and their arrival in New York City in August 1919. Chapters covering each of the brigade's seven battalions recount their role in some of the most intense battles of the war, including Belleau Wood, Soissons, St. Mihiel, Blanc Mont and the Meuse River. Descriptions of the Armistice, homecoming parades, and the brigade's inactivation at Quantico complete this comprehensive chronicle of one of the American military's most distinguished units.
Download or read book To the Limit of Endurance written by Peter F. Owen and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2007-08-15 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholars and historians offer several theories for the crippling losses suffered by the American Expeditionary Forces on the battlefields of World War I: inexperience, poor leadership, hasty expansion of duties, and others. But until now, most of these studies have focused at the division level or higher. Now, with To the Limit of Endurance, Peter F. Owen offers a tautly worded, historically rigorous, and intensely human survey of the agonizing burden shouldered by the Second Battalion of the Sixth Regiment of U.S. Marines from its formation in Quantico, Virginia, in 1917 until the cessation of hostilities in November of the following year. In places like Belleau Wood and Soissons, these young men, led by dedicated officers, died in staggering numbers—primarily because of the outmoded tactics they had learned. Owen shows how the battalion regrouped after these campaigns, however, and embarked on a period of intense retraining. By the time of the closing weeks of the war, the adjustments they had made allowed them to mold themselves into a coldly efficient military machine. Drawing on a treasure trove of surviving first-hand accounts, Owen expertly combines these individual observations with military records and archival sources to create a mosaic that provides not only a case study of how one organization grappled with transformation but also a tightly focused, ground-level view of the lives—and deaths—of these courageous American military men. The grueling, ultimately triumphant odyssey of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines will appeal to military historians, professional soldiers, and interested general readers.
Download or read book Through the Wheat written by Edwin Howard Simmons and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2011-09-15 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: U.S. Marine participation in World War I is known as a defining moment in the Marine Corps' great history. It is a story of exceptional heroism and significant operational achievements, along with lessons learned the hard way. The Marines entered World War I as a small force of seagoing light infantry that had rarely faced a well-armed enemy. On a single June day, in their initial assault "through the wheat" on Belleau Wood against German machine-guns and poison gas shells, the Marines suffered more casualties than they had experienced in all their previous 142 years. Yet at Belleau Wood, Soissons, BlancMont, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne the Marines proved themselves to be hard-nosed diehards with an affinity for close combat. Nearly a century later Belleau Wood still resonates as a touchstone battle of the Corps. Two retired Marines, well known for their achievements both in uniform and with the pen, have recorded this rich history in a way that only insiders can. Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Simmons and Col. Joseph H. Alexander recount events and colorful personalities in telling detail, capturing the spirit that earned the 4th Marine Brigade three awards of the French Croix de Guerre and launched the first pioneering detachments of "Flying Leathernecks." Here, hand-to-hand combat seen through the lenses of a gas mask is accompanied by thought-provoking assessments of the war's impact on the Marine Corps.
Download or read book Miracle at Belleau Wood written by Alan Axelrod and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2010-10-05 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Battle of Belleau Wood, stunning in both its concentration and intensity, was the fiery furnace from which the modern United States Marine Corps emerged as America's fiercest and most effective warriors, the world's preeminent fighting elite.
Download or read book US Marine Corps in World War I 1917 18 written by Mark Henry and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though the US Marines initially struggled to maintain their distinctive identity within the huge American Expeditionary Force in France, their unforgettable performance at Belleau Wood, Soissons, St Mihiel, Blanc Mont and the Meuse-Argonne established their reputation as 'the most aggressive body of diehards on the Western Front'. This book describes the organization of this formidable force from 1917-18 and details their uniforms, insignia and decorations, weapons and equipment. Numerous photographs and eight full colour plates vividly depict the various ranks of the US Marine Corps.
Download or read book Over There written by Carl Andrew Brannen and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 1997-06 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "When America declared war in 1917, I was a few months past eighteen years of age and just finishing my first year in college. By the time I was to reenter in the fall for the second year, war activities were [under way] on a large scale. Men were going into some branch of the service on all sides. I felt that my family should do their bit in uniform, and my age designated me as the most appropriate one." This Texas A&M College student was Carl Andrew Brannen; these are his memoirs of a time when boys became men and your country became your life. Over There: A Marine in the Great War takes the reader on an almost two-year journey through his world as a young soldier in the war. Based on Brannen's memoirs recorded in the 1930s and photographs he took with a German camera as a soldier, this book describes day-to-day obstacles he and his fellow soldiers faced during Marine Corps training, movement to France, and mortal combat. "As I jumped for protection into a ditch nearby, a fusillade of bullets caught me below the heart on the left side, through one lens of the field glasses, and against my bandoleer of ammunition. The best I remember, ten bullets in my own belt exploded, but they had deflected the enemy bullets, saving my life." Brannen, though wounded in battle and in the hospital for three weeks, went on with 80th Company through the Meuse-Argonne campaign to the armistice on November 11. He pulled his months of duty in the occupation of the Rhineland and, at its end, earned a place in the Composite Regiment of men selected to represent the American Expeditionary Forces in the many ceremonial events of 1919. Complemented with a unique set of photographs by the author's son that retrace his father's military campaigns, Over There is a highly personal account, presented from an enlisted man's perspective of the battle fronts of Belleau Woods in the Château-Thierry sector, Soissons, Pont-a-Mousson, St. Mihiel, Blanc Mont Ridge, and the Meuse-Argonne battle. As a first hand commentary and a social document of life in the trenches during World War I, it is a useful contribution to military history. Brannen's personal accounts will touch and fascinate all those interested in World War I.
Download or read book UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS IN THE WORLD WAR written by EDWIN N. MCCLELLAN and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book At Belleau Wood written by Robert B. Asprey and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Battle account of the successful American "baptism of fire" in June 1918 northwest of Chateau-Thierry, France, as experienced by soldiers and marines of the Second Division.
Download or read book US Marine Corps in World War I 1917 18 written by Mark Henry and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though the US Marines initially struggled to maintain their distinctive identity within the huge American Expeditionary Force in France, their unforgettable performance at Belleau Wood, Soissons, St Mihiel, Blanc Mont and the Meuse-Argonne established their reputation as 'the most aggressive body of diehards on the Western Front'. This book describes the organization of this formidable force from 1917-18 and details their uniforms, insignia and decorations, weapons and equipment. Numerous photographs and eight full colour plates vividly depict the various ranks of the US Marine Corps.
Download or read book Fortitudine written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Hideous Price written by Peter F. Owen and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The United States Marine Corps in the World War written by Edwin North McClellan and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The United States Marine Corps in the World War provides succinct, factual, and historical information on the Marine Corps during the First World War. Published initially in 1920 as the first book from the newly created Historical Section of the Marine Corps, Major Edwin N. McClellan's history of Marines in the first global war has stood the test of time with its statistical and concise details of the growth, activities, and combat exploits of the Marines. During the 50th anniversary of the First World War, History Division provides an updated version that accounts for more accurate casualty numbers."--Description from page 2 of dust jacket.
Download or read book At Belleau Wood with Rifle and Sketchpad written by Louis C. Linn and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2012-01-23 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of all the American divisions in World War I, the 4th Brigade of Marines, Second Division (Regular Army), A.E.F., suffered the most casualties, captured the second most territory, captured the most enemy prisoners and equipment, and won the most decorations for valor. Louis Linn, a young Marine in this illustrious division, carried a sketchbook and pencil stub, drawing whenever he could to maintain his sanity in the madness of war. Several years after the Armistice, he used these sketches to write the stories of events that haunted him, that gave him nightmares, that kept him awake at night. Never before published, Linn's memoir recalls his training in Norfolk and Quantico, life in the trenches at Verdun, fighting at the Battle of Belleau Wood, his wounding at Soissons and again at St. Mihiel, and his subsequent hospitalization. Throughout, his sketches and woodcuts portray the action, providing a vivid account of the war from the trenches.
Download or read book With the Help of God and a Few Marines written by Albertus Wright Catlin and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of the 6th Marine Regiment in World War I by its commander. The 6th Marine Regiment was part of the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division. It is a classic USMC account of their war in France, particularly the battle of Belleau Woods in June 1918.
Download or read book Five Lieutenants written by James Carl Nelson and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2012-11-13 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: James Carl Nelson tells the dramatic true story of five brilliant young soldiers from Harvard, a thrilling tale of combat and heroism. Five Lieutenants tells the story of five young Harvard men who took up the call to arms in the spring of 1917 and met differing fates in the maelstrom of battle on the Western Front in 1918. Delving deep into the motivations, horrific experiences, and ultimate fates of this Harvard-educated quintet—and by extension of the brilliant young officer class that left its collegiate and post-collegiate pursuits to enlist in the Army and lead America's rough-and-ready doughboys—Five Lieutenants presents a unique, timeless, and fascinating account of citizen soldiers at war, and of the price these extraordinary men paid while earnestly giving all they had in an effort to end "the war to end all wars." Drawing upon the subjects' intimate, eloquent, and uncensored letters and memoirs, this is a fascinating microcosm of the American experience in the First World War, and of the horrific experiences and hardships of the educated class of young men who were relied upon to lead doughboys in the trenches and, ultimately, in open battle.
