The Devil Dogs at Belleau Wood: U.S. Marines in World War I - Softcover

Camp, Dick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0760331898 ISBN 13: 9780760331897

Publisher: Zenith Press, 2008

Synopsis

Facing massed German machine guns, the Marines made sweep after bloody sweep through Belleau Wood. Repeatedly accosted by the retreating French and urged to turn back, Captain Lloyd Williams of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, uttered the now-famous retort, "Retreat, hell. We just got here." And indeed, by the end of that terrible June of 1918, the Marines had broken the back of the Germans powerful spring offensive. Their ferocity had earned them the nickname Teufelshunde--Devil Dogs--from their enemies; it also won such admiration from their allies that the French government changed the name of Belleau Wood to Bois de la Brigade de Marine.

The Devil Dogs at Belleau Wood recreates the drama of the battle for Belleau Wood as it was experienced by those who were there. Drawing on numerous firsthand accounts of the month-long engagement, the book captures the spirit of the Leathernecks in desperate battle. It offers a harrowing look at a critical campaign in which, as one soldier says, "men were being mowed down like wheat." And, amidst the carnage and cruelty, it tells the very human story of camaraderie and courage that carried the day.

Rich with the personal insights and observations that bring history to life, the book is illustrated with a great number of photographs, many of which are rare and never before published.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

“Retreat, hell. We just got here!”

 

So said Captain Lloyd Williams, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, to a French officer urging retreat from the Germans as they pushed toward Paris during their massive Spring Offensive of 1918. Instead, the U.S. Marines—fresh to the fight in a war nearly four years old—drew a line just south of Belleau Wood and held it, saving Paris and beginning the end of the war. But there was still deadly work ahead.

 

In a battle that lasted most of June 1918, the Marines made six bloody sweeps into the meadows within Belleau Wood. Facing massed German machine guns, the carnage was terrible. The 4th Marine Brigade persevered, however, and the Spring Offensive—which had threatened to overwhelm French and British forces before the Americans even joined the battle—would never regain its momentum.

 

The Devil Dogs at Belleau Wood brings the battle to life with numerous personal accounts, illustrating the tenacity and ferocity that earned the Marines the “devil dog” nickname. The exciting text is complemented by over one hundred photographs, many that are rare and never before published, mined from the resources of the Marine Corps archives by author Dick Camp.

About the Author:

Dick Camp is a retired Marine Corps colonel and the author of Lima-6, his memoir as a Marine infantry company commander at Khe Sanh. He has written several combat histories of the U.S. Marines, including The Devil Dogs at Belleau Wood, Battleship Arizona's Marines at War, Iwo Jima Recon, and Last Man Standing: The 1st Marine Regiment on Peleliu. He is also the author of Leatherneck Legends: Conversations with the Marine Corps' Old Breed and has published over sixty articles in various military-oriented magazines, including Vietnam, World War II, Marine Corps Gazette, and Leatherneck. Camp is currently the vice president for museum operations at the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, overseeing the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Zenith Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0760331898
• ISBN 13: 9780760331897
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128