Miracle at Belleau Wood : The Birth of the Modern U.S. Marine Corps

By the time the Battle of Belleau Wood was over, American forces hailed it as the Gettysburg of the Great War. Although it did not single-handedly win WWI, this extremely bloody battle did mark the end of the last major German offensive of the war. Miracle at Belleau Wood is a thoroughly researched, intelligent, and insightful account of one of the U.S. Army's most intense and ferocious actions of the Great War. It is also the story of how the Marines were transformed from a motley crew of shipboard soldiers and embassy guards into, ultimately, one of the world's most elite fighting units. This brand new account of one of the most stirring battles of the Great War is an essential read for anyone with an interest in that particular theatre and the history of U.S. Marine Corps. Even before it was over at the end of June 1918, Americans were hailing the Battle of Belleau Wood as "the Gettysburg of the Great War." World War I.U.S. Army general Robert L. Bullard put it this way: "The marines didn't win the war here, but they saved the Allies from defeat. Had they arrived a few hours later, I think that would have been the beginning of the end." Gettysburg? It was more like Thermopylae, 480 BC, when three hundred Spartans held back some say as many as a half million Persians. In 1918, throughout the nearly month-long struggle for a twisted patch of French woodland half the size of New York Citys Central Park, the U.S. Marines were always outnumbered by the Germans, but, at the very start of the battle, overwhelmingly so. Just two hundred of them held off the leading edge of Crown Prince Rupprecht's entire army. Stunned by the casualties this tiny band inflicted on them, the German soldiers branded the marines Teufelhunden, and the men of the Marine Corps have proudly called themselves Devil Dogs ever since. Belleau Wood, the former hunting preserve of a Parisian aristocrat, lay little more than thirty miles northeast of Paris. Had the Germans broken through it in June 1918, they would almost surely have captured the French capital, and, with its fall, have knocked France out of the war, leaving the British and the newly arrived Americans little alternative but to surrender on the best terms they could get. In this, their maiden battle of World War I, the United States Marines made sure that the German army was stopped in Belleau Wood before it could get to Paris. The victory was won at the terrible cost of about 40 percent marine casualties overall, with some companies being virtually wiped out. But the Battle of Belleau Wood burned the marines into the American imagination, instantly elevating the Corps to legendary status and forever transforming American military doctrine itself by demonstrating how the bold and efficient use of small, highly trained, utterly committed units could make the difference even in wars fought on the most massive of scales, bringing the battle to the enemy no matter how overwhelming the odds. - Publisher Now in paperback! Military Book Club® Main Selection History Book Club® Featured Alternate * The battle that transformed a group of common soldiers into the modern-day Marine CorpsMiracle at Belleau Wood begins in June 1918 at Les Mare Farm in France with just 200 U.S. marines, who spilled their blood to prevail against impossible odds, resisting an overwhelming German force of thousands and turned the battle back against the enemy, saved Paris, saved France, and saved the Allied hope of victory. Called the Gettysburg of the Great War by many at the time, it rescued America and its allies from almost certain defeat. This book tells the riveting story of the modern marines as America's fiercest and most effective warriors, the world's preeminent fighting elite. Miracle at Belleau Wood is the story of an epoch-making battle--a battle that elevated the Corps to legendary status and forever burned them into the American imagination. Praise for Miracle at Belleau Wood Axelrod brings us back vividly to the shocking casualties of ‘the war to end all wars.' Bing West, author of No True Glory, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Alan Axelrod has perfectly captured the embodiment of U.S. Marines and their unparalleled Esprit de Corps. ... A must read! Jay Kopelman, author of the best-selling From Baghdad with Love Axelrod is one of America's great military historians. He's done it this time with riveting non-stop action that reads like the best of Hemingway's frontline reports plus the Marine Corps novels of W.E.B. Griffin. Axelrod pushes you right into the action, onto the battlefield, and never lets up. Paul B. Farrell, JD, PhD, syndicated columnist for Dow Jones's MarketWatch, former Staff Sergeant in the US Marine Corps Praise for Patton: A Biography Like Patton at his best: polished, precise, and persuasive. Kirkus Reviews 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. Miracle at Belleau Wood begins at Les Mare Farm in France with just 200 U.S. marines, who spend their blood to prevail against impossible odds, resisting an overwhelming German force of thousands until, joined by more marines, they turn the battle back against the enemy, save Paris, save France, and save the Allied hope of total victory. Call it, as many Americans did in 1918, the Gettysburg of the Great War, or compare it to the Spartan sacrifice at Thermopylae, it was the birth of the modern marines By the time the Battle of Belleau Wood was over, Americans hailed it as "the Gettysburg of the Great War." Although it did not win World War I, it did rescue America and its allies from almost certain defeat, much as the Civil War's Gettysburg denied the Confederates victory. In June 1918, all that stood between the German army and Allied defeat was 200 United States Marines. But Belleau Wood was more than the salvation of the four-year Allied crusade to make the world safe for democracy. The battle, stunning in 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 worlds preeminent fighting elite. Front Cover......Page 1 Copyright......Page 3 Table of Contents......Page 6 Front Matter......Page 8 Body......Page 22 Index......Page 276 Back Cover......Page 282 Spine......Page 283 Alan Axelrod. Map On Lining Papers. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.