When the US entered the war in 1917, it took time to build up an army to send to Europe to help out. America had basically little more than a home defense force that was ill equipped and ill-trained to fight a modern war in Europe. As soon as possible, US units were sent to France to train with the French and the English (mostly the French) so that when they were sent into battle, they'd at least be ready for what they saw.

Many may not know this, but it was basically the US Marines that were the most ready for this conflict. They had years of experience in China and other places were US expeditionary forces were sent, to build up a cadre of men. Some of these Marine units were incorporated into Army divisions just to provide that experience.

However, such was the desperate condition of the French Army in 1918, with the Germans making gains on every front and the French simply falling apart, that the US was forced to commit forces in June of that year to stem a new German assault, one that seemed sure to take them all the way to Paris and possibly a victory in Europe.

The initial battle of US troops was at Chateau Thierry, along the Marne River. Such as is often the case, things did not go as well as hoped and though the US held the positions as required, many errors were made that led some to think that Americans did not have the ability to fight. We saw the same thing in WWII at Kasserine Pass.

However, the biggest confrontation was at Belleau Wood and this was pretty much a Marine battle. Errors were made here as well, mostly by a command staff that fought from the rear and had no idea what the actual battle situation was like as they never visited the front lines. Fortunately, the Marines fought tenaciously and not only blunted the German advance, but eventually started pushing them back. Few realize that the first day of fighting at Belleau Wood produced the second highest daily casualty rate ever suffered by the Marines. The other was the landing at Tarawa.

Author David Bonk does a superlative job of setting the stage, portraying the day's events, and giving us insight into how well the principle players performed their duties. I found it to be a book that grabbed my attention and held it. This was further enhanced by the excellent illustrations of Peter Davis and the equally well chosen period photographs that are interspersed throughout the book.

It is a book that I can highly recommend to those who want to know about America's earliest experiences in WWI, and a book you can purchase with confidence.

February 2007

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