The fighting around Belleau Wood pitted units from five German divisions against the U.S. The marines remained in contact with the enemy for almost all of June. This was when American units like the 2 nd Division and its 4th Marines Brigade joined the fray to help stop the Germans at the Battle of Belleau Wood. The German offensive made significant gains for the first few weeks but began to falter by May during the Aisne Offensive. The German leadership hoped the influx of 50 divisions could overwhelm the Allied forces in France, bringing the war to an end before millions of Americans could cross the Atlantic and reinforce France and Britain. In March, the Germans launched this massive attack along the Western Front in France because a peace treaty with the new Bolshevik government in Russia had freed up German units deployed on the Eastern Front. Looking at the strategic context in early 1918, Belleau Wood was only one small piece of a major campaign that saw the American forces help the French and British armies stem the tide of the Deutsches Heer‘s spring offensive. The battlefield lays about five miles west of the town of Château-Thierry, barely fifty miles northeast of Paris, France. The Battle of Belleau Wood occurred 100 years ago in June 1918 during World War I.

These battles are ingrained in the Marines’ collective consciousness from the first days of boot camp, during ceremonies at birthday balls, on walls in museums, and on pages of publications.

Alongside the Battles of Fallujah, Khe Sanh, Chosin, and Iwo Jima, Belleau Wood occupies a hallowed place in U.S. Every marine proudly claims the “Devil dogs” moniker because of their ferocity in combat. Lloyd Williams, and “C’mon you sons-of-bitches, do you want to live forever?” by Gunnery Sgt. marine knows the famous quotes from their comrades fighting in 1918 in the Battle of Belleau Wood: “Retreat, hell we just got here!” by Capt.

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