The battle that transformed a group of common
soldiers into the modern-day Marine Corps
Miracle 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 Americas fiercest and most effective warriors, the worlds 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.
Alan Axelrod is the author of many books on leadership, management, history, military history, corporate history, career, general business, and more. After receiving his Ph.D. in English from the University of Iowa in 1979, Axelrod taught early American literature and culture at Lake Forest College (Lake Forest, Illinois) and at Furman University (Greenville, South Carolina). He then entered scholarly publishing in 1982 as associate editor and scholar with the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum (Winterthur, Delaware), an institution specializing in the history and material culture of America prior to 1832. Axelrod was a featured speaker at the 2004 Conference on Excellence in Government (Washington, D.C.), at the Leadership Institute of Columbia College (Columbia, South Carolina), and at the 2005 Annual Conference of the Goizueta School of Business, Emory University (Atlanta), and the 2014 annual conference of Ecopetrol (Bogota, Colombia).
Miracle at Belleau Wood
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
The Woods and the War
Chapter 2
Bellhops and Stevedores
Chapter 3
“A Quiet Sector”
Chapter 4
55th Company, 2d Battalion, 5th Brigade
Chapter 5
Huns
Chapter 6
Teufelhunden
Chapter 7
“Retreat, Hell!”
Chapter 8
A Dark Sullen Mystery
Chapter 9
“Follow Me!”
Chapter 10
“Do You Want to Live Forever?”
Chapter 11
Victory—or Death?
Chapter 12
The Outsiders View
Chapter 13
Bois de la Brigade de Marine
Chapter 14
“There Arent Any More Marines”
Chapter 15
Spartans for a New Thermopylae
"Axelrod is one Americas great military historians. Hes done it this time with riveting non-stop action that reads like the best of Hemingways 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. You become a firsthand witness to one of the worlds great battles, proud and heart-pounding as the elite force, the Devil Dogs, are born in a small forest outside Paris. This is one book I wish Id written!"--Paul B. Farrell, J.D., Ph.D., syndicated columnist for Dow Jones MarketWatch. He is the author of The Lazy Persons Guide to Investing, a former investment banker with Morgan Stanley, and a former Staff Sergeant in the US Marine Corps.
“Alan Axelrod has perfectly captured the embodiment of U.S. Marines and their unparalleled Esprit de Corps in his new book, Miracle at Belleau Wood. As a former Marine, I find Axelrods descriptions of the combat in that bloody battle for which the Corps became legendary -- and which is the foundation of its mythic lore -- compelling and gut-wrenching. Axelrods re-telling of the tales -- some from the letters, diaries and personal accounting of those who fought there -- more than does justice to Marines at Bois de la Brigade de Marine, as Belleau Wood became known to honor the Devil Dogs who fought and died there. More heroes and legends grew from Belleau Wood than from any other battle in the Corpss history. The names ring out in Axelrods book -- Daly, Blanchfield, Lee. Legends one and all. Axelrod brings it all to life for the reader. Though a historical accounting of the battle, Miracle at Belleau Wood puts the reader in the front row -- inches of real estate were purchased with gallons of blood -- as you witness the heroism and ups and downs endured by the Marines as they defeated the Germans at overwhelming odds. As Axelrod writes, ...created...in 1775, the United States Marine Corps was born in that French forest...in 1918. A must read!”--Jay Kopelman, author of the best-selling From Baghdad with Love, and a former Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps
"Axelrod brings us back vividly to the shocking casualties of the war to end all wars, opening up fresh insights into the nature of the fighting and the decisions that shaped a generation."--Bing West is a correspondent for The Atlantic and the award-winning author of two books on the Iraq war. He is a former Marine in Vietnam and assistant secretary of defense.
