U.S. Marines in World War I Commemorative Series

THE

BRAVEST

DEEDS

OF

MEN

A FIELD GUIDE FOR THE 

BATTLE OF BELLEAU WOOD

Colonel William T. Anderson, USMCR (Ret)

History Division

United States Marine Corps

Quantico, Virginia

2018

gh
This pamphlet history, one in a series devoted to U.S. Marines in 

the First World War, is published for the education and training 

of Marines by the History Division, Marine Corps University, 

Quantico, Virginia, as part of the Marine Corps’ observance of the 

centennial anniversary of that war. Editorial costs have been defrayed in part by contributions from members of the Marine Corps 

Heritage Foundation.

No. 4 in the U.S. Marines in World War I Commemorative Series

Acting Director of Marine Corps History

Paul J. Weber

WWI Commemorative Series Historian

Annette D. Amerman

WWI Commemorative Series Editor

Angela J. Anderson
8 iii 8

CONTENTS

Foreword v

Preface vii

Establishment of the 4th Brigade 1

The Battle of Belleau Wood 15

Battle Chronology 20

Summary 46

The Opposing Forces 49

Battlefield Itinerary and Stands 55

Map Symbols 86

Bibliography 87

About the Author 95

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8 v 8

FOREWORD

The Battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918 was the first major 

engagement between the Germans and U.S. Marines. The 

Germans were stunned to find that not only could the Marines fight, but they were also deadly marksman who were 

incapable of quitting the field of battle until it was theirs. 

Today, Bois de la Brigade de Marine and the surrounding 

woods, small towns, and farmland appear much the same as 

it did a century ago. The battlefield remains scarred with the 

impact craters from artillery and the trenches and defensive 

positions carved into the ground by a previous generation 

of fighters. With the creation of Colonel William T. Anderson’s, USMCR (Ret) field guide, visitors can now walk the 

area with the history of the battle in their pockets and at their 

fingertips. This guide was written based on Colonel Anderson’s experience leading staff rides and private tours of the 

battlefield and will give readers the ability to experience the 

terrain on their own. 

Colonel Anderson led Marines on tours of Belleau 

Wood for 10 years while stationed at Supreme Headquargh
8 vi 8

FOREWORD

ters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium. He served as the 

officer-in-charge, Reserve Augmentation Unit and Deputy 

Chief of Staff, Headquarters Marine Corps Forces Europe, 

from 1992 to 1998. From 2009 to 2017, he served on the adjunct faculty of the Command and Staff College’s Distance 

Education Program, Marine Corps University, Quantico, 

Virginia. He has published numerous articles and notes 

about Belleau Wood in the course of his career. This field 

guide serves as an excellent addition to our U.S. Marines in 

World War I Commemorative Series and as a useful tool for 

Marines, historians, and all those interested in the battle. 

Paul J. Weber

Acting Director

Marine Corps History Division
8 vii 8

PREFACE

In a series of battles in France in World War I, the U.S. 2d 

Division fought for control of an area called Bois de Belleau

(Belleau Wood) near the town of Château-Thierry. It was 

here in this former hunting preserve that the 4th Brigade 

won fame and glory. In commemoration of the deeds and 

sacrifices of those who fought here, the French Army commander renamed the Bois de Belleau as Bois de la Brigade 

de Marine or the Marine Brigade Wood.

The words and deeds of Marines during this battle have 

become important parts of Marine Corps history and tradition. Indeed, some aspects have become Marine Corps legend. For example, the origin of the nickname “Devil Dogs” 

is said to have its roots in Belleau Wood. Legend states that 

the Germans were so impressed with the aggressiveness of 

the Marines that the soldiers called the Marines Devil Dogs 

after the large hunting dogs that victimized them at the nearby Château Belleau. In fact, the term from which Devil Dogs 

is derived—Teufelhund—is possibly a creation of the Marine 

Corps’ own Publicity Bureau as it was used on an April 1918 

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8 viii 8

PREFACE

recruiting poster. More significantly, besides its strategic and operational consequences in blunting the German 

offensive and restoring hope to the exhausted Allies, the 

fighting at Belleau Wood is generally considered to be an 

evolutionary bridge in the development of the modern and 

“Always Ready” Marine Corps of today. 

The origins of this field guide began in the early 1990s 

with a group of Marine Corps officers serving with the author at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) 

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in 

Casteau, Belgium. Recognizing the importance of Belleau 

Wood to Marine Corps history, the Marines at SHAPE 

would drive to Belleau Wood and attend the Memorial Day 

and Veterans Day ceremonies at the Aisne-Marne American 

Cemetery and Memorial in Belleau, France, adjacent to Belleau Wood. It was during this period that informal battlefield walks started in 1992. Colonel Larry K. Brown (Ret), 

Colonel John H. Turner (Ret), and Lieutenant Colonel Edward T. Forte (Ret) contributed to this effort.

Following the establishment of the U.S. Marine Corps 

Forces Europe (MARFOREUR) headquarters in Stuttgart, 

Germany, in 1993, more Marines in Europe were able to 

attend the annual Memorial Day ceremonies at the Belleau 

cemetery. Believing it important for Marines attending 

these ceremonies to take advantage of the opportunity to 

learn more about the battle, the author and Lieutenant Colonel Thomas W. Williams at MARFOREUR worked on an 

organized battlefield tour. They approached then-Brigadier 

General David Mize, deputy J-3 (operations) at U.S. European Command (EUCOM), with the idea of a formal staff ride. 

Until this time, an organized group study of Belleau Wood 

had never been done. With Mize’s guidance, they developed 

an appropriate staff ride that was conducted in 1995. Under 

the leadership of then-Brigadier General Michael W. Hagee 
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PREFACE

(later 33d Commandant of the Marine Corps), who became 

deputy J-3 at EUCOM in 1996, the original battlefield tour 

was expanded into a full-day battle study on the Saturday 

prior to the annual Memorial Day ceremonies. Marines who 

contributed to this effort also include General Robert B. 

Neller, Colonel M. C. O’Neal (Ret), Lieutenant Colonel W. 

E. Holdorf (Ret), and Lieutenant Colonel E. M. Velasquez 

(Ret). Their efforts live on in these pages. That original staff 

ride, with its stands at historically significant locations, is 

the foundation of this publication and uncounted battlefield 

tours for Marines since that time.

The author feels particularly fortunate to have been able 

to collaborate with Lieutenant Colonel R. L. “Bill” Cody, 

who produced the remarkable maps. This was truly a working relationship as they challenged each other on several occasions to ensure the maps were not only accurate but also 

an effective complement to the text. Cody’s artistic talent 

and technical ability allowed him to create these excellent 

maps that contribute significantly to the overall result. The 

battle maps presented in this guide are based on maps published by American, German, and French authorities after 

the war. The base maps for the stands in the itinerary section 

came from recent satellite images of the battlefield. What 

is fascinating is the fact that the terrain and vegetation has 

changed very little in the last 100 years. 

The author is very grateful for Cody’s assistance and 

friendship. Generous financial assistance for this project 

came from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. The 

grant allowed the author to continue the research and travel 

associated with the project. 

There is one final acknowledgment. Gilles Lagin of 

Marigny-en-Orxois, France, continues to be a valuable 

source of information about the countryside around Belleau 

Wood and the movements of American soldiers and Marines 
8 x 8

PREFACE

during the battle. His passion about all things associated 

with the Marine Corps in the Great War is remarkable and 

noteworthy. 

The title of this guide comes from the Edgar A. Guest 

poem, “Battle of Belleau Wood,” published in 1922. It was 

reportedly General John A. Lejeune’s favorite poem of all 

the verses written after the war.

Battle of Belleau Wood

It was thick with Prussian troopers, it was foul with German guns;

Every tree that cast a shadow was a sheltering place for 

Huns.

Death was guarding every roadway, death was watching every field,

And behind each rise of terrain was a rapid-fire concealed

But Uncle Sam’s Marines had orders: “Drive the Boche 

from where they’re hid.

For the honor of Old Glory, take the woods!” and so they 

did.

I fancy none will tell it as the story should be told—

None will ever do full justice to those Yankee troopers 

bold.

How they crawled upon their stomachs through the 

fields of golden wheat

With the bullets spitting at them in that awful battle heat.

It’s a tale too big for writing; it’s beyond the voice or pen,

But it glows among the splendor of the bravest deeds of men.

It’s recorded as a battle, but I fancy it will live,

As the brightest gem of courage human struggles have to 

give.
8 xi 8

PREFACE

Inch by inch, they crawled to victory toward the flaming 

mounts of guns;

Inch by inch, they crawled to grapple with the barricaded Huns

On through fields that death was sweeping with a murderous fire, they went

Till the Teuton line was vanquished and the German 

strength was spent.

Ebbed and flowed the tides of battle as they’ve seldom 

done before;

Slowly, surely, moved the Yankees against all the odds 

of war.

For the honor of the fallen, for the glory of the dead,

The living line of courage kept the faith and moved 

ahead.

They’d been ordered not to falter, and when night came 

on they stood

With Old Glory proudly flying o’er the trees of Belleau 

Wood.1

Are you ready to join us “through the wheat”?

1

 This and many other similar writings can be found in their entirety in W. D. Eaton, ed., Great Poems of the World War (Chicago: T. S. Denison, 1922), 29–30.

8 1 8

ESTABLISHMENT 

OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

Activation of Marine Corps Units

Although America’s participation in the Great War began 

officially on 6 April 1917 with the declaration of war, the secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, anticipated dramatic 

increases in requirements for the naval Service. With the 

Naval Act of 1916 (Public Law 64-231, dated 29 August 1916), 

both the Navy and the Marine Corps expanded dramatically. 

Supported by Secretary of the Navy Daniels, Major General 

Commandant George Barnett concluded he could provide 

two regiments of Marines for service with the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). 

The first of these, the 5th Regiment, was hastily organized from existing companies at various posts, stations, 

and ship detachments throughout the Marine Corps with an 

activation date of 8 June 1917. By order of President Woodrow Wilson, the regiment was transferred to control of the 

War Department, which was responsible for the AEF vice 

the Navy Department. This new regiment was among the 

first AEF contingents to go to France, with the 1st Battalgh
8 2 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

ion arriving on 27 June 1917. The second, the 6th Regiment, 

began assembling at Quantico, Virginia, the new Marine 

Corps base, on 11 July 1917. 

After considerable pressure for the use of the Marines, 

the War Department authorized a brigade of Marines on 

20 September 1917 to replace an Army brigade originally 

planned for the Army’s 2d Division. Joining the 5th Regiment, the battalions of the 6th Regiment arrived in France 

on 5 October 1917. On 23 October 1917, the brigade was 

organized formally, consisting of the 5th Regiment and elements of the 6th Regiment, plus units of a machine gun 

battalion still embarked, with newly promoted Brigadier 

General Charles A. Doyen, commander of this new 4th Brigade. Doyen opened the 2d Division headquarters on 26 

October 1917. On 8 November 1917, he turned over command of the division to Army Major General Omar Bundy. 

The Marine Corps formed a machine gun battalion on 

17 August 1917, consisting of the 77th and 81st Companies 

for service with the regiments. When the 5th Regiment left 

for France, each of its battalions included a machine gun 

company. Later, as the Marine battalions arrived in France, 

the machine gun companies were reorganized into the 6th 

Machine Gun Battalion with four companies (15th, 23d, 

77th, and 81st) to support the brigade. In addition, each 

Marine regiment contained one machine gun company: 5th 

Regiment (8th Machine Gun Company) and 6th Regiment 

(73d Machine Gun Company). By 28 December 1917, the reorganization was completed and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion joined the brigade.

Since coming to France, the Marines had performed 

mostly stevedoring and guard duties. According to many 

accounts, it was a dreary experience for the Marines. With 

the coming of the New Year, activity picked up and training 

began in earnest. On 12 January 1918, Colonel Albertus W. 
8 3 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

Catlin opened 6th Regiment headquarters. With the arrival of the 2d Battalion on 5 February 1918, the regiment was 

now intact. Major Holland M. Smith served as the brigade 

adjutant or operations officer.2

 When Doyen returned to 

the United States in early May due to illness, Army Brigadier 

General James G. Harbord, formerly the AEF chief of staff, 

became the new brigade commander.3

The 2d Division went to the trenches on 13 March 1918 

in a so-called “quiet sector” southeast of Verdun, France, 

for frontline training. From 17 to 30 March, these elements 

participated in the occupation of sectors on the west face of 

the Saint-Mihiel salient. The division continued its service 

at the front until 13 May, when it was relieved to conduct 

further training. On 18 May, it was assigned to the French 

Group of Armées of Reserve. As a result of the German offensive on 27 May 1918, the brigade’s scheduled Decoration 

Day (now known as Memorial Day) festivities were canceled. The division was placed at the disposal of the French 

Sixth Army on 31 May and directed to the French XXI Corps 

sector near Château-Thierry to assist in the Aisne defensive, 

which put the Marines on the road to Belleau Wood. The 

rest, as they say, is history.

2

 Gen Holland Smith (1882–1967) entered the Marine Corps in 1905. Transferred 

to the I Corps, First Army, in July 1918, he served as assistant operations officer in charge of liaison during the Aisne-Marne, Oisne-Aisne, Saint-Mihiel, and 

Meuse-Argonne offensives. After the Armistice, he participated in the march to 

the Rhine through Belgium and Luxembourg as an assistant operations officer 

with the Third Army, and served with the General Staff, U.S. Army, during the 

occupation of Germany. Sometimes called “the father of modern U.S. amphibious 

warfare,” he was one of America’s top commanders in the Pacific during World 

War II. Most notably, he led Task Force 56 (Expeditionary Troops) at Iwo Jima, 

which included all the assault troops in that battle. The three Marine divisions 

were commanded by former lieutenants who had fought at Belleau Wood: MajGen Keller E. Rockey (5th Marine Division), MajGen Graves B. Erskine (3d Marine Division), and MajGen Clifton B. Cates (4th Marine Division). 3

 Gen Harbord (1866–1947) would later command the 2d Division and end the war 

leading the American Expeditionary Forces’s Services of Supply, transforming its 

operations into a model of efficiency.
8 4 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

Devil Dogs in Navy Blue and Gold

At the same time the Marine Corps experienced significant 

growth for the war in Europe, the U.S. Navy expanded the 

Chaplain Corps and the Medical Corps to support the new 

requirements. 

U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps: although the Navy’s Chaplain 

Corps had been serving aboard ships for many years, only 

one chaplain was assigned to the Marine Corps in 1917. 

Chaplain Edmund A. Brodmann had been serving at Marine 

Barracks Port Royal, South Carolina, since 19 November 

1916. According to the Chaplain Corps’ history: “His tour 

of duty marks the beginning of the unbroken connection of 

Navy chaplains with the Marine Corps.”

Subsequently, Chaplains George L. Bayard and John J. 

Brady joined the 5th Regiment in Philadelphia, while the regiment waited to sail to France in June 1917. Later, Chaplains 

James D. MacNair and Harris A. Darche were directed to 

Quantico to join the newly forming 6th Regiment and were 

with the regiment when it arrived in France late in October 

1917. As the 4th Brigade formed, each regiment had one 

Roman Catholic and one Protestant chaplain. Additional 

chaplains arrived with the replacement battalions throughout the remainder of the war. Ultimately, 13 chaplains served 

the Marines in France, participating in every major engagement. Four chaplains were awarded the Navy Cross for their 

actions and were the first chaplains so honored: Chaplains 

Brady, Darche, MacNair, and Albert N. Park, who had replaced Chaplain Bayard.

Chaplain Brady’s exploits at Belleau Wood are representative of the exemplary conduct of these brave men of the 

church providing religious services to their Marines. His 

Navy Cross citation reads:

The President of the United States of America takes 
8 5 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant, 

Junior Grade (Chaplain) John J. Brady, United States 

Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession in serving with the Fifth Regiment (Marines), 2d 

Division, American Expeditionary Forces. Chaplain 

Brady exposed himself fearlessly, making a complete 

tour of the front lines twice, and carrying cigarettes to 

men who would not have had an opportunity otherwise 

to get them. He carried out his duties as a Chaplain with 

devotion and was cool under fire.

Throughout the war, the Navy chaplains served with distinction under difficult circumstances by either providing comfort or support to those on the front line or by being present 

at the aid stations to minister to the wounded and dying.

U.S. Navy Medical Corps: medical officers have served with 

the U.S. Navy since the dawn of the Republic. However, it 

was not until 1842 that a Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) was established to formalize selection and 

training. Following the national catastrophe of the Civil 

War and concerns about medical care on the battlefield, the 

Medical Corps was created as a separate entity within the 

Navy in 1871. With the expansion of naval commitments at 

the end of the nineteenth century, Navy medicine entered a 

“brilliant chapter” of professionalism, culminating with the 

creation of the Hospital Corps for enlisted personnel on 17 

June 1898. Supporting the fleet surgeons, these medical sailors have been referred to as “hospital corpsmen” ever since.

In addition to expanding the Marine Corps, the Naval 

Act of 1916 resulted in a dramatic increase and reorganization of the Navy’s medical organization to include the Hospital Corps. Although hospital corpsmen had served with 

distinction with the Marine Corps prior to 1917, the transi-
8 6 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

tion of the Marine Corps from expeditionary operations to 

a prolonged land campaign required a change in focus for 

medical support. Gone were the simple days of a routine 

sick call. Modern war demanded medical personnel embedded with tactical units responsible for battlefield casualties. 

The history of Navy medical support to the Marines in the 

war shows that initially each regiment had 7 medical officers, 

3 dental surgeons, and 48 hospital corpsmen. Medical personnel were generally distributed as follows with each regiment:

Regimental aid station:

Senior medical officer (surgeon)

Assistant medical officer

Senior dental officer (dental surgeon)

 Chief pharmacist’s mate

 Hospital corpsmen (6–8)

Battalion aid station:

 Surgeon

 Assistant surgeon

 Dental surgeon (if possible)

 Chief pharmacist’s mate

 Hospital corpsmen (5–7)

Each company:

 Hospital corpsmen (2–4)

After the brigade’s first casualties in the frontline 

trenches, it became clear that having five corpsmen per 

company was better with one man assigned to each platoon 

with four platoons per company. In addition, when there 

were enough personnel, a second or first class pharmacist’s 

mate was assigned to each company to supervise and assist 

the corpsmen. A typical battalion medical unit is portrayed 

in figure 1. 

As is routine procedure today, initial medical care is 
8 7 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

a personal responsibility. Intervention by trained medical 

personnel is necessary when wounds are more severe, and 

so it was with the 4th Brigade in 1918. Medical personnel entered combat with their units and provided first aid on the 

battlefield. If required, they arranged for transport to the 

nearest battalion aid station. Battalion aid stations were located as close to the action as was prudent, usually 0.5–2 kilometers, and acted as triage centers treating minor wounds 

and directing more seriously wounded personnel to the rear 

by ambulance for treatment at an appropriate field hospital. 

This close relationship with mobile warfare is now taken for granted but was an entirely new concept in naval service in 1917. The approximately 300 Navy medical personnel 

who served with the 4th Brigade during the war took care 

of their Marines in every combat operation. Treating more 

than 13,000 casualties, Medical Corps sailors suffered their 

share of casualties with 18 killed in action and 165 gas casualties.

A heritage of valor and brotherhood was born in the 

bloody fields of France. Of the four Medals of Honor awardFigure 1. Medical Unit, 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment.

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Navy Department
8 8 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

ed at Belleau Wood, Navy medical personnel received two: 

Navy doctor Lieutenant Orlando H. Petty and posthumously 

to dentist Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Weedon E. Osborne.4

The Navy Medical Corps was awarded a total of six such prestigious medals during the war. Other sailors earned a host of 

awards for heroism, including the Navy Cross, the Army’s 

Distinguished Service Cross, and the Silver Star Medal.

The conduct of Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Frank 

G. Welty on 6 June 1918 typifies the selfless devotion to duty 

Marines have come to expect from their corpsmen. He was 

attached to the 20th Company, 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, 

as it assaulted Belleau Wood on that fateful day. As the battalion crossed the wheat field, the devastating machine gun 

fire caused terrible casualties. According to the account 

recorded by Navy Lieutenant George G. Strott, Hospital 

Corps, Welty was “swamped with many wounded while in 

the open field.” However, he cared for the Marines as best 

he could until he was mortally wounded. As he lay dying, he 

gave his book of diagnosis tags to his patient with instructions to “turn them over to the chief” at the aid station. Welty was awarded a Distinguished Army Cross for his devotion 

to duty at his final hour. Later, his family received a Navy 

Cross from the Navy for the same act. The award of a medal 

for valor by both Services for one action was a practice followed in other cases in the war, as the Navy Cross was first 

authorized in 1919 and awarded to many Navy and Marine 

Corps veterans of World War I.

4

 Petty (1874–1932) was originally from Harrison, OH, and entered the Navy in 

1916. After the war, Dr. Petty returned to Philadelphia, where he taught at the 

University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Medicine, served as the head of 

Philadelphia’s public health department, and headed the Bureau of Communicable 

Diseases. Osborne (1893–1918) grew up on a combined working farm, school, and 

orphanage for boys in Allendale Farm, Lake Villa, IL. He graduated from Northwestern University Dental School in 1915 and was appointed a dental surgeon in the 

U.S. Naval Coast Defense Reserve on 8 May 1917. Osborne served at the Boston 

Navy Yard and on board the USS Alabama (BB 8) before he transferred to the 6th 

Regiment in France on 26 March 1918.
8 9 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

Another example can be seen in Navy Commander Paul 

T. Dessez (1876–1940), Medical Corps, regimental surgeon, 5th Regiment, recipient of both the Distinguished 

Service Cross and Navy Cross. Colonel Albertus Catlin, the 

6th Regiment commander at the time, noted in his post war 

memoir: 

Surgeon PAUL T. DESSEZ, U. S. N., 

Regimental Surgeon, 5th [Regiment]:

On the day that the regiment suffered its heaviest losses, 

June 6, 1918, this officer organized the service of caring 

for and evacuating of the wounded in a most systematic 

and admirable manner. As there were few of his officers 

and men who had had experience in this work and as 

the terrain and the villages in which the above work 

was organized were not well known, the duty required 

almost constant exposure to the fire of the enemy on the 

part of Surgeon DESSEZ; it is felt that to the extraordinary heroism, coolness and energy on his part, was due 

the efficiency with which this work was performed.

The former commander of 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, 

General Thomas Holcomb, concluded after the war:5

The naval medical personnel who served in the Fourth 

Marine Brigade . . . acquitted themselves with exemplary honor. They won for their corps and branch of service a record of war accomplishment ranking high in 

naval history.

5

 Gen Holcomb (1879–1965) was the 17th Commandant of the Marine Corps. 

He commanded the 2d Battalion from August 1917 and served as second in command of the 6th Regiment, taking part in the Aisne defensive (Château-Thierry), 

the Aisne-Marne offensive (Soissons), actions in the Marbache sector, the SaintMihiel offensive, the Meuse-Argonne (Champagne) offensive, the Meuse-Argonne 

(Argonne Forest) offensive, and the march to the Rhine in Germany following the 

Armistice. In recognition of his distinguished service in France, he was awarded 

the Navy Cross, the Silver Star with three oak leaf clusters, a Meritorious Service 

Citation by the commander in chief, AEF, the Purple Heart, and was cited three 

times in General Orders of the 2d Division.
8 10 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

This special relationship would endure throughout the war 

and continues to the present day.

Devil Dogs in Olive Drab

2d Engineers, U.S. Army: the 2d Division also included 

the Army’s 2d Engineer Regiment. As the division deployed 

to the vicinity of Château-Thierry, the commander directed 

that the engineer regiment support the two infantry brigades 

by assigning a battalion to each brigade—the 4th Brigade and 

the 3d Brigade (9th and 23d Infantry Regiments). Once the 

battle for Belleau Wood began in earnest, however, the two 

engineer battalions would come to reinforce the two Marine 

regiments. Although the engineers were sent forward to 

“consolidate positions” (i.e., digging in), the soldiers eventually served as combat replacements due to the considerable casualties in the Marine battalions. With shovels and 

their 1903 Springfield rifles, the Army engineers fought side 

by side with the Marines throughout the desperate struggle. 

As highlighted in the Spring 2003 Army History magazine 

article on the regiment’s service at Belleau Wood, with the 

glory came the sacrifice: 

During the period 1 June to 16 July 1918, when it was 

employed at Belleau Wood, the 2d Engineers suffered 

452 casualties, losing 91 killed in action, 30 dying of 

wounds, and 331 wounded. With an assigned strength 

of 1,697, it had in this period endured a casualty rate of 

26.7 percent!

This sacrifice earned the regiment an honor of considerable value: the admiration and respect of the 4th Brigade. 

Colonel John W. Thomason Jr., in his classic 1928 book Fix 

Bayonets!, wrote:

There was [sic] always good feelings between the Marines of the 2d Division and the Regular Army units that 
8 11 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

formed it, but the Marines and the 2d Engineers—“Say. 

If I ever got a drink, a 2d Engineer can have half of it!”—

Boy, they dig trenches and mend roads all night, and 

they fight all day!

U.S. Army Infantry Officers in the Brigade: as the nation 

prepared for war, the U.S. Army decided to expand its divisions from three infantry regiments to four, which were 

organized in two brigades. Additionally, each infantry battalion increased from three to four companies, resulting in 

a need for company officers of the lower grades. In the Marine Corps, providing additional units to form two Marine 

regiments resulted in a shortfall of junior officers as platoon 

leaders for what was to become the 4th Brigade. Although 

many qualified Marine Corps noncommissioned officers 

were commissioned, the number of qualified individuals was 

limited and did not support the significant increase demanded by the war effort. The deficit was made up by assigning 

junior officers from the Army to the Marine Corps.

Once the 4th Brigade was formed in France and began 

training in earnest, nearly 60 U.S. Army officers were made 

available for service with the Marines and joined the brigade 

prior to Belleau Wood. Many remained with the brigade 

through Soissons in mid-July 1918. Others, possibly replacements, went on to serve with Marines at Saint-Mihiel, Blanc 

Mont, and in the Meuse River campaign. Thirteen Army 

officers were killed or died of wounds during the war while 

serving with the Marines.

One exceptional soldier was First Lieutenant Elliott 

D. Cooke (1891–1961) of the 18th and later the 55th Company, both in the 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment. An enlisted 

soldier who was commissioned in 1917, Cooke wrote an excellent memoir of the war for the Infantry Journal in 1937. 

Cooke was highly thought of by the battalion commander, 
8 12 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

Lieutenant Colonel Frederic M. Wise. When Captain John 

Blanchfield, the 55th Company commander, was mortally 

wounded on 7 June, Wise gave Cooke command of the battalion. As the battalion assaulted Belleau Wood on 11 June, 

Cooke led his company superbly, later receiving three Silver Star Citations. The awards’ citations note that he, the 

sole survivor of the company officers, rallied his men with 

extraordinary skill and heroism and continued to lead them 

forward. Cooke remained in command of the company 

through mid-July at Soissons.

U.S. Army Medical Support: in addition to infantry and 

engineers, the brigade also was supported by U.S. Army 

medical and dental personnel. These soldiers either served 

with the Marine units or were responsible for wounded once 

they left a regimental aid station for further treatment in the 

rear. If the wounded needed significant medical care beyond 

that available at a regimental aid station, members of one of 

the 2d Division’s 2d Sanitary Train’s four ambulance companies transported the casualties toward the field hospitals 

(figure 2). There were four Army Medical Corps field hospitals taking care of the 2d Division: Field Hospitals 1, 15, 16, 

and 23. Field Hospital 1 served as the farthest forward triage 

site in Bezu-le-Guery. Field Hospitals 15 and 23 were full 

surgical units for “nontransportable” wounded. Field Hospital 16 was for the gassed and sick. Field Hospital 23 was 

located at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre and Field Hospitals 16 and 

15 were both at Luzancy. 

Initially, the Army medical staff remained part of the 

division’s 2d Sanitary Train, but they were then attached to 

the battalions as required. For example, figure 1 shows First 

Lieutenant John D. Southworth (1890–1972), fourth from 

right, second row. This doctor from Ohio was a member of 

the 15th Ambulance Company. He attended Kenyon Military 
8 13 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

Academy in Ohio, a preparatory academy for Kenyon College, from which he graduated in 1911. Southworth enlisted in 

the Ohio National Guard in the spring of 1917 while a medical 

student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. 

He deployed to France in 1917 after finishing his third year 

and subsequently was awarded his medical degree and commissioned in the Army Medical Corps on 28 May 1918. Dr. 

Southworth was awarded a Silver Star for meritorious conduct under fire at Blanc Mont and a French Croix de Guerre.

Throughout the 4th Brigade during the battle, Navy 

corpsmen mingled with soldiers from the ambulance companies. On 2 June 1918, a detachment from the 23d Ambulance 

Company was sent for duty as litter-bearers and first aid men 

with both the 5th and 6th Regiments. One particular soldier 

from the 15th Ambulance Company attached to the 5th Regiment exhibited exceptional courage on 6 June 1918. Army 

Figure 2. Evacuation of Marine casualties, 

Montreuil, France, 8 June 1918.

Official U.S. Army, Medical Department photo
8 14 8

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 4TH BRIGADE

Private Louis H. Harkenrider received the Distinguished 

Service Cross for actions described in the following citation:

On June 6, 1918, in the vicinity of Chateau-Thierry . . . 

he went out into an open field under heavy shell and 

machine-gun fire and succeeded in bandaging and carrying back to our lines a wounded comrade.

Unfortunately, many Marines would require such care in 

June 1918. The remarkable servicemembers of the 2d Sanitary Train were not without casualties. An early Army casualty was Private First Class Herman Goetz, an ambulance 

orderly, who was killed by artillery fire on 6 June at the 6th 

Marines’ Regimental Aid Station at Montgivrault Farm. The 

very next day, five soldiers attached to the 6th Regiment 

were gassed and had to be evacuated.
8 15 8

THE BATTLE 

OF BELLEAU WOOD

The Situation

In the spring of 1918, Germany held an excellent position to 

inflict a decisive blow on the western front. Russia’s withdrawal from the war enabled Germany to transfer more than 

a million experienced soldiers and more than 3,000 guns to 

the west. Now, for the first time, Kaiser Wilhelm II’s army 

had numerical superiority. Equally important though was 

the sad state of the Allies—the French were exhausted after 

four years of war, the British Army had sustained serious 

losses at Ypres in Flanders, and the Italians had been thrown 

back at Caporetto. Even so, Germany’s main hope of victory depended on early successes before the Americans could 

reach the front in large numbers.

However, the German High Command underestimated 

its new opponent. First, the Americans transported their 

troops across the Atlantic in convoys escorted by the British Navy far faster and in greater numbers than the Germans 

believed possible. By 1 March 1918, the month the German 

offensive began, there were more than 290,000 American 

gh
8 16 8

THE BATTLE OF BELLEAU WOOD

troops in France. By October, the number swelled to 1.7 

million. Second, these troops were more combat ready than 

Germany anticipated.

Nevertheless, on 21 March 1918, Germany began their 

final offensive, hoping to gain a decisive victory. Conceived by General Erich von Ludendorff, the plan involved 

the destruction of the British Army in the north to be followed by a crushing blow against the French in the south. 

The initial German offensive was clearly a victory but only 

a tactical success. In a battle known as the Second Battle of 

the Somme, the Germans failed to destroy the British for 

the most part because the Germans lacked ample reserves 

at each front to exploit local breakthroughs. After a week, 

both sides were exhausted. Then, on 8 April 1918, the Germans renewed the offensive against the British. This attack, 

known as the Battle of the Lys, involved a massive artillery 

bombardment followed by overwhelming infantry attacks 

that swept the British back. As in the first offensive, French 

reserves played a key role in denying complete victory to the 

Germans. However, the use of the French reserves in support of the British left the French sector lightly manned.

On 27 May 1918, the Germans launched another attack

—the Third Battle of the Aisne—but this time against the 

French and British units between Soissons and Reims (map 

1). This move caught the Allies by surprise and, within four 

days, the Germans stood on the banks of the Marne River. 

Assaulting across a 48-kilometer front, they drove over the 

Chemin des Dames ridge and quickly exceeded the German 

High Command’s expectations. 

On 29 May, they captured the important railroad junction of Soissons and began to exploit their success, getting 

ever closer to Paris. The result was the demoralization of the 

Allies and several bulges or salients in the Allied line. Ev-
8 17 8

THE BATTLE OF BELLEAU WOOD

The French rushed reserves forward to contain the German advance, finally holding the enemy in a huge 

salient that extended in the north from Soissons to Reims and south to Château-Thierry on the Marne 

River. The U.S. 2d Division (including the 4th Brigade) was attached to XXI Corps and the 3d Division to 

XXXVIII Corps of the French Sixth Army (Dochesnes). Facing them were the battle-tested divisions of the 

German IV Reserve Corps (Conta). The stage was set for the legendary clash of arms in the first major 

battles fought by Americans in WWI.

In May 1918, the Germans secretly massed six corps (totaling 29 divisions) in the Seventh Army (Bohn)

sector along the Allette River north of the Chemin des Dames. On 27 May, the Seventh Army attacked, 

overwhelming the defending French Sixth Army (Duchesne) consisting of two French and one British 

corps (a total of 11 divisions).

THE GERMAN SPRING OFFENSIVE, 1918

Operation Blucher, 27 May–4 June

0 5 10

0 3 6

Kilometers

Miles

XXX IV

R CONTA XXX

LXV

SCHMETTOW

XXX XXV

R

WINKLER

XXX VIII

R WICHURA

XXX

VII

FRANCOIS

X

XXX

XI

XXX

(Duchesne)

SIXTH ARMY

(Duchesne)

SIXTH ARMY

(Mitcheler)

FIFTH ARMY

TENTH 

ARMY

(Maistre) (Maistre)

I COL

I

V

XXXVIII

VII

XXI

XX

I

II

Lizy

Dormans

Epernay

M a r n e

A r d r e

O u r c q

V e s l e

A I s n e

A I s n e

O u r c q

Bouresches

Belleau

CHÁTEAU THIERRY

RHEIMS

Braine

Fismes

Berry-au-Bac

SOISSONS

D E S D M E S

C H E M I N

M a r n e

A I l e t t e

XXX

LIV

LARISCH

SEVENTH ARMY SEVENTH ARMY N (Bohn)

ARMY ARMY

FIRST

Front Line 4 June

Front Line 27 May

FR XXX

IX BR

XXX

FR

XXX

FR

XXX

FR

XXX

FR

XXX

FR

XXX

FR

XXX

FR

XXX

FR

XXX

FR

XXX

FR

XX

2 US

XX

3 US

0 5 10

0 3 6

Kilometers

Miles

od

erything played out in Germany’s favor; however, with the 

speed of the advance, they had outrun their logistics and exhausted the troops (figure 3).

The French were in a panic and the government prepared to abandon Paris, which now sat only 48 kilometers 

from the front. Although the Allies were in disarray, there 

was one unknown variable: the Americans. Army General 

Map 1. Germans launch their spring offensive.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 18 8

THE BATTLE OF BELLEAU WOOD

John J. Pershing, the American commander, had initially 

been adamant that his soldiers would fight together as an 

American Army. However, due to the emergency situation, 

he reluctantly agreed to assign U.S. divisions to the French 

Army (figure 4). Thrown into the battle piecemeal within 

the French sector where they could do the most good, the 

Americans proved themselves to be worthy opponents. The 

Americans were blooded when the 1st Infantry Division 

fought valiantly at Cantigny on 28 May; and the 3d Infantry 

Division (forever after known as the “Rock of the Marne” 

division) prevented the Germans from crossing the Marne 

River at Château-Thierry on 31 May 1918. 

At the same time, despite early confusion due to conflicting orders, the 2d Division deployed east toward 

Château-Thierry via truck convoys. In an ironic twist, 

the trucks were driven by French colonials from an area 

in Indo-China now known as Vietnam. After a difficult 

trip against waves of fleeing refugees, the Marines arrived 

at Montreuil-aux-Lions, east of Paris, on 1 June. Disembarking, the troops marched about 8 kilometers along the 

Figure 3. The German advance, May 1918.

American Battle Monuments Commission
8 19 8

THE BATTLE OF BELLEAU WOOD

Paris-Metz road. It appears that, purely by chance, the 4th 

Brigade was tasked to defend an area north of the Metz road, 

northwest of Château-Thierry, in the vicinity of Lucy-leBocage. This decision would direct the Marines toward their 

destiny at Belleau Wood. 

Figure 4. Marine deployment to Château-Thierry.

American Battle Monuments Commission
8 20 8

BATTLE 

CHRONOLOGY

What follows is a chronological narrative for the Battle of 

Belleau Wood. It is not intended as a comprehensive account of the battle but an introduction. Several references in 

the bibliography are more detailed and should be consulted 

if interested.

27 May 1918

A major German offensive begins between Soissons and Reims. Referred to as Corps Conta, after its commander, General Richard Heinrich von Conta, the IV Reserve Corps, 7th 

Army, attacks toward Château-Thierry.6

30 May 1918

The 2d Division Headquarters, near Chaumont-en-Vexin 

approximately 56 kilometers north of Paris, is alerted to 

prepare to move north that evening due to the emergency. 

Confusion within the Allied command reigns as the 2d Divi6

 Richard Heinrich Karl von Conta (1856–1941).

gh
8 21 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

sion’s deployment changes direction. Corps Conta advances with the 10th Division, 36th Division, and 28th Division

(right to left) in the lead. 

31 May 1918

Finally, the 2d Division heads east toward Château-Thierry. 

However, the deployment muddle leads to the haphazard, 

unorganized deployment of the division’s units. Kitchens 

and division supply are strung out down the road to Meaux. 

One column includes the 5th Regiment, followed by the 23d 

Infantry, and the 3d Engineers marching to Montreuil, while 

the 6th Regiment is left far to the rear and the 6th Machine 

Gun Battalion experiences delays. The German 197th Division moves up to take the right flank of the Corps Conta as it 

advances with the 237th Division behind it.

1 June 1918

In the scrambled deployment, 2d Division troops arrive in 

no particular order and initially occupy a defensive line west 

of Château-Thierry. The 4th Brigade is assigned the sector 

to the left of the Paris-Metz road facing Belleau Wood (map 

2). Marines assume defensive positions centered on the village of Lucy-le-Bocage. The brigade sector is bound by the 

village of Marigny-en-Orxois on the left and Triangle Farm 

on the right.

2 June 1918

German forces disposition at Belleau Wood is as follows 

(right to left): 197th Division, 237th Division, and 10th Division. The vanguard of the German right flank, the 197th 

Division, advances to cross Clignon Brook and occupies 

the vicinity near the village of Belleau, north of the wood, as 

French forces withdraw through the Marines. At Les Mares 

Farm, outside of Marigny-en-Orxois, members of 2d Battal-
8 22 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

Hill 190

216

182

172 Hill 193

Hill 204

 192 208

208

189

133

le Thiolet Bourbetin

Bois du Loup

Bois de Villiers de

Bois

Nogentel

Champillon

Etrepilly

Coupru

Domptin

Bonneil

CHÁTEAUTHIERRY Triangle

la Gonetrie Farm

Paris Farm

Bontemps

Alnois

Pyramide

Mont de Bonneil

Crogis Montcourt

Brusses 

Farm

les

Montgivrauit

la Voie-du

-Chatel

Lucy

le-Bocage

Givry

Hautevesnes

Vinly

Premont

Dhuisy

Chambardy

Courchamps

Monthiers

Clig non R.

Marne River

Clignon R.

Allant

Creek

Gobart

Creek

Marigny

en-Orxois

Veuilly

la-Poterie

Montmerjon

Cointicourt

Dammand

Monnes

sous-Coulombs

Germigny

en-Orxois

Chezy

Montemafroy

Rassy

Breuil

Petret Farm

Bonnesvalyn

Chevillon

Grisolles

le Charme

le Tartre

Buire

Bezuit

Vincelles

St. Martin

l’ Hermitage Moucheton

Epaux-Bezu

Verdilly

sur-Marne

Etampes

sur-Marne

Essomes

Nogentel

Chierry

Montreuil

aux-Lions

Bezue

le-Guery

Chamoust

Monneaux

Issonge 

 Farm

la Lodge

 Farm

201

205

196

Aulnois

Rouvroy

Bouresches

Belleau

Grand Ru 

Farm

Torcy

Brumetz

Bremoiselle

Ventelet

Farm

28 

Esz

273 R

7 

Jag

6

Gr

47 

398

460

461

23

9

5

Mar

6

Mar

462

442

443

444

20

3

GdF

3

GdG

40

Fus

109

BGr

110

Gr

197

XX

237

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10

XX

231

XX

5 Gd

XX

2

XX

3

XX

French

Dismounted

Cavaly

3

X

4

Mar

X

164 Inf Div

French 

43 Inf Div

French 

Bezu

St. Germain

Brecy Rocourt

St. Martin

Sommelans Priez

Bois de l’ Orme

St. Gengoulph

Bussiares

Licy-Clignon

165

142

Belleau

Wood

 Mares

les 

Farm

Les Glandons

Bois de Veuilly

Bois

de Vaurichar

Bois de

Bouresches

Villers-le-Vase

Bois

des

Rochets

la-Montagne

Nesles

Vaux

la Sablonniere

178

126

Clig non R.

Bois

de la

Roche

Bois de

Bourbetin

X

X

Bois la Morette

28

XX

Grandelu

N

Contour Interval 10 Meters

0 1 2 3 4 5

0 1 Miles 2 3

Km

164

XX

FR

10

Col

XX

FR

43

XX

FR

By 3 June, the German offensive had lost 

momentum and the French rear guard resistance stiffened. West of Château-Thierry, 

battered French units rallied behind the 

American 2d Division’s line. South of the 

Marne River, fresh French units and the U.S. 

3d Division formed a defensive barrier.

SITUATION ON 3 JUNE 1918

Initially, the U.S. 2d Division units were attached to the French 43d and 164th Divisions. Taking position 

as they arrived on the field and thinly spread on a front of 15 km, soldiers of the 3d Brigade were split 

on both flanks, with Marines of the 4th Brigade in the center. This shows the deployment of forces on 

3 June as the last exhausted rear guard French elements withdrew and regrouped behind the line 

formed by the Marines and soldiers of the 2d Division. During the evening of 3 June, the Marines of 2d 

Battalion, 5th Regiment, repulsed the attack of the German 273d Reserve Infantry Regiment, 197th 

Division, at Les Mares Farm; this would be as close as the German Army would get to Paris for the 

remainder of the war. During 4–5 June, both sides regrouped. The 2d Division took command of its 

sector and reorganized with the 4th Brigade on the left and 3d Infantry Brigade on the right. The 

division’s front was reduced to 8 km and fresh French divisions moved into line on the flanks. The 

stage was set for the Allies to counterattack and steal the momentum from the enemy.

ion, 5th Regiment, dig in and show the Germans the effects 

of long-distance marksmanship. German artillery fire and 

infantry raids harass the Marines as they settle in along the 

brigade’s front line. 

3 June 1918

The fight for Les Mares Farm begins in earnest with German 

artillery preparation in the morning followed by infantry assaults by the 2d Battalion, 273d Regiment, 197th Division, 

Map 2. Disposition of the brigade, June 1918.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 23 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

reinforced by the 26th Reserve Jaeger Battalion in the afternoon (figure 5). When advised to withdraw by a French 

officer, Captain Lloyd W. Williams, 51st Company commander, replies, “Retreat, Hell! We just got here!”7

 ThenFirst Lieutenant Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. distinguishes 

himself as a platoon leader in the 55th Company, manning 

a forward outpost a few hundred yards beyond the farm.8

Shepherd and his Marines abandon their vantage point as 

the assaulting Germans and heavy artillery fire threaten to 

engulf them.

Accurate rifle fire from the Marines around the farm stymies the assault that converges on the farm buildings. This 

attack is considered the closest the Germans ever advance to7

 While attributed to Williams, the identity of the person who spoke these immortal words is not exactly clear.

8

 Gen Shepherd (1896–1990) was 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was 

commissioned a second lieutenant on 11 April 1917 and joined the 5th Regiment, 

which sailed to France that summer. For his gallantry in action at Belleau Wood, 

including the defense of Les Mares Farm, Lt Shepherd was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, and was 

cited in the general orders of the 2d Infantry Division, AEF.

Figure 5. Marines digging in near Lucy-le-Bocage, 1 June 1918.

The Print Collector, Alamy stock photo
8 24 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

DEFENSE OF LES MARES FARM

Evening of 3 June1918

Accurate, long-range rifle fire by Marines of the 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, 

supported by machine guns and artillery, stopped the massed attack of the 

German 197th Division’s 273d Reserve Infantry Regiment, reinforced with the 

26th Reserve Jaeger Battalion, in front of Les Mares Farm. This action, plus 

stiffened resistance all along the Allied line, stood as the high-water mark of the 

German spring offensive’s Operation Blucher. In the fierce battles that followed, 

the Allies seized the initiative and kept it for the rest of the war.

Bois 

des 

Bois 

d’ 

Baron

Champillon

55/2/5

51/2/5

43/2/5

18/2/5

Mares

Les

Farm

N

Contour interval 10 M

0 Meters 500

2 5 Mar

140

160 140

160

180

180

140

140

160

140

120

100

165

Bois 

Triangulaire 

273R

26

R Jag

I 273R

Limit of

advance

273R

Bois de Veuilly

US

Mares 

ward the French capital. Halting the German advance at Les 

Mares Farm is remarkable when we consider the significant 

failure in coordination between 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, 

around Les Mares Farm and 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, on 

their right a kilometer north of Champillon (map 3). The 

Map 3. Allied defenses.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 25 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

Germans attack directly at the farm, failing to take advantage 

of the gap between the two Marine battalions. Poor coordination between battalions from different regiments will be a 

recurring problem during the battle. The 2d Division’s 2d 

Field Artillery Brigade finally arrives with the artillery regiments moving to their assembly areas near the front. The 

12th Field Artillery Regiment is assigned to support the 4th 

Brigade and establishes its headquarters at La Loge Farm.

Following a French withdrawal about midnight on 2 

June, by the evening of the 3d, soldiers of the German 461st 

Regiment, 237th Division, occupy the entire forest of Belleau 

Wood and dig in (figure 6). The German regimental commander, Major Josef Bischoff, prepares extensive defensive 

Figure 6. German machine gun team in the defense.

British Imperial War Museums
8 26 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

positions in-depth.9 As described later by then-Brigadier 

General James G. Harbord, the 4th Brigade commander, 

Belleau Wood is approximately 1.6 square kilometers with 

a dense tangle of undergrowth. 

The topography of the greater part of the wood, especially in the eastern and southern portions, was extremely rugged and rocky, none of which was shown in 

any map available at the time. Great irregular boulders 

. . . were piled up and over and against one another. . . . 

These afforded shelter for machine-gun nests, with disposition in depth and flanking one another, generally 

so rugged that only direct hits of artillery were effective 

against them.

In addition, the German 237th Division is supported by 

the 83d Field Artillery Regiment, which was organized for 

mobile operations with close combat groups supporting 

each infantry battalion. These units generally included light 

artillery guns, trench mortars, and light field howitzers designed to accompany infantry. The new light artillery guns 

were purpose-built lighter versions of the venerable 77mm 

field gun and designed to be pulled by horses with the artillerymen on foot (figure 7). This operational concept provided direct support in the offense to overcome machine gun 

nests and strong points and defeat counterattacks with the 

guns directly under control of battalion commanders.

9

 LtCol Josef Bischoff (1872–1948) was a much-decorated professional officer. Bischoff served in Africa during the German Colonial Wars in East and Southwest 

Africa for which he was twice decorated for valor. Prior to Belleau Wood, he served 

on the western front from 1914 to 1915, in the Sinai Campaign of 1916, and on the 

eastern front in 1917. His decorations for gallantry include the Iron Cross, first and 

second class; the Ottoman Gallipoli Star; and the Hohenzollern Knights Cross 

with Swords. The Knights Cross with Swords was an intermediate award between 

the Iron Cross first class and the Pour le Mérite for junior Prussian officers. Bischoff was awarded the Pour le Mérite on 30 June 1918 for his defense of Belleau 

Wood. This decoration was Imperial Germany’s highest award for gallantry, or 

equivalent to the U.S. Medal of Honor.
8 27 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

4 June 1918

German artillery fire and probing raids harass the Marines as 

they dig in along the front line running generally from Les 

Mares Farm on the left to Triangle Farm on the right. The 

disposition of the Marine brigade is consolidated as follows: 

5th Regiment on the left and 6th Regiment on the right with 

Lucy-le-Bocage as the center. With the arrival of the rolling 

kitchens the previous day, some Marines receive hot meals 

for the first time since 31 May.

5 June 1918

Unknown to the Allies, the German offensive actually ran 

out of steam, reaching its culminating point on 4 June due to 

physical exhaustion and a lack of supplies. Both sides order 

an operational pause to consolidate. The French XXI Corps 

commander orders the 2d Division to recapture Belleau 

Wood on 6 June, believing the Germans only hold a corner 

of the wood. The main assault falls to the unit in that sector, 

the 4th Brigade. 

Figure 7. German gunners manning a 7.7mm field artillery gun 

in the Champagne region.

British Imperial War Museums
8 28 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

6 June 1918

The day results in catastrophe for the Marine Corps. Two assaults take place. The 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, attempts 

to secure an area identified as Hill 142 on the brigade’s left 

flank early in the morning; then 5th Regiment’s 3d Battalion, and 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, attack simultaneously 

late in the afternoon to seize Belleau Wood, the village of 

Bouresches, and an elevated railroad embankment at the 

northern edge of the village on the brigade’s right (map 4). 

The assault on Belleau Wood, commanded by 6th Regiment’s Colonel Albertus W. Catlin, comes in two phases: 

take Belleau Wood and then occupy Bouresches and the 

village railroad station. Major Thomas Holcomb’s 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, moves to support the right of the regiment’s 3d Battalion as the battle progresses.

Late in the evening of 5 June, orders are issued to the 1st 

Battalion, 5th Regiment, for an attack at 0345 the next day. 

However, elements of the battalion are in several different 

locations and the battalion receives the command to attack 

a short time before the actual H-hour. Thus, the battalion 

staff scrambles to get their forces to the line of departure. 

Remarkably, the battalion attacks as directed at 0345 but 

with only two companies. Despite the lack of preparation, 

the first Marine Corps offensive of the war begins well as the 

attack hits the seam between two German divisions: the 197th

and the 237th. The German units at the boundary apparently have some disagreement over which unit is responsible 

for this area. The American 49th Company on the right, 

commanded by Captain George W. Hamilton (1892–1922), 

inadvertently assaults beyond the objective, approaching 

Torcy. As Hamilton’s Marines fight their way back to the objective, they fall on the rear of the German positions. Thus, 

the Marines penetrate between enemy units, attacking from 

the flanks and from the rear almost simultaneously.
8 29 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

126

176

12/460

6/462

20/3/5

47/3/5

16/3/5

67/1/5

49/1/5

Champillon

Bussiares

Torcy

Withdrew to Torcy under cover

of darkness that night.

142

Mar

5 1

Mar

5 3

160

180

140

N

Contour interval 10 M

0 Meters 500

45/3/5

160

140

160

160

140

140

120

120

120

120

120

100

100

120

120

Right flank company

of /462 IR

“L” Shaped Wood

“Square” Wood

4/25Jag

3/25Jag

Marines push back

units of /273d IR,

197th ID. 25th Jaeger

Bn counterattacks.

Attacking Marines fall

back.

460

25 JAG

Marines of the 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, launched the attack with the 49th and 67th 

Companies (17th and 66th Companies joined the fight later). The 67th Company overran the 

German 9th Company, 460th Infantry Regiment, while the 49th Company brushed past the 

10th Company. Later, the 45th Company, 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, on the right flank 

engaged the German 11th Company, 460th Infantry Regiment, which formed a defensive 

perimeter with the 10th Company. Many attacking Marines surged past the objective but 

withdrew to the limit of advance. The Marines held against several German counterattacks.

HILL 142 

Morning of 6 June 1918

However, on the 1st Battalion’s left flank, First Lieutenant Orlando C. Crowther’s 67th Company advances 

across open terrain and is decimated by flanking fire from 

Map 4. The fight for Hill 142.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 30 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

its left as the German 25th Jaeger Battalion counterattacks. 

Even with these losses, the attack succeeds with the timely 

arrival of other elements of the battalion and supporting machine guns. The reinforcements also include soldiers from 

2d Division’s 2d Engineer Regiment who, although only 

intended to help the Marines dig in, fight as riflemen, a continuing theme throughout the battle. Casualties, however, 

are heavy.10

 At 1700, the second attack begins but fails against 

Major Bischoff’s well-placed forces in Belleau Wood. Poor 

coordination between the assault battalions from different 

regiments, lack of artillery preparation due to concerns 

about surprise, and inadequate intelligence contributes to 

this failure as the German defenders are prepared and able 

to shift support to threatened areas. Coordination between 

attacking units suffers when Colonel Albertus W. Catlin, 

commanding the 6th Regiment and the entire attack, is 

severely wounded while observing the battle near Lucy-leBocage.11 With his evacuation, Lieutenant Colonel Harry 

Lee, the 6th Regiment’s executive officer, some distance in 

the rear, assumes command of the assault and what coordination there is suffers as a consequence.

The attack against the woods proper is grim as 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, crosses a wheat field where the Marines 

are exposed to machine gun fire from concealed positions in 

the woods (map 5). While on the right, the 3d Battalion, 6th 

Regiment, fares better being closer to the woods at the beginning. Stragglers from 5th Regiment filter back to the line of 

departure, leaving the field littered with dead and dying Ma10 Crowther is later awarded a Distinguished Service Cross (posthumously). GySgt 

Ernest A. Janson, 49th Company, who enlisted as Charles F. Hoffman (having 

previously deserted from the Army), is awarded the Medal of Honor for effectively 

stopping a German counterattack as the battalion consolidated its positions.

11 Col Catlin (1868–1933) was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry at Vera 

Cruz in 1914.
8 31 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

BELLEAU WOOD ATTACK, 6 JUNE 1918

On 6 June, following the capture of Hill 142 in the morning at 1700, the 6th Regiment reinforced with the 3d Battalion, 

5th Regiment, and launched the 4th Brigade’s main attack. The objective is to capture the southern half of Belleau 

Wood and the town of Bouresches. The attack ground to a halt around 1800 before taking Bouresches.

200

200

200

140

120

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180

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Martin

Bois

SaintBouresches

Bois

de

Bois des

Bruyeres

Gobart

A

A

A

A B B

B

A

B

A

C

C

C

169

Hill

136

Hill

181

Hill

1

2 140

4 X 3

Contour interval 10 M

Meters 0 500 1000

N

96/2/6 78/2/6

82/3/6

97/3/6

83/3/6

80/2/6

20/3/5

16/3/5

47/3/5

45/3/5

Lucyle-Bocage

Montgivrault Triangle Farm

Bouresches

La Cense Farm

84/3/6

79/2/6

Belleau

Bois

de

8/398

7/398

The German 461st Infantry Regi- ment, 237th Infantry Division, strongly fortified Belleau Wood. 

The 398th Infantry Regiment, 10th Infantry Division, established a main defense line along the railroad track and established a 

two company outpost in the 

village of Bouresches.

A 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, attacks across open wheat fields 

to take the center of Belleau Wood and suffers tremendous 

casualties. Survivors are forced to withdraw. Only the 47th 

Company is able to penetrate the edge of the wood.

1 Maj Berry, commander of 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, and 

journalist Floyd Gibbons are wounded.

B 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment (80th Company in support), attacks the southern part of Belleau Wood. They fight their way 

to the edge of the wood, but they are halted by heavy enemy 

fire and rugged terrain, many seeking shelter in Gob Gulley. 

3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, is unable to reach Bouresches. 

C 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, screens the 4th Brigade’s right 

flank and maintains contact with the 23d Infantry, 3d Infantry 

Brigade. The 96th and 79th Companies are halted by intense 

enemy fire as they emerge into the wheat fields. 78th Company remains in place near Triangle Farm.

2 Col Catlin, commander 6th Regiment, is wounded. LtCol Lee 

takes command of the attack.

5/461

RR Station

1/461

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461

2/461

4/461

3/461

10/461

12/461

7/461 6/461

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PC

6/398

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9/398

rines and Navy corpsmen. Other survivors on the right flank 

of the attack join those from the 6th Regiment in the shelter 

of the woods. Newspaper correspondent Floyd Gibbons 

accompanies the attacking men and is severely wounded.12

Later, his account publishes the infamous words supposedly 

shouted by Gunnery Sergeant Daniel J. Daly at the beginning of the attack: “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you 

12 Gibbons (1887–1939) was a well-known newspaper correspondent. In his wartime memoir And They Thought We Wouldn’t Fight (1918), he claimed he heard 

“an old gunnery sergeant” exhort men to advance on 6 June, though it could never 

be corroborated.

Map 5. Marines attack the woods.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 32 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

200

200

200

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140

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N

79/2/6

96/2/6

Martin

Bois

SaintBouresches

Bois

de

Bois des

Bruyeres

Gobart

B

A

C 3

80/2/6

169

Hill

181

Hill

136

Hill

Belleau

Bois

de

Lucyle-Bocage

Montgivrault Triangle Farm

Bouresches

RR Station

La Cense Farm

97/3/6

82/3/6

47/3/5

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Contour interval 10 M

Meters 0 500 1000

1

2

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1 US 23

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PC

84/3/6

A3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, suffered heavy casualties and fell back to 

re-form at the battalion’s jump off position, except the 47th Company, 

which made it to Belleau Wood.

B3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, established a foothold in the southern edge 

of Belleau Wood. Bitter fighting ensued at close quarters. 

C The task of taking Bouresches fell to 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment. 

2 After midnight reinforcements from 2d Engineer Battalion and 97th 

Company, 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, arrived in Bouresches as Capt 

Zane's 79th Company takes command of all U.S. troops in the village.

3 The 78th Company near Triangle Farm is suprised by a devastating gas 

attack, which takes it out of action.

1 The 96th Company followed by the 79th Company surged forward. Lt 

Cates's 96th Company led the assault from the creek bed/ravine from 

the south, driving the Germans out.

The Americans underestimated enemy strength. Only the southern edge of Belleau Wood was taken, and 3d Battalion, 6th 

Regiment, could not reach Bouresches. 2d battalion, 6th Regiment’s 96th and 79th Companies, initially pinned down in the 

wheat fields on the right of 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, charged forward and captured the town. Reinforcements soon 

followed.

ATTACK AT BOURESCHES

want to live forever?”13 Regrettably, the overall attack seizes 

only a small corner of the wood in the southwest (map 6). 

Fortunately, the village of Bouresches is captured by 

elements of 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, after the advance 

of the regiment’s 3d Battalion reaches a stalemate. Casualties in the 2d Battalion are heavy as the Marines attack 

across the open fields north of Triangle Farm. Members of 

the battalion’s 96th Company use a sheltered ravine to avoid 

enemy fire and infiltrate into the village directly from the 

13 SgtMaj Daniel Daly (1873–1937) was once acclaimed by MajGen John A. Lejeune, former Commandant of the Marine Corps, as “the outstanding Marine of all 

time.” He received the nation’s highest military award—the Medal of Honor—twice 

for separate acts of heroism.

Map 6. Marines organize their defenses.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 33 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

south. Another future Commandant of the Marine Corps, 

then-Second Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, enters the village, 

organizes the defense, and finds First Lieutenant James 

Robertson, now commanding the 96th Company, continuing the attack with a handful of Marines. Remarkably, Robertson leaves Cates in charge and returns to the rear. Cates 

seizes the initiative and leads the remaining Marines as they 

expel the German defenders who were from the 398th Infantry Regiment.

14

The defense of the village proves difficult due to the fact 

that any attempt to reinforce it receives heavy German fire 

from the railroad embankment and German positions in Belleau Wood. Acts of personal bravery kept the Marines supplied via the road from Lucy-le-Bocage. Darkness enables 

reinforcements from the division’s 2d Engineer Regiment 

and the 79th Company, 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, to reinforce the village. Cates relinquishes command to Captain 

Randolph T. Zane, 79th Company commander.15 At the end 

of the day, 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, holds the position 

north of Hill 142, but the poorly coordinated attack on Belleau Wood leaves 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, unable to 

14 Gen Cates (1893–1970), 19th Commandant of the Marine Corps, as a second 

lieutenant in the Reserve, he reported for active duty at the Marine Barracks Port 

Royal, SC, on 13 June 1917 and sailed for France the following January. He is one of 

the few officers of any Service who commanded a platoon, a company, a battalion, 

a regiment, and a division under fire, bringing him nearly 30 decorations. He was 

awarded the Navy Cross, the Army Distinguished Service Cross, and an oak leaf 

cluster in lieu of a second award for heroism at Bouresches and Belleau Wood, 

in which he was both gassed and wounded. He received the Silver Star Medal at 

Soissons, where he was wounded a second time, and an oak leaf cluster in lieu of a 

second award in the Blanc Mont fighting. Navy dentist Lt (JG) Weedon E. Osborne 

was awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously) for attempting to save Capt Donald F. Duncan, 96th Company commander, during the assault on Bouresches. 

The railroad embankment outside the village proved a formidable obstacle and 

remained in German hands throughout the battle.

15 Capt Zane (1887-1918) died on 24 October 1918 at Brest, France, of wounds received at Belleau Wood on 26 June 1918. He is buried at the Somme American Military Cemetery, Bony, France. He was awarded the Navy Cross and Distinguished 

Army Cross for his leadership during the defense of Bouresches.
8 34 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

continue and the 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, struggles to 

maintain a toehold in the southwest edge. Casualties for the 

day include 1,087 Americans and 452 German officers and 

enlisted. 

7 June 1918

Mostly a quiet day as U.S. forces prepare to renew the offensive and the German units bring in reinforcements. For the 

next week, the southern half of Belleau Wood and Bouresches remains the focal point of severe fighting.

8 June 1918

A renewed assault by 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, fails to gain 

ground. The Marines withdraw to Gobert Ravine (or “Gob 

Gully” to the Marines) to permit U.S. artillery to attack the 

woods as German artillery retaliates and leaves many Marine 

casualties as a result. During the evening, 1st Battalion, 6th 

Regiment, relieves 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment. The Germans reorganize the defense of Belleau Wood with the 40th 

Fusilier Regiment, 28th Division, replacing Major Bischoff’s 

461st Regiment, in the southern portion. Still responsible for 

the remaining half of the woods, Major Bischoff raises strong 

concerns about the inadequate dispositions of the 40th Fusiliers’ units in the dense undergrowth. Bischoff counsels 

that the 40th Fusiliers have placed too few men forward and 

the counterattacking forces are too far back.

9 June 1918

An order for a Marine brigade attack against the wood is issued for the next morning and the units move into position 

late in the evening. 

10 June 1918

New planned attacks by the 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, 
8 35 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

directly into the southern edge of the wood begin at 0430, 

now supported by the 1st Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment. Back to full strength with replacements, 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, relieves 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, in 

Bouresches (map 7). Again, Navy corpsmen are praised for 

their support of casualties. 

11 June 1918

The 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, attacks across the same 

open field as 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, five days earlier, 

though still littered with bodies and abandoned equipment. 

With continued artillery support and pressure from 1st 

Battalion, 6th Regiment, the 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, 

Map 7. Marines on the offensive in Belleau Wood.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)

4 X 3

Lucyle-Bocage Bouresches

169

Hill

133

Hill

190

Hill

181

Hill

Bouresches

Bois

de

Bois des

Bruyeres Belleau

Bois

de

RR Station

C

1

A

1 6 

Mar US

3 5

Mar US

B

43/2/5

43/2/5

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2 5

Mar US

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3

3

Fus 5/40 

40

6/40 

7/40 

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Contour Interval 10 M

Meters 0 500 1000

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1 US 23

10 ID

398

A At 0430 on 10 June, 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, began a two-pronged attack to capture Belleau Wood.

Advancing into the southern edge of the wood, 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, quickly ran into stubborn 

resistance from the German II/40th Fusiliers IR. The attack ground to a halt well short of the objective 

line set for the day. The 1st Battalion reoccupied positions captured by Marines in previous attacks. 

1

On 11 June, 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, jumps off at 0430. While crossing 

the wheat field, enemy fire causes the 

battalion to veer south. Instead of 

entering the northern sector of Belleau 

Wood as planned, the battalion hits the 

wood’s center at the boundary between 

the German 237th and 28th IDs.

B 

Attacking Marines overrun the forward positions of I/461st IR. The German 

defenders scatter and retreat north into 

the wood. 

2 

Surrounded by 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, in the north and 1st Battalion, 6th 

Regiment, in the south, II/40th Fusilier 

IR is virtually annihilated; the survivors 

escape eastward.

3 

A deadly, confused, melee ensues.

Around noon, momentum carries the 

Marines to the eastern edge of the wood, 

where the battalion re-forms in line 

facing east. 

C

76/1/6 74/1/6 95/1/6

75/1/6

ATTACKS INTO BELLEAU WOOD, 10–11 JUNE (Part 1)

A two-pronged attack to complete the capture of Belleau Wood was conducted 10 and 11 June. 1st 

Battalion, 6th Regiment, attacked on 10 June to capture the southern half of the wood. The next day, 

11 June, 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, attacked to secure the northern half. 
8 36 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

attacks and strikes the boundary between the 1st Battalion, 

461st Regiment, and the 2d Battalion, 40th Fusiliers. Although meeting stiff resistance, the assaulting companies 

on the right turn south to find 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment. 

Unfortunately for the Germans defenders, the Marines collide with the right flank of the 40th Fusiliers. As noted in the 

2d Battalion, 40th Fusiliers’s War Diary, the Marines attack 

through the sector of the 461st Regiment, which meant they 

were already in the rear of the two forward German companies of the Fusiliers. Almost simultaneously, elements of 

1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, attack the 40th Fusiliers on the 

other flank. Thus, the forward units of the 2d Battalion, 40th 

Fusiliers, are attacked in both flanks, decimating the battalion and driving survivors from the woods (maps 8 and 9). 

Colonel John W. Thomason Jr. describes the scene:

Under such pressure, the two companies of the 40th

were torn to pieces, and their heavy machine gun defense broken up. The support and reserve companies, 

approaching from the east were caught in flanking fire 

from [the Marines in] Bouresches, and stopped. The developments anticipated by the 461st Regiment [Major 

Bischoff] . . . were all realized.

A complete disaster was prevented by a counterattack from two companies of the 461st Regiment, but the 

Germans were not able to recover the territory lost. Now 

controlling the southern portion of the Belleau Wood, 

the Marines would direct their attention solely to the 

461st Regiment to the north, the only German unit left in 

the woods. A German defeat was only a matter of time.

However, confusion reigns on both sides due the dense 

undergrowth and terrain. Major Frederic Wise, commanding the 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, and several subordinates become disoriented, and he erroneously reports he 
BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

Maps 8 and 9. Attack and counterattack in Belleau Wood.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)

4 X 3

Lucyle-Bocage Bouresches

169

Hill

133

Hill

190

Hill

181

Hill

Bouresches

Bois

de

Bois des

Bruyeres Belleau

Bois

de

RR Station

1 6 

Mar US

3 5

Mar US

461

1 Mar

5 US

Contour Interval 10 M

Meters 0 500 1000

N

2 5

Mar US

1 4

Fus

40

Gr

110

ATTACKS INTO BELLEAU WOOD, 10–11 JUNE (Part 2)

LtCol Wise, commander of 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, around noon on 11 June realizes that during the confused, 

hand-to-hand fighting in the tangled woods that morning, the battalion had fought its way to the eastern edge of 

Belleau Wood not the northern. Under constant enemy pressure, preparations were made to change front under 

cover of darkness, then on the next day, make ready to continue the attack northward. 

A

The German 28th ID 

attempts to regain lost 

ground:

I/40 Fusiliers IR

counterattacks, which 

is repulsed.

2

Elements of II/110 

Grenadiers IR

infiltrate around the 

north flank of 2d 

Battalion, 5th 

Regiment. 

4

II/110 Grenadiers IR

counterattacks, which 

also is repulsed.

3

1 Units of I/461 IR

filter behind 2d 

Battalion, 5th 

Regiment, as 

attacking 

Marines surge 

past. Most of the 

positions lost 

that morning are

reoccupied. 

A 2d Battalion, 5th 

Regiment, attempts 

to tie its right flank in 

with1st Battalion, 6th Regiment. Eventually 

the link is made.

1 US 23

10 ID

398

3

2

76/1/6 74/1/6 95/1/6

75/1/6

55/2/5 51/2/5

43/2/5

18/2/5

4 X 3

Lucyle-Bocage Bouresches

133

Hill

190

Hill

181

Hill

Bouresches

Bois

de

Bois des

Bruyeres

Belleau

Bois

de

RR Station

3 5

Mar US

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1 Mar

5 US

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398

Fus

40

55/2/5 43/2/5 18/2/5

ATTACKS INTO BELLEAU WOOD, 10–11 JUNE (Part 3) In the afternoon of 11 June, under constant enemy pressure, 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, refused its left flank, pulled 

back, and by the end of the day had formed a line facing north with the 55th, 43d, and 18th Companies; 51st Company 

had suffered extremely heavy casualties and formed a small reserve. The 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, took up support 

positions and tied in with the 2d Battalion’s right flank. Preparations were made to continue the attack the next day. 

Contour Interval 10 M

Meters 0 500 1000

169

Hill

1 6 

Mar US

2 5

Mar US

Gr

110
8 38 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

has reached the northern edge of Belleau Wood. In reality, 

he is in the middle looking west. As night falls, the battalion begins to slowly regain cohesion and prepares to attack 

northward the next day. 

12 June 1918

Advances on the eastern edge of the southern portion of 

the wood are lost when a German counterattack by two 

battalions of the 461st Regiment reestablishes a defensive 

line. Elements of the 109th Grenadier Regiment, 28th Division, almost recaptures Bouresches but are repulsed (map 

10). Brigadier General Harbord holds a council of war and 

concludes that the German hold on the northern one-third 

of the wood is tenuous. An attack at 1800 achieves a breakP

133

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Hill

P

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A

C

B

3

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1

C Although exhausted and too few in number for a 

counterattack, stragglers from the 461st IR return and organize a new defensive position on the 

ground the Marines gave up.

Belleau

Bois

de

4 X 3

Contour Interval 10 M

Meters 0 500 1000

Montgivrault

On 12 June, 2d Battalion, 5th Regi- ment, jumps off at 1730 and con- tinues the attack to capture the rest of Belleau Wood. 

A 

Initially, Marines hit the gap between 

I/461 IR and II/110 Grenadiers at- tacking the Grenadiers from the front, flank, and rear inflicting 

serious casualties and driving the 

survivors from the wood.

1 

B

3

1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, supports 

the attack, following the 2d Battalion, 

5th Regiment, and screening the east 

flank of Belleau Wood.

Next, the German support line with 

heavy machine guns is overrun and 

broken.

2 

Most of the German I/461 IR is driven north out of Belleau Wood. 

Some Marines reach Hill 133; others 

reach the pavillon (Hunting Lodge) 

 and from the top can see the 

village of Belleau to the north. 

Heavy casualties thin Marine ranks 

so much that the ground gained 

cannot be held. The 2d Battalion, 

5th Regiment, slightly withdraws 

and consolidates on the east edge 

of the wood, forming the Hook. 

4

P

1 Mar

5 US

ATTACK INTO BELLEAU WOOD 12 JUNE 

The attack to capture Belleau Wood on 10–11 June did not succeed. After bitter hand-to-hand 

fighting, the Americans were able to hold only the southern half of the wood. When dawn broke on 

12 June, preparations were made for the 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, with 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, 

in support to continue the attack. The attack was launched at 1730 that afternoon.

Map 10. Holding the southern edge of the wood.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 39 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

through in the northern half of the woods, but Marines are 

left exposed. Due to casualties and influenza, a coordinated 

German counterattack to drive the Marines from the northern portion is postponed until the next day.

13 June 1918

Marines plug the line in their exposed area. Counterattacks 

by units of the 110th Grenadier and 40th Fusilier Regiments

drive the Marines back as the Germans regain some lost 

ground at the eastern edges of the wood’s southern portion. 

The U.S. 23d Infantry, 3d Brigade, on the 4th Brigade’s 

right, begins to extend its left flank, assuming responsibility for Bouresches and freeing up more Marines for the conflict in the woods (map 11). A planned relief of 2d Battalion, 

5th Regiment, is for naught as deploying Marines from the 

2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, are caught in the dark by an artillery barrage with gas just prior to midnight.16

14 June 1918

Due to casualties from the German artillery, the relief of 2d 

Battalion, 5th Regiment, is postponed and 2d Battalion, 6th 

Regiment, survivors make their way into the woods and reinforce the 5th Regiment (map 12). Major Frederic Wise, commander of 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, reports at 0605 that 

almost two companies of the 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, 

have reported to him, noting that the “other two companies 

[are] badly broken up, from shells and gas.” Another German counterattack fails with heavy losses. With that result 

and the outbreak of influenza on 9 June, the German higher headquarters abandons all operations to retake Belleau 

Wood. As noted in the German military’s official history 

16 GySgt Fred W. Stockham was later awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously) 

for saving one of his Marines when Stockham gave him his gas mask and carried 

him to the aid station near Lucy-le-Bocage. Stockham died several days later from 

the effects of the gas.
8 40 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

of the war when discussing the fighting at Belleau Wood: 

“The fresh American troops proved to be quite worthy opponents.” 

15 June 1918

Heavy bombardment by the Germans continues as the Marines persist in the attack north but are stopped by the defenders. Relief of the 4th Brigade in Belleau Wood by the 

U.S. Army’s 7th Infantry, 3d Division, begins (map 13). Allowing the Marines to recover from exhaustion and heavy casualties, 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry, relieves the 2d Battalion, 

5th Regiment, and the 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment. 

Having lost much of its combat effectiveness as well, the 

P

133

Hill

181

Hill

169

Hill

P

133

Hill

181

Hill

169

Hill

190

Hill

Lucyle-Bocage Bouresches Bouresches

Bois

de

Bois des

Bruyeres

3 5

Mar US

1 Mar

5 US

N

1 US 23

398

55/2/5

43/2/5 18/2/5

2 5

Mar US

1 6 

Mar US

Bois de Belleau

109

Gr

1

2

2

2

RR Station

Around 0400 on 13 June, the German 28th ID launched major counterattacks by composite battalions of 

the 40th Fusaliers and 109th and 

110th Grenadiers. All failed after 

suffering heavy losses

1 Two companies of the I/109 Gr IR 

got inside Bouresches, but were 

driven out by 3d Battalion, 5th 

Regiment.

2 Remaining German units were 

driven back by intense machine 

gun and rifle fire before closing 

with Marine positions.

In Belleau Wood, the 

Marines’ situation was 

serious, with the left 

flank and rear open. 

The exact strength 

and location of the 

enemy was unknown, 

but the enemy was 

also confused and too 

weak to counterattack.

2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, with two 

companies was hurried into position 

to counterattack Bouresches if the town was recaptured by the enemy. 

4 X 3

Contour Interval 10 M

Meters 0 500 1000

Montgivrault

2 6

Mar US

(2 Cos)

ATTACK INTO BELLEAU WOOD 13 JUNE 

The night of 12–13 June, the 4th Brigade repositioned units to better support the gains made in Belleau Wood on the 

12th. The 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, relieved 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, on Hill 142, the latter taking position west 

of the Lucy-Torcy road. Initially, 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, moved to a position northwest of Lucy, then 2d Battalion's 

commander Maj Holcomb moved south of Belleau Wood with two companies (78th and 96th) when Bouresches was 

threatened. The enemy was extremely active, delivering heavy artillery and major ground counterattacks.

Map 11. Bouresches recaptured.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 41 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

German 1st Battalion, 461st Regiment, begins its withdrawal, 

replaced by the 3d Battalion, 347th Regiment, 87th Division. 

As the Germans are pushed into the northern portion of the 

wood, the battlespace shrinks accordingly and, in effect, 

concentrates their combat power.

16 June 1918

Generally a quiet day as the 2d Battalion, 7th Infantry, relieves the 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment. The 3d Battalion, 6th 

Regiment, currently defending Hill 142, is relieved by a unit 

from the French 167th Division and becomes the division 

reserve. 

P

133

Hill

181

Hill

169

Hill

P

133

Hill

181

Hill

169

Hill

190

Hill

Lucyle-Bocage Bouresches Bouresches

Bois

de

Bois des

Bruyeres

RR Station

N

398

109

Gr

110

Gr

Bois de Belleau

3 US 23

1 US 23

1 Mar

5 US

1

1

1

1

1

2

1 Near midnight on 13/14 June, the 

Germans unleash a devastating 

artillery bombardment that saturates the southeast section of 

Belleau Wood with mustard gas. 

1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, is hit 

hard and has many casualties, 

including Maj Hughes, the battalion commander. 

Under orders to relieve 2d Battalion, 

5th Regiment, the 2d Battalion, 6th 

Regiment, complete with all four 

companies, is caught in the gas 

attack. The 78th and 96th Companies suffer terribly and are 

rendered ineffective. 2d Battalion, 

6th Regiment, reaches them with 

two companies so reduced in 

numbers that instead of relieving 

2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, it was 

used as reinforcements. The 80th 

Company, with the lightest casualties, took station on the left of the 

line and the 79th on the right, while 

fragments of the two other companies strengthened various sections of the line. 1

1

During the night of 13/14 June, the 3d Infantry 

Brigade’s boundary is extended northeast to include 

Bouresches. Before dawn, 3d Battalion, 23d Infantry, 

relieves the 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, in the town.

1 6 

Mar US

1

2 1

Contour Interval 10 M

Meters 0 500 1000

Montgivrault

55/2/5

43/2/5 18/2/5

79/2/6

80/2/6

2 5

Mar US

2 6

Mar US

(2 Cos)

1

1

2

1

ATTACK INTO BELLEAU WOOD, 14 JUNE 

For nearly two weeks in the fierce battles for Belleau Wood, Marines of the 4th Brigade experienced the heaviest fighting in the 2d Division’s sector. The Marine battalions attacked again and again, almost clearing the 

wood. On 14 June, the brigade’s front was shortened, with the 3d Infantry Brigade taking over defense of 

Bouresches. A new challenge now faced the Marines—a deadly mustard gas attack lasting several hours.

Map 12. 3d Infantry Brigade defends Bouresches.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 42 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

17 June 1918

Relief of the Marine brigade by the 7th Infantry is complete. Three battalions of the 7th Infantry deploy into the 

woods under the command of the sector commander, Marine Colonel Wendell C. Neville, 5th Regiment, while 

Lieutenant Colonel Logan Feland, executive officer, 5th 

Regiment, commands inside the wood.17 The 1st Battal17 MajGen Wendell C. Neville (1870–1930), 14th Commandant of the Marine 

Corps, was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1892. He was awarded the Medal 

of Honor while in command of Marines landing at Vera Cruz, Mexico, on 21 April 

1914. On 1 January 1918, he was placed in command of the 5th Regiment in France, 

and in May, he moved his regiment into action near Belleau Wood. In July 1918, 

Neville was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the entire 4th 

Brigade, which he directed during the remaining days of the war and during its 

occupation service in Germany.

P

133

Hill

181

Hill

169

Hill

P

133

Hill

181

Hill

169

Hill

190

Hill

Lucyle-Bocage Bouresches Bouresches

Bois

de

Bois des

Bruyeres

RR Station

N

398

109

Gr

110

Gr

Bois de Belleau

17/1/5

One Co 1/6 ( )

3 US 23

1 6 

Mar US

(3 Cos 1/6)

1 Mar

5 US

(3 Cos)

80/2/6

1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, 

left one company outposting 

the east face of Belleau 

Wood, the others moving to 

high ground to escape the 

gas soaked sections of the 

wood. The move was based 

on the rationale that the 

Germans would not attack an 

area recently saturated with 

mustard gas. 17th Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, 

connected with the left 

flank of 2d Battalion, 5th 

Regiment, and established a line of strong 

points across the width 

of the woods.

1 US 23

Contour Interval 10 M

Meters 0 500 1000

Montgivrault

55/2/5

43/2/5 18/2/5

2 79/2/6

5

Mar US

2 6

Mar US

(2 Cos)

ATTACK INTO BELLEAU WOOD, 15 JUNE 

Both sides had fought to a standstill. The enemy still held the northern tip of Belleau Wood. There were clashes between patrols in the tangled forest. At long last, the tired Marines would receive a rest. The 7th Infantry 

Regiment, U.S. 3d Division, was attached to the 2d Division. The fresh, full-strength but inexperienced battalions of the 7th Regiment relieved the Marine battalions in place the night of 15 June.

Map 13. Relief of 3d Division.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 43 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

ion, 7th Infantry, replaces the 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment.

18 June 1918

The day is reported as “quiet” by 4th Brigade. That night, 

the 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry, is repulsed with casualties 

when it attempts to straighten its lines and a company from 

the 3d Battalion successfully occupies former German positions on the Lucy-Torcy road that were not reoccupied 

during the German relief. 

19 June 1918

Light action is reported by two 7th Infantry battalions as 

plans are drawn up for future attacks.

20 June 1918

The 1st and 3d Battalions, 7th Infantry, attack to dislodge the 

Germans from the woods. The 1st Battalion is stalled while 

the 3d Battalion makes limited unopposed gains. The German 237th and 87th Divisions complete reorganization in the 

northern edge of the woods.

21 June 1918

French Army III Corps assumes control of the sector. The 

last battalion-scale attack by Army units fails, leaving the 

northern portion of the woods still in German hands. The 

7th Infantry soldiers are hit with heavy small-arms and artillery fire. The 1st Battalion suffers 170 casualties. 

22 June 1918

Marine units replace the 7th Infantry on the front line. 

During the evening of 22–23 June, the 3d Battalion, 6th 

Regiment, replaces 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry, in the southern end of the wood. The 7th Infantry suffers 349 casualties 

(51 killed in action, 265 wounded in action, and 34 missing) 
8 44 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

while providing the Marines time to rest and recover. French 

commanders reiterate demands that the entire woods be 

seized. 

Germans begin final unit rotations with battalions of the 

347th Regiment. Taking advantage of the lull in the fighting, 

the Germans replace the 3d battalion, 347th Regiment, with 

the regiment’s 1st Battalion. Major Maurice E. Shearer, now 

commanding the 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, moves into the 

northern portion of the wood and plans for the final assault. 

23 June 1918

With many replacements, 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, returns to the fight and begins the final assault at 1900 with 

no gains and heavy losses against a stubborn defense by 1st 

Battalion, 347th Regiment, 87th Division. Major Shearer advises that infantry alone will not push the Germans from the 

woods (map 14). At approximately the same time, 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, replaces the 3d Battalion, 7th Infantry, in 

support of Shearer’s battalion.

24 June 1918

The French command commits sufficient artillery to reduce 

the threat at the northern edge of the woods, agreeing to 

a divisional artillery attack. Marines prepare to withdraw 

back to the south of the center of the woods to avoid the approaching storm of steel.

25 June 1918

A major 14-hour bombardment starts at 0300 and makes 

clearance of the remaining woods possible. The following 

Marine attack overwhelms the remaining enemy machine 

gun outposts; the Marines and soldiers take many prisoners and inflict significant casualties on the 347th Regiment. 

Marines and Army machine gunners participate in the as-
8 45 8

BATTLE CHRONOLOGY

BELLEAU WOOD FINAL ATTACK, 23–26 JUNE

After a weeklong break, the Marine brigade goes back into action. During the night of 22–23 June, the Marines 

relieve the inexperienced soldiers of the 7th Infantry, who fought hard but made no gains against the Germans 

in Belleau Wood. In the meantime, the German 87th ID had replaced the 237th ID. I Bn, 347th IR of the former 

was assigned the defense of the north end of the wood. The 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, moves into the front 

line facing the German I/347 IR and attacks on 23 June. Initially, the 3d Battalion makes headway but is forced 

back by heavy fire. On 25 June, after an intense artillery barrage, they attack again. The 3d Battalion, 6th 

Regiment, is in support, screening the east edge of the wood. The 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, advances on 

the left of 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, driving back the German outpost line. This time, they break through the 

left of the defending I/347 IR. The Germans fall back to positions near the village of Belleau. When dawn 

breaks on 26 June, the last German defenders have been driven from Belleau Wood, never to return. 

3 6

Mar US

3 US 23

Torcy

Belleau

Givry

Lucy Boresches

I 347

I 345

5

Mar 3 US

5

Mar 2 US

347

26 June

26 June

23 June

Bussiares

Montgivrault

Triangle

FR

Hill 193

142

133

126

1 Km

P

133

Hill

Double Tree Road

N

47/3/5

45/3/5

(2 Plts)

83/3/6

16/3/5

20/3/5

3 5

Mar US

At 0950 on 26 June, the 4th 

Brigade received the following report from Major Shearer, 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment: 

“Woods Now U.S. Marine 

300 M Corps Entirely!”

169

Hill

3

Ersatz

Belleau

Wood

Gobart

PC

Map 14. Germans driven from the wood.

Map by LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)

sault. Germans are finally forced to withdraw from Belleau 

Wood to defensive positions prepared along the TorcyBelleau road. 

26 June 1918

At 1000, the 4th Brigade’s commanding general submits 

to the commanding general of 2d Division a supplement to 

his 25 June report on the action ending at 2000 on 25 June. 

This supplementary report notes that “all companies of Major Shearer’s Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, now in position 

around the edge of BOIS DE BELLEAU. Major Shearer reports ‘Woods now U.S. Marine Corps entirely’.”
8 46 8

SUMMARY

The 4th Brigade began the assault against the Bois de Belleau on 6 June 1918. By the morning of 26 June, the battle 

was over and the woods had been cleared of Germans. The 

last unit of the 2d Division withdrew from the front on the 

night of 8–9 July. From then on, the honors poured in for 

the 4th Brigade and the division. Local French officials sent 

congratulatory messages to headquarters for stopping the 

German offensive, and press reports heralded the American 

victory. However, at what cost did this come to pass? Casualty numbers are difficult to assess for a variety of reasons. 

Author George B. Clark cites divisional orders when he reports the battle deaths for the brigade from 2 June to 5 July 

1918 as 1,062, plus 33 missing. In addition, he highlights the 

3,170 officers and men who were wounded in varying degrees, including 445 gas casualties. 

Robert B. Asprey in his classic At Belleau Wood confirms that the price of glory was high: “From June 1 to July 

10 the 2nd U.S. Division counted 217 officer and 9,560 engh
8 47 8

SUMMARY

listed casualties. Of these . . . the 4th Marine Brigade [lost] 

126 officers and 5,057 men.” Edward M. Coffman writes 

that there were approximately 5,200 casualties with 750 

killed, accounting for more than 50 percent of the brigade’s 

strength. An unofficial brigade history reports 665 killed in 

action and 3,633 wounded during the period of 1 June–16 

July. In his 1928 Naval Institute’s Proceedings article, retired German Army Lieutenant Colonel Ernst Otto notes 

German casualties were equally sanguinary: 881 killed in 

action and 2,637 wounded in action.

There are a number of reasons for such casualties in 

the fighting that took place in and around Belleau Wood, 

a crescent-shaped area approximately 1.6 kilometers long, 

running north to south. The Marines were fresh and untested. They exhibited what was described by German intelligence as a “careless confidence.” A German private wrote 

home that they were “terribly reckless fellows.” While such 

qualities can be admired, when exhibited in situations exacerbated by poor maps, inadequate communications, confusion at the front, inexperienced leaders, and a determined 

enemy defending heavily forested terrain, they can be the 

cause of much carnage. 

What the Allies did know after 26 June 1918 was that 

the Americans had come to fight and the future of civilized 

society seemed more secure. At the conclusion of his 1928 

article, Lieutenant Colonel Otto proposed that there be a 

monument erected on the edge of the scarred, blood-soaked 

wood. The inscription should read:

These are the woods of Belleau; in June, 1918, wrested 

from the French, after a brave defense, by the Germans, 

storming on in a bold two-day offensive; heroically defended by them for nine days; then taken by storm in two 

days, with incomparable bravery, by the Americans, 
8 48 8

SUMMARY

who remained victoriously in possession of the woods. 

Honor to the unexcelled heroes of the three nations who, 

true to their Fatherland, here fought and died.

That is quite an epitaph.
8 49 8

THE OPPOSING FORCES

The 4th Brigade

In November 1918, the table of organization for a brigade 

headquarters showed 25 men (table 1).18 Each regiment contained approximately 3,400 men, with the three infantry 

battalions totaling 1,027 each. An infantry company came 

to approximately 256 men. The machine gun company with 

each regiment was manned by 178 men, and the brigade’s 

machine gun battalion numbered generally 759. 

German Forces

In early June 1918, the 2d Division faced elements of the 

following German Army units in the 4th Brigade sector 

(from left to right): 197th Division, 237th Division, and 10th 

Division. During the evening of 8–9 June 1918, the 28th Division replaced the 10th Division following its losses near 

18 These statistics were reported in Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War: Organization of the American Expeditionary Forces, United 

States Army in the World War, 1917–1919, vol. 1 (Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1988), 335–88. 

gh
8 50 8

THE OPPOSING FORCES

Bouresches, and the 5th Guards Division took the place of 

the 197th Division west of Belleau Wood. The 87th Division

relieved the survivors of the 237th and 28th Divisions in Belleau Wood area on 22 June, when they were withdrawn due 

to casualties. 

The strength of a German division with its three 

regiments in 1918 was approximately 17,600, which 

was much smaller than an American division of about 

27,000.19 The basic infantry unit included the regiment 

of three battalions with four companies of infantry and 

one machine gun company with each battalion. By June 

19 Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which 

Participated in the War (1914–1918), War Department Document No. 905 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1920). Reprinted by London Stamp 

Exchange, 1989, iv; and Robert B. Asprey, At Belleau Wood (New York: G. P. 

Putnam’s Sons, 1965), 31.

Table 1. 4th Brigade table of organization

5th Regiment

1st Battalion 2d Battalion 3d Battalion

17th (A) Company 18th (E) Company 16th (I) Company

49th (B) Company 43d (F) Company 20th (K) Company

66th (C) Company 51st (G) Company 45th (L) Company

67th (D) Company 55th (H) Company 47th (M) Company

8th Machine Gun Company

Supply Company

Headquarters Company

6th Regiment

1st Battalion 2d Battalion 3d Battalion

74th (A) Company 78th (E) Company 82d (I) Company

75th (B) Company 79th (F) Company 83d (K) Company

76th (C) Company 80th (G) Company 84th (L) Company

95th (D) Company 96th (H) Company 97th (M) Company

73d Machine Gun Company

Supply Company

Headquarters Company

6th Machine Gun Battalion

15th (A) Company 77th (C) Company

23d (B) Company 81st (D) Company
8 51 8

THE OPPOSING FORCES

1918, infantry battalions numbered about 718 soldiers.20

The 5th Guards Division was organized in February 

1917; it participated in the Aisne offensive during 27–30 

May 1918, and then between 31 May and 7 June, it was in reserve. It was heavily engaged near Torcy after 7 June against 

the Marines’ 4th Brigade, resulting in considerable casualties. Several companies of the 20th Regiment were destroyed 

on 8–9 June, while others were reduced to 30–40 men. The 

division lost about one-half of its effective strength in this 

period. It was withdrawn from the line on 30 June and reconstituted in reserve of the Torcy sector during 1–17 July. 

The 5th Guards Division was rated a first-class division; but 

after heavy fighting near Torcy, its value as an attack division 

had been significantly reduced.21

The German 197th Division was created in August 1916 

on the eastern front and made its first appearance on the 

western front in March 1918, holding the quiet Chemin des 

Dames sector until the Aisne offensive began on 27 May. 

Attack divisions passed through the 197th Division, which 

followed up in close reserve, and was engaged on 31 May 

northwest of Château-Thierry. The 273d Regiment experienced heavy fighting while opposite French forces and the 

U.S. 2d Division at Les Mares Farm and Hill 142 before be20 David T. Zabecki, The German 1918 Offensives: A Case Study in the Operational 

Level of War (London, New York: Routledge, 2006), 89. 21 Initially, the AEF graded the quality of the German divisions in 1918 using the 

French-produced evaluations/histories as an initial basis because the French 

Army had estimated the value of each German division in earlier years. For the 

Americans, the evaluation was done by the G-2 (intelligence), General Headquarters, AEF. The quality or class was a changing grade or estimate based on known 

abilities of the unit. As the war wore on, many of the divisions considered first class 

were downgraded as old men, young boys, and even the infirm were brought into 

some of the divisions. The G-2 used frontline U.S. reports and interviews to grade 

a unit according to four classes: first-class division, second-class division, thirdclass division, and fourth-class division. At the beginning of the war, certain units 

were rated first class; for example, infantry divisions were the best. Later, it was 

necessary to track the combat efficiency of the German divisions to gauge the caliber of the opposing force.
8 52 8

THE OPPOSING FORCES

ing relieved on 8 June. The division was rated as third class. 

It suffered such heavy casualties and loss of morale in June 

1918 that it was dissolved in October.

The 10th Division was mobilized in 1914 in Posen, Prussia (now Poland). Prior to 1918, the division and its units 

had a good reputation, although it did not perform as well 

as expected at Verdun in 1917. For the Third Battle of the 

Aisne in 1918, the 10th Division attacked along the Chemin 

des Dames on 27 May. It remained in front of the advance 

until reaching the vicinity of Bouresches around 30 May; 

however, by 4 June, the division had suffered heavily. Many 

companies of the 47th Infantry Regiment were without officers. With its companies averaging about 40 men, the 398th 

Infantry Regiment reported that it was no longer fit for 

frontline service. The 6th Grenadier Regiment was exhausted and incapable of further effort. Needing approximately 

2,700–3,000 replacements, the division was withdrawn 

from Bouresches between 8 and 10 June 1918 and replaced 

by the 28th Division. The division was rated in 1918 as a firstclass division. It performed very well in the 1918 offensives, 

but never recovered from the fighting in June and July. 

The 28th Division was organized at the beginning of the 

war; this division came from the Grand Duchy of Baden in 

the southwest on the east bank of the Rhine. It spent much 

of the war on the defensive in the west; but in February 

1918, it began training for offensive operations. It fought in 

the Battle of the Somme in March and distinguished itself, 

though at a heavy cost. Some companies lost 75 percent of 

their manpower. In April, it received 2,500 reinforcements, 

with a large share being young 18-year-old conscripts. On 

27 May 1918, the division was used as an attack division, covering 60 kilometers by 3 June, as it was considered a firstclass unit. The division commander, Major General Hans 

Freiherr Prince von Buchau, was killed on 29 May. Out of 
8 53 8

THE OPPOSING FORCES

the line during 3–8 June, it relieved the 10th Division and 

reentered near Bouresches opposite the 4th Brigade until withdrawn on 3 July. It suffered heavy losses during the 

fighting in Belleau Wood on 10–11 June, especially the 2d 

Battalion, 40th Fusilier Regiment. Following its fighting in 

Belleau Wood in June, the 28th Division was not seriously 

engaged until it fought again in defense of the American’s 

Meuse-Argonne offensive in the fall.

The 87th Division was organized in June 1915 and was 

engaged from the beginning in the eastern front. During 

the 1918 spring offensive, it held a quiet sector until 18 June, 

when it was relieved and then entered the line on 22 June at 

Belleau Wood. During this period, the division was heavily 

engaged in hard fighting with the 4th Brigade. Driven from 

the woods on 25–26 June, the 347th Regiment suffered heavily given the number that were killed and wounded in addition to 300 prisoners that were taken. Afterward, it took part 

in the German retreat until 26 July, when it was withdrawn 

from the front until the end of August. Upon its return to 

the war on 26 August 1918, the division again suffered heavy 

losses during fighting through the end of September. Although this division was one of the most heterogeneous in 

the Prussian Army, it was considered a fourth-class unit. 

It had received a large draft of young recruits from across 

Germany in November 1917. Arriving at the western front at 

the end of March 1918, it was assessed as having mediocre 

combat value.

The 197th Division was created on the eastern front 

in August 1916, and it did not make an appearance on the 

western front until March 1918, holding the quiet Chemin 

des Dames sector until participating in the Aisne offensive 

on 27 May. Attack divisions passed through the 197th, which 

followed up in close reserve, only to be engaged on 31 May 

northwest of Château-Thierry. The 273d Regiment experi-
8 54 8

THE OPPOSING FORCES

enced heavy fighting while opposite French forces and the 

U.S. 2d Division at Les Mares Farm and Hill 142 before being relieved on 8 June. The 197th Division was rated as third 

class, suffering such heavy casualties and loss of morale in 

June 1918 that it was dissolved in October.

The 237th Division was organized in January 1917 primarily from young conscripts and returned sick and wounded from the front, principally from the Rhine District. In 

1918, the division included the 244th Brigade (Infantry)

made up of the 460th Regiment, 461st Regiment, and the 

462d Regiment. In addition to cavalry, artillery, transport, 

and medical units, it also included the 237th Pioneer Battalion (Engineers) and the 237th Signal Command. Its artillery regiment was the 83d Field Artillery Regiment with 

a Sturmkanone Battery. With its combat value considered 

mediocre in 1917 with service in Russia, it likely did not take 

part in the May 1918 offensive until it reached Belleau Wood 

on 1 June. The division suffered heavy casualties during the 

weeks of intense fighting and was withdrawn by 22 June. 

The division received 2,000 replacements before being 

withdrawn entirely from the front on 14 August. Returning 

to the front in September, it participated in the defensive 

battles until the end of the war. In October 1918, the division 

numbered approximately 800 men. The 237th Division was 

rated a fourth-class division, although it was considered to 

have veteran leaders and excellent regimental commanders. 

The 460th Regiment defended the eastern portion of Hill 

142 while the 461st Regiment, commanded by Major Josef 

Bischoff with Major Hans von Hartlieb, his best battalion 

commander, was responsible for defending Belleau Wood 

with the 3d Battalion for most of the month of June 1918.22

22 LtCol Hans von Hartlieb genannt Walsporn (1871–1940).
8 55 8

BATTLEFIELD 

ITINERARY AND 

STANDS

CAUTION: the area covered by this field guide was a battlefield for almost a month. Unexploded ordnance has been 

found and continues to pose a threat to this day (figure 8). 

Relic hunting is illegal and can be hazardous to your health. 

In addition, many areas covered by the field guide are private property and should be treated accordingly. We are always guests. Leave nothing but footprints and take nothing 

but photographs. 

Depending on the timing of your visit, the private farmland 

around Belleau Wood may contain growing crops. As this 

property belongs to working farms, you should use extreme 

care if walking through these fields during a growing season 

to avoid trampling any plants. 

Introduction

Each stand has been selected for its relevance to the battle 

and ease of access via either privately owned vehicle or tour 

bus. The stands are noted on the accompanying map. Furgh
8 56 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

ther, any walking at the stands will be kept to a minimum. 

However, several require some walking and proper footwear is recommended. The number of stands is limited so 

that the time devoted to the entire visit can be less than a 

full day. At each stand, the narrative will orient the reader 

to the terrain and the significance of the location (figure 9).

This tour begins with a stop at the Visitor Center, 

Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, Belleau, France, as the 

central focal point for the guide. You will return to the Visitor Center at the conclusion of the tour at Stand 8. The cemetery staff is very helpful and is available to answer questions 

about the area. Note that the times provided are approximations only as travel will vary according to traffic, weather, 

and other local factors. The tour averages about five hours 

but can be modified as your time and schedule permit. It is 

advisable to carry something to drink and eat.

Note: toilet facilities and places to eat in the area covered 

by this guide are scarce. The villages of Bouresches and 

Figure 8. Unexploded ordnance in the woods.

Courtesy of SgtMaj Hubert Caloud, USMC (Ret)
8 57 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

Lucy-le-Bocage have local bars that may be open, but the 

availability of food is limited. The Visitor Center at the AisneMarne American Cemetery offers restrooms for visitors in the 

immediate vicinity. Plan accordingly for the safety and comfort of those in your group.

Directions to Stand 1 (Village of Marigny-en-Orxois) (travel 

duration: 15 minutes): proceed out the cemetery main gate 

and turn left (Route D9) in the direction of Bussiares. Pass 

the German Military Cemetery on your left. As a collecting 

point for casualties from the battles of World War I in the 

region, it contains the remains of 8,630 German soldiers. 

Turn left at the next intersection (Route D82) in the direction of Lucy-le-Bocage. Note that Belleau Wood is on your 

left as you head south. You will pass through a wooded area 

in which the Marines fought twice going from your right to 

left. Exiting the wooded area, you are now in the wheat field 

made famous by the 6 June attack. You will return to this 

area later. Once arriving in the center of Lucy-le-Bocage, 

HILL 142

Torcy

Belleau

Givry Farm

Les Brusses 

Bussiares

od

Bois Saint-Martin

1 Km

STAND 3 

Hill 142 View

STAND 2

Les Mares Farm

STAND 2 Bois

de

Veuilly

Champillon

STAND 1 

Marigny-en-Orxois

La Voie du Chatel La Voie du Chatel

STAND 5

Bouresches

STAND 4 STAND 4 

Lucy-le-Bocage

Belleau

Wood

START TOUR. Initial Route to 

STAND 1 (via STAND 4).

Route from STAND 1 to 

STANDS 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Route from STAND 5 (via 

STAND 4) to STANDS 6, 7, and 

8. END TOUR

V IEW

D112

D11

D9

D82

START/END TOUR

STAND 8 STAND 3 Cemetery

STAND 7 STAND 7 Hunting Lodge

STAND 6 STAND 6 Marine Memorial Marine Memorial

Figure 9. Itinerary overview.

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 58 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

turn right on Route D112 toward La Voie du Châtel. Continue through La Voie du Châtel, bearing to the right toward 

Marigny-en-Orxois on Route D11. Proceed into the village 

and park in the village center near the picturesque medieval 

market hall (figure 10).

Stand 1. Village of Marigny-en-Orxois

(travel duration: 15 minutes)

This village was basically the left flank of the 4th Brigade 

sector upon its deployment to the area. You will notice the 

medieval market hall in the village center (figure 11). It is one 

of the oldest such structures in France and is considered a 

national historical monument. 

As the Marines arrived in the region, such places as 

Marigny-en-Orxois served as key assembly areas for the battalions prior to moving to their positions. These villages also 

od

Marigny-en-Orxois

STAND 1

200 M

at les Mares Farm To STAND 2 

Rue de la Fontaine

D11

Figure 10. Stand 1 near Marigny-en-Orxois.

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 59 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

became locations for important support activities, such as 

supply and medical care. Surely, Marines from the 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, assembled here in the village center 

as they prepared to move out to Les Mares Farm (figure 12). 

If you refer to the narrative for late May and early June (pp. 

20–30), you can get an appreciation for the difficulty of the 

deployment.

Figure 11. Marigny-en-Orxois market hall. 

Courtesy of Gilles Lagin

Figure 12. Marines deploying to the front. 

Marine Corps History Division
8 60 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

Directions to Stand 2 (Les Mares Farm) (travel duration: 5 

minutes): from the village center, drive back east on Route 

D11 and turn left (north) in the direction of Bussiares on 

Rue de la Fontaine. As you leave the village, you will note a 

cemetery on your right. The defilade area of the cemetery to 

the south was the headquarters of the 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, during the fighting at Les Mares Farm. As you crest 

the ridge after the cemetery, you can see farm buildings in 

front of you. Proceed to the area of the farm and carefully 

pull over onto the shoulder at the northern edge of the farm 

(figure 13).

Stand 2. Les Mares Farm 

(travel duration: 15 minutes)

The 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, deployed to defend this 

Les Mares Farm

St Martin

Bois Bois

des

Mares

Hill 142

STAND 2 - Les Mares Farm

Champillon Champillon

Bois

Triangulaire

Bois

To Bussiares

Hill 165

The Battlefield Today

France Le Portal IGN http://www.ign.fr

Bois

de

Veuilly

od

250 M

Les Mares Farm

Saint-Martin

Bois Bois

des

Mares

Bois

de

Beren

Hill 142

STAND 2 - Les Mares Farm

Champillon Champillon

Hill 165

Bois

de

Veuilly

od

250 M

via Bussiares To STAND 3

On 3 June, 2d Battalion, 5th 

Regiment, repels German attacks 

on Les Mares Farm

Advancing Battalions of the

German 273d Reserve Inf Regt

Bois

Triangulaire

Bois

Figure 13. Stand 2 at Les Mares Farm. 

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 61 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

farm on 1 June 1918. German artillery fire and probing raids 

from the north harassed the Marines as they dug in along 

the front line. The battle raged in earnest by 4 June 1918, 

when the Germans from the 2d Battalion, 273d Regiment, 

197th Division, assaulted the Allies’ positions at Les Mares 

Farm on the brigade’s left flank. The current farm buildings 

represent the Marine main line of resistance occupied by 

a company. Two other companies were positioned to the 

west and one to the east. The 51st Company to the east was 

commanded by Captain Lloyd Williams, who legend has it 

gave the famous reply, “Retreat, Hell! We just got here!”23

Regrettably, Williams did not survive the ensuing battle. 

If you look north, you can get a good appreciation of the 

ground over which the Germans attacked. Repulsed by the 

Marines, this attack is considered the closest the Germans 

would ever get to the French capital. Halting the Germans 

was a remarkable feat when you consider the significant failure in coordination between 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, 

around Les Mares Farm, and 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, 

on the right of 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment’s position near 

Champillon. The German attack directed against the farm 

failed to take advantage of this gap between the units to the 

east of the farm. The failure of the 4 June attack at the farm is 

generally acknowledged as the high-water mark of the German offensive. 

Directions to Stand 3 (Hill 142 View) (travel duration: 5 minutes): continue north on the Les Mares Farm road in the 

direction of Bussiares. At the first intersection, continue 

straight across the road and park somewhere in the farm 

service area. Exit your vehicle and walk to the southern 

23 Williams (1887–1918) was wounded during the battalion’s fighting in Belleau 

Wood on 12 June 1918. He died from his wounds while at the battalion aid station 

in Lucy-le-Bocage later that day. Posthumously promoted to major, he received 

multiple Silver Stars for his actions at Belleau Wood.
8 62 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

edge. Look southeast with the road on your right (figure 14).

Stand 3. Hill 142 View 

(travel duration: 15 minutes)

To orient the view, the road runs generally north-south. 

Looking to the southeast, you can see the edge of the woods 

from which the Marines of the 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, 

attacked early on 6 June. The use of the term Hill 142 is really 

a misnomer as there is no geographic elevation of that height. 

The French maps of the period contained a point marked 

“Côte 142” near the tree line that appears to have been a 

kind of property reference point. Hill 142 is in reality a long 

finger of terrain sloping downward to the north. Whatever 

HILL 142

Torcy

Bois Saint-Martin

Bois

Triangulaire

 Shaped

Wood

 Shaped

Wood

L-

“Square”

Wood

Bois

Sendral

Hill 165

Bois

des

Mares

Hill 126

od

500 M

On 6 June, 1st 

Battalion, 5th 

Regiment, forms 

for attack in this 

area via Champillon

To STAND 4

STAND 3 - Hill 142 View STAND 3 - Hill 142 View

Bussiares

of the German of the German 

460th Inf Regiment 460th Inf Regiment

III Battalion

VIEW

Figure 14. Stand 3 overlook to Hill 142. 

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 63 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

its origin, as the only notation on the maps available at the 

time, it was used as a description of the area through which 

this preliminary attack was to take place. The 1st Battalion, 

5th Regiment’s two lead companies, 49th and 67th, attacked 

abreast, moving north out of the tree line and encountering 

stiff opposition in the woods to their front and due east from 

your position. In addition, the 67th Company, the closest 

to this stand, was struck in the open field by automatic fire 

from the area directly to your south, or the right of the road. 

Private Joseph M. Baker’s actions reflect an individual act of 

bravery as he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross 

and Navy Cross during this murderous assault. The citation 

reads:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Private Joseph M. 

Baker, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism 

while serving with the 67th Company, 5th Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F. in action at Belleau Woods, 

France, 6 June 1918. When his platoon was suffering casualties from the fire of a hidden machine-gun, Private 

Baker exposed himself to a heavy fire to take up a position on the flank of the enemy gun. He attacked and 

killed the gunner by rifle fire and then rushed the gun, 

killing the crew with his bayonet.

By midday, despite heavy casualties, the Marines controlled the entire wooded area to the east, due in large measure to the timely arrival of the rest of the battalion and Army 

engineers. Late in the afternoon, Gunnery Sergeant Ernest A. 

Janson (a.k.a. Charles F. Hoffman) led a counterattack against 

enemy machine gunners on the eastern edge of the final posi-
8 64 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

tion for which he would later be awarded a Medal of Honor.24

Directions to Stand 4 (Lucy-le-Bocage) (travel duration: 10 

minutes): return to your vehicle and proceed south from the 

viewing area, passing through the village of Champillon. 

At the road junction, turn left (east) to return to Lucy-leBocage and park in the village center (figure 15). 

24 GySgt Janson (1878-1930) enlisted in the Marine Corps on 14 June 1910 under 

the alias Charles F. Hoffman, having previously deserted from the Army. Appointed a gunnery sergeant, a temporary warrant for the duration of the war, on 1 July 

1917, he served honorably with the 49th Company, 5th Regiment, in its various activities and on 6 June 1918, was severely wounded in action. He was reinstated to 

his wartime rank of gunnery sergeant in July 1926 and retired the following month. 

He was advanced one grade to sergeant major on 31 August 1926 and placed on the 

retired list on 30 September 1926.

Belleau

Wood

Stand 4A Stand 4A

Stand 4B Stand 4B

od

250 M

at Boureshes

To STAND 5 

G o b aa rr tt aa nnee

vv RR ii y) Gullll

GG o (( bb On 6 June, 3d Battalion, 

6th Regiment, forms for 

attack on southern part 

of Belleau Wood in this 

area

On 6 June, 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, attacks the 

northern part of Belleau Wood across the wheat field

VIEW

V I E W

D82

D112

Lucy Lucy-le-Bocage -le-Bocage

STAND 4

Parking

Figure 15. Stands 4A and 4B outside Lucy-le-Bocage. 

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 65 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

Stand 4. Lucy-le-Bocage–Wheat Field Battlefield 

(travel duration: 45 minutes)

This village served as the focal point of the efforts of the 4th 

Brigade in and around the village with battalion aid stations 

and supply dumps. As you park in the village center, you can 

see the village church. Unfortunately, it is generally closed 

to the public. Although the structure was severely damaged 

during the battle, the crucifix above the altar survived intact, much to the amazement of all who saw it (figure 16). 

Those wishing to visit the church must contact the SaintCrépin les Vignes’s parish in advance, which is responsible 

for the church, by phone (+33(0)3.23.83.25.77) or by email 

(paroisse.sclv@orange.fr) to make arrangements. 

You will be leaving the vehicle here and walking about 

1 kilometer round-trip to Stand 4A. Walk north out of the 

village (Route D82) and turn right at the first unimproved 

farm road at the crest of the ridge. Continue on this farm 

road for approximately 75 meters and orient yourself north 

by facing left.

Stand 4A. The Wheat Field

(travel duration: 15 minutes)

To your front and right lies Belleau Wood. To your left is 

Bois Saint-Martin (in 1918, it was called Bois de Champillon). This forest served as the assembly area for both brigade 

assaults into the woods: the first on 6 June and the second 

on 11 June. 

The first attack, an assault by 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, went from your left to right front; and the poorly coordinated assault of 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, was directly 

behind to your right rear into the southwest corner of the 

woods. The German defensive positions in Belleau Wood 

were at the tactical edge of the forest, meaning a yard or 

two inside the tree line from which you can easily observe, 
8 66 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

and was dominated by automatic weapons. As described by 

Lieutenant General Merwin H. Silverthorn (1896–1985) in 

1973, who was a sergeant in 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, they 

started the attack late and left the woods in “trench warfare 

formation.” This was the “only formation we knew, which 

consisted of four waves with . . . all waves holding their rifles 

at . . . high port [with fixed bayonets], not even aiming or 

firing.” 

There was 75 meters between the first and second wave 

of platoons with the third and fourth waves 150 meters farther behind. Once the German firing began, out of the 52 

men in Silverthorn’s platoon, only 6 made it through the 

first 75 meters. The general and other survivors found safety 

in a portion of the field that provided sufficient cover. The 

attack failed and the field before you was littered with casualties. If you look directly in front of your position, you will 

note the field is not exactly flat and there is a low area that 

dips to the right. It is likely that this area saved many MaFigure 16. The Lucy-le-Bocage church crucifix survived the battle. 

U.S. Army Signal Corps
8 67 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

rines from 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, such as Silverthorn, 

as they were able to find cover from the enemy fire and enter 

the edge of the woods to mingle with the left-most units of 

3d Battalion, 6th Regiment.

Stand 4A is also the location of 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment’s attack on 11 June, with artillery preparation beginning at 0300. Lieutenant Colonel Frederic Wise’s battalion 

fought its way into the woods with better results than on 

6 June, due in large measure to better intelligence and artillery preparation. 

One final note about this area: during the night of 13–

14 June, an artillery attack occurred south of this location 

against 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, as it attempted to relieve 

the 5th Regiment’s 2d Battalion. While preparing to deploy 

from the woods south of Lucy-le-Bocage, the battalion suffered many gas casualties. During this barrage, Gunnery 

Sergeant Fred Stockham, 96th Company, saved the life of 

one his Marines at the cost of his own by giving the Marine 

his gas mask as he carried him to the battalion aid station 

behind the village of Lucy-le-Bocage.25

Directions to Stand 4B: continue on the farm road as it turns 

to the right (south) and returns to the village, stopping 

about halfway from the farm buildings. Look east and note 

the terrain sloping to the south. Just beyond that point and 

to the south runs the Lucy-Bouresches road.

25 GySgt Stockham (1881–1918) enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1903. In September 

1917, after volunteering for service in France, he joined the 96th Company, 6th 

Regiment, at Quantico, VA. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions 

during the Battle of Belleau Wood, France, on the night of 13–14 June 1918, when 

he exposed himself to mustard gas to give his own gas mask to a wounded comrade. 

He died from the effects of the gas on 22 June 1918 and was posthumously awarded 

the nation’s highest decoration on 21 December 1939, due in large measure to the 

efforts of then-Col Clifton Cates, who was a lieutenant in the company at Belleau 

Wood, and fellow Marine turned prominent politician, Barak T. Mattingly, one of 

the men he saved.
8 68 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

Stand 4B. Southeast Corner

(travel duration: 15 minutes)

The left flank of 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment’s attack covered 

this area. This battalion fared better overall, as the Marines 

were closer to the woods and did not have to assault over a 

wide-open space. However, due to the sloping terrain and 

heavy fire from the woods itself, they were channeled down 

the slope and into the creek bed along the Lucy-Bouresches 

road. This terrain feature known as Gob Gully was used as 

an avenue of approach for Marines going into and out of the 

woods during the battle. Thus, the battalion was unable to 

penetrate the woods very far and struggled to move along 

the Lucy-Bouresches road to capture Bouresches. Later 

that day, Major Thomas Holcomb’s 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, was directed to take Bouresches. Near this location, 

the 6th Regiment commander, Colonel Albertus Catlin, 

who was responsible for command of the attack, was severely wounded as he tried to observe the ongoing assault. With 

his medical evacuation, the deputy regimental commander 

some distance in the rear, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Lee, 

assumed command of the assault, leading to additional coordination problems throughout the day. 

Directions to Stand 5 (Bouresches) (travel duration: 10 minutes): return to your vehicle in Lucy-le-Bocage and drive via 

the road to the east toward Bouresches. As you exit the village, you will notice Gob Gully to your right that runs from 

behind the village of Lucy into Belleau Wood to your left. 

Due to German artillery fire directed at roads and intersections on their maps, troops were encouraged to approach 

the front lines from rear areas and limit their movements to 

other avenues of approach.

As you draw near Bouresches, note the high ground 

in the woods to your left, giving you some idea of the tasks 
8 69 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

required of assaulting troops, especially the Marines of 1st 

Battalion, 6th Regiment, who were moving from your right 

to the left across the road on 10 June. Gob Gully is located where the fields meet Belleau Wood and provided cover 

to the Marines who made it that far. As you approach the 

village of Bouresches, the farmland to your right is the area 

through which the 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, attacked into 

the village (figure 17). Navy dentist Lieutenant (JG) Weedon 

Osborne died in that field on 6 June 1918, attempting to save 

the 96th Company’s commander, Captain Donald Duncan. 

Marines in Bouresches were resupplied via the road 

from Lucy-le-Bocage by trucks running the gauntlet of enemy fire from Belleau Wood and the railroad embankment 

outside Bouresches for several days. One particularly heroic attempt was organized by the legendary Sergeant Major 

John H. Quick of the 6th Regiment late on 6 June for which 

-le- Lucy

Lucy -le- Bocage Bocage

200 M od

Cates’ Ravine STAND 5A STAND 5A Cates’ Ravine

Belleau

Wood

Bouresches Bouresches

STAND 5 B - German STAND 5 B - German

Defensive Positions Defensive Positions

RR Embankment RR Embankment

STAND 5C

STAND 5 - Parking STAND 5 - Parking

The Battlefield Today

France Le Portal IGN http://www.ign.fr

-le- Lucy

Lucy -le- Bocage Bocage

-le- Lucy -le- Bocage Bocage

200 M od

STAND 5A Cates’s Ravine

Belleau

Wood

Bouresches

STAND 5B - German

Defensive Positions

RR Embankment RR Embankment

STAND 5C

STAND 5 - Parking

-le- Lucy

Lucy -le- Bocage

Figure 17. Stand 5 outside Bouresches. 

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 70 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

he, and the other participating Marines, were awarded Navy 

Crosses.26

Stand 5. Bouresches

(travel duration: 60 minutes)

Stop and park in the village center, note the church to the 

east at the intersection of the Belleau-Bouresches and 

Lucy-Vaux roads (figure 18). To the northwest lies Belleau 

Wood. The Germans held the village with their main line of 

resistance being the railroad embankment outside the village to the north to be visited later. Late on the afternoon 

of 6 June 1918, the 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, attacked the 

village across the fields south of the Lucy-Bouresches road, 

while the regiment’s 3d Battalion attempted to secure the 

26 SgtMaj Quick (1870–1922) was the 6th Regiment’s sergeant major who had been 

awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in 1898. He 

served during the rest of the war until he returned to the United States in October 

1918.

Figure 18. Bouresches church, ca. 1918. 

Marine Corps History Division
8 71 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

southwest edge of Belleau Wood. Standing in the village 

center and looking toward the church, you can see the culvert on the right that contains the ravine (or creek bed) by 

which Second Lieutenant Clifton Cates and Marines from 

the 96th Company, 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment, advanced 

into the village, eventually driving the German defenders out. 

Directions to Stand 5A (Cates’s Ravine) (travel duration: 10 

minutes): from the village center, walk out of the village on 

the road back toward Lucy-le-Bocage. Approximately 300 

meters from the church, just before the end of the village, 

turn left (south) and follow the farm trail between a hedge on 

the left and a house on the right leading into the open field. 

Stop about 250 meters up the slope and turn and face the 

village (figure 19).

od

Bouresches Bouresches

100 M

STAND 5 - Parking

od

Belleau

Wood

100 M

STAND 5A Cates’s Ravine

Church

Stand 5A To 

VIEW

German MG Nests

96th Company, 

2d Battalion, 6th Regiment

assault town

Figure 19. Stand 5A view toward Cates’s Ravine. 

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 72 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

Stand 5A. Cates’s Ravine 

(travel duration: 15 minutes)

You can now see the village and Belleau Wood (to your left 

across the road to the north) from the perspective of the Marines in 1918. Across this field, the 96th Company attacked 

late in the afternoon of 6 June 1918. Assembled in the woods 

to the south, they struck with the objective of taking Bouresches. In this vicinity, Lieutenant (JG) Osborne was killed as 

he attempted to save the life of Captain Duncan.

Somewhere in this open field, Cates was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head from a glancing enemy projectile. When he recovered shortly thereafter, he noticed 

Marines moving toward the shelter of the ravine (to your 

right) that provided safe access to the village. This ravine 

to the east is labeled as Cates’s Ravine in figure 19. There 

was a bitter struggle for the village through the night of 6 

June, but eventually the 96th Company’s Marines were reinforced by the battalion’s 79thCompany and soldiers from 

the Army’s 2d Engineer Regiment. Major Randolph T. 

Zane, commanding the 79th Company, assumed command 

of all forces in the village and successfully repulsed counterattacks for the next several days. He was awarded a Distinguished Cross and the Navy Cross for his leadership during 

this phase of the battle.

Stand 5B. Supplemental–German Defensive Positions 

(travel duration: 60 minutes)

Some areas in the southeast corner of Belleau Wood offer 

an excellent perspective on German defensive positions and 

some appreciation for the terrain (figure 20). However, this 

excursion requires time, effort, and good walking shoes. 

The round-trip from the road is about .5 kilometers and 

takes about an hour. 
8 73 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

Directions to Stand 5B (German defensive positions) (travel 

duration: 15 minutes): return to the hard-surface road and 

walk directly across it onto the farm trail leading to the 

southern edge of Belleau Wood. About 200 meters from 

the road, you will cross Gob Gully. Once across the ravine, 

follow the trail to the left at the fork and note how the terrain rises as you proceed farther into the woods. Follow the 

trail as it curves right. Proceed for about 200 meters into the 

woods from the trail fork. Note where the embankment on 

the right eventually is level with the trail. At that point, turn 

to the right and walk into the woods approximately 50 meters. Continue forward, inclining to the southwest until you 

reach the top of this high ground (figure 21). You will find 

several fighting positions among some large rocks and boulders that appear naturally oriented to defend the position. 

Bouresches Bouresches

Belleau

Wood

STAND 5B - German STAND 5B - German

Defensive Positions Defensive Positions

Gob ar t a n e

v i Ra n e

v i R

Gully)

G o b

((

Farm

Trail

Farm Trail

od

100 M

Figure 20. Stand 5B German positions in Belleau Wood. 

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 74 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

This area was manned by German defenders against the attacks by 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, beginning on 10 June.

From this location, it is easy to appreciate the dilemma 

of the attacking Marines, as these positions are situated on 

the high ground covering the southern access to the woods. 

Also, the nature of the terrain and dense forest highlights 

the challenges faced by the defenders in coordinating with 

adjacent units. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, a German 

lieutenant and combat veteran of the war, highlighted the 

problems for both sides with forest fighting in his memoir, 

Infantry Attacks (1935):

One sees nothing of the enemy. The bullets strike with a 

loud crash against trees and branches, innumerable ricochets fill the air, and it is hard to tell the direction of the 

enemy fire. It is difficult to maintain direction and contact in the front line; the commander can control only the 

men closest to him, permitting the remaining troops to get 

out of hand. Digging shelters in a woods [sic] is difficult 

because of roots. The position of the front line becomes 

Figure 21. Fighting positions in the southeast corner of Belleau Wood. 

Courtesy of the author
8 75 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

untenable when . . . one’s own troops open fire from the 

rear, for the front line is caught between two lines of fire.

This hazard in dense terrain helps to explain Major 

Wise’s (2d Battalion, 5th Regiment) confusion on 11 June. 

In addition, it contributed to the poor coordination between 

the German defenders on 10–11 June that enabled the destruction of the 2d Battalion, 40th Fusiliers. Retrace your 

route and return to the village center (travel duration: 30 

minutes). 

Directions to Stand 5C (Bouresches railroad embankment) 

(travel duration: 30 minutes): proceed north to the outskirts 

of the village (by foot or vehicle). Across the street from 

the church on your left, you will notice a street sign on the 

building—Rue de Lieutenant J. G. Osborne—which is named 

for the Navy dentist who was awarded the Medal of Honor. 

Figure 22 is a photo of another street sign at the end of the 

village near the railroad embankment. The signs show a misFigure 22. Rue du Lt J. G. Osborne. 

Courtesy of the author
8 76 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

understanding in Osborne’s initials, mistaking the letters 

“J. G.” in his rank (i.e., lieutenant, junior grade) as the initials for his name. His full name was Weedon E. Osborne. If 

you continue north to the next intersection (approximately 

400 meters from village center), you will see the remnants 

of the railroad embankment and bridge to the north that 

crossed the road in 1918. 

Stand 5C. Bouresches Railroad Embankment 

(travel duration: 10 minutes)

This built-up embankment was the main German line of 

resistance and offered the defenders excellent fields of fire 

into both the village and the southern edge of Belleau Wood 

(figures 23 and 24 a/b). An objective of the Marine brigade, 

the Germans held it throughout the battle.

100 M

od

Parking Parking

Church

Rue du Lieutenant Rue du Lieutenant

J.G. Osborne

Bouresches Bouresches

RR Embankment RR Embankment

STAND 5C

RR Embankment Embankment

STAND 5 STAND 5

V I E W

German Main Defensive 

Line

Belleau

Figure 23. Stand 5C Bouresches railroad embankment. 

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 77 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

Directions to Stand 6 (Belleau Wood memorial park) (travel duration: 15 minutes): return to your vehicle and proceed 

back to Lucy-le-Bocage. In the village center, turn right 

(north) and drive out of the village (Route D82). At the first 

hard-surface road intersection, turn right and drive through 

the Belleau Wood memorial park gate and continue until you 

Figure 24a. Bouresches railroad embankment, ca. 1918. 

Courtesy of Marc André Dubout

Figure 24b. Bouresches railroad embankment, 2018. 

Courtesy of Gilles Lagin
8 78 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

Belleau

od

250 M

German 

Military 

Cemetery

German 

Military 

Cemetery

Belleau Wood

STAND 6 STAND 6 Marine Memorial Marine Memorial

TOUR END

STAND 8 STAND 3 Cemetery

D9

D9

STAND 7 STAND 7 Hunting Lodge

reach the center of the park at the Marine monument with the 

artillery displays. Park where space is available (figure 25).

Stand 6. Belleau Wood Memorial Park 

(travel duration: 15 minutes)

You are now in the center of the northern half of Belleau 

Wood. The grounds no longer contain the dense undergrowth present in 1918, as the area is maintained now by the 

American Battle Monuments Commission as a memorial to 

the Americans who fought here. The monument and flagpole 

were erected in 1955. The then-Commandant of the Marine 

Corps, General Lemuel Shepherd, who distinguished himself during the battle as a second lieutenant in 2d Battalion, 

5th Regiment, officiated at the ceremony. As noted in the 

cemetery brochure, the bronze bas-relief monument was 

designed and dedicated in 1955 by Felix de Weldon, who 

Figure 25. Stands 6, 7, and 8 outside of Belleau. 

Le Portail IGN, courtesy of LtCol R. L. “Bill” Cody, USMC (Ret)
8 79 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

also designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (a.k.a. Iwo 

Jima Memorial) in Arlington, Virginia (figure 26).

This part of the woods was the center of the German 

defense as the battle progressed through mid-June, with 

the Marines in a desperate close-combat struggle. Survivors noted that no one on either side could expose themselves without being shot. Due to the nature of the German 

defense, using machine guns to support each other in the 

dense growth, exhausted Marine units had to be withdrawn 

beginning on 13 June. The U.S. Army’s 7th Infantry Regiment relieved the Marines during 17–22 June but failed to 

Figure 26. The Marine Memorial, Belleau Wood. 

Courtesy of the author
8 80 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

expel the enemy. The German units fared little better as a 

depleted 461st Regiment finally withdrew. As a result, German headquarters decided to abandon efforts to retake lost 

ground and concentrated on holding what they had.

Directions to Stand 7 (Hunting lodge/pavilion) (travel duration: 5 minutes): walk north from the park center on the 

gravel road. As you approach a gated wire fence at the edge 

of the cemetery grounds, you will see on your right the remains of the hunting lodge of the family who once owned 

Belleau Wood (figure 27). German accounts referred to it 

as the pavilion. 

Stand 7. Hunting Lodge/Pavilion 

(travel duration: 15 minutes)

In this area, the final operations of the battle took place. The 

hunting lodge or pavilion was the focal point of the German 

positions throughout the battle. If the gate is locked, you 

can visit this area from inside the cemetery grounds at the 

conclusion of the itinerary.

Figure 27. The hunting lodge after the battle. 

Marine Corps History Division
8 81 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

During the evening of 22 June, Major Maurice Shearer, 

commanding the now replenished 3d Battalion, 5th Regiment, was knocked out of the battle on 6 June, planned 

for the final assault. The next day, the battalion recovered 

ground lost by the 7th Regiment but made very little progress against the German’s 347th Regiment. On 24 June, 

General Bundy, the division commander, chaired a meeting with the leadership of the Marine brigade to include the 

regimental and battalion commanders and division artillery 

commander. To break the stalemate, the group decided to 

direct the division artillery to pulverize the northern portion 

of the woods with a heavy artillery attack in the early hours 

of 25 June. With the Marines withdrawing south sufficiently to avoid friendly fire, the 2d Division artillery regiment 

with support from French batteries fired on this area for 14 

hours beginning at 0300. Surprisingly, the renewed Marine 

attack encountered some German survivors who continued 

to stubbornly defend their positions. However, slowly but 

surely, German resistance collapsed and units fell back to 

positions on the Torcy-Belleau road. By dawn on 26 June, 

Marines held Belleau Wood. 

If you have additional time within the Belleau Wood 

Park, you can refer to the cemetery’s Belleau Wood Trail 

Map brochure prepared for the 2018 WWI Centennial 

Commemoration and available at the visitor’s building. It 

contains a walking trail map of interesting locations and 

terrain features in Belleau Wood and a brief synopsis of the 

battle (figure 28).

Directions to Stand 8 (Aisne-Marne American Cemetery) 

(travel duration: 15 minutes): return to your vehicle and drive 

north through the park, following the hard-surface road to 

the right down the hill. At the intersection after exiting the 

woods, turn left toward Belleau, noting the cemetery to your 
8 82 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

left. Turn left on Route D9 and then take an immediate left 

to the cemetery grounds. Proceed toward the buildings and 

use the parking lot on the right.

Stand 8. Aisne-Marne American Cemetery 

(travel duration: time varies)

At this point during the final hours of the battle, the retreating Germans were pushed back through this area to the village of Belleau. Visitors can now devote time to visiting the 

cemetery, the Visitor Center, and Memorial Chapel. Dedicated in 1937, the cemetery covers 42.5 acres with 2,289 

gravesites. Medal of Honor recipient Navy Lieutenant (JG) 

Weedon Osborne is buried about halfway down to your left 

as you face the chapel. His gravesite is distinguished by the 

gold lettering on the cross. In the chapel, the names of 1,060 

Americans missing in action are listed. 

At the far left edge of the cemetery, a lone gravesite 

(plot A, row 13, grave 91) can be found of an unknown American whose remains were discovered in a ravine north of Hill 

Figure 28. Aisne-Marne American Cemetery entrance. 

Courtesy of the author
8 83 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

142 by a local farmer in 1988. Breaking historic precedent, 

the cemetery was reopened for a formal military funeral 

conducted by the Marine Corps on 5 November 1988 at the 

request of then-Commandant General Alfred M. Gray Jr., as 

it was believed the remains may have been that of a Marine. 

Unfortunately, there was no evidence to determine either 

identity or Service. Records show Army soldiers served in 

the 4th Brigade, and Army units served in the area after the 

Marines departed. However, Gray felt strongly that it should 

be the Marine Corps’ responsibility to conduct the burial if 

this young man died near Belleau Wood.

Supplemental Visits in the Village of Belleau 

(travel duration: 30 minutes)

The well-known Devil Dog Fountain is located in the stables of the old château in the village of Belleau north of the 

cemetery. The fountain sits on privately owned property and 

is not open to the public. If you wish to visit the fountain, 

you must make inquiries with the cemetery staff or someone 

at the village of Belleau museum (across the street from the 

stables) who can provide access as the gate to the stables is 

kept locked (figure 29).

If you visit the fountain, you may want to visit the Belleau village cemetery just across the Clignon Brook north 

of the château’s stables. Exit the stables, turn left, and proceed across the creek. The cemetery lies directly ahead. 

It contains the grave of the last American soldier to die in 

Belleau Wood. On the morning of 2 April 1928, members 

of the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery staff discovered the 

body of Ernest Stricker, who had committed suicide near 

the hunting lodge the previous evening. A private first class 

in an Army engineer unit during the war, Stricker was honorably discharged in 1919, but appears to have suffered from 

post-traumatic stress-disorder and other medical problems 
8 84 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

in the years following the war. He left a note in a Paris hotel 

room stating that his health was failing and he could not go 

on. He wished to be buried in France among his “comrades 

in arms.” As the military cemetery was closed to burials, the 

villagers of Belleau offered to give him an honored place. 

Thus, on 5 April 1928, Stricker was buried with full military 

honors in the village cemetery (figure 30). When the AisneMarne American Cemetery staff place American flags at the 

gravesites in the military cemetery each year to commemorate Veterans and Memorial Day, they also place one at Private First Class Stricker’s grave.27

Summary

Stand 8 concludes the field guide. It is our hope that you 

have now gained some appreciation of the momentous bat27 PFC Stricker (1891–1928) is listed as ISOB, which indicates isolated burial; in 

this instance, ISOB refers to a burial site that is decorated on U.S. holidays but 

rests outside of one of the ABMC cemeteries.

Figure 29. Devil Dog Fountain. 

Official U.S. Marine Corps photo, courtesy of Cpl Daniel Wulz
8 85 8

BATTLEFIELD ITINERARY AND STANDS

Figure 30. Ernest Stricker funeral, ca. 1928. 

National Archives and Records Administration

tle waged here in 1918 and of the sacrifice and heroism of the 

soldiers, sailors, and Marines from another century. What is 

the legacy of those valiant Marines? As General Charles C. 

Krulak, 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps, wrote in the 

Marine Corps Gazette in 1998: 

At Belleau Wood, the Marine Corps discovered that 

warfare had changed, and we had failed to adapt to 

those changes. The 4th Brigade paid the price in blood. 

Those who survived never forgot that lesson, and they 

vowed that the Corps would never again be caught 

unprepared. They became the innovators, risk takers, 

and visionaries who championed amphibious assault 

in the 1920s, close air support in the 1930s, and vertical envelopment in the 1950s. They were the architects 

[who] built the force-in-readiness that we are the proud 

stewards of today.

Semper Fidelis!
8 86 8

BE Belgium

BR British (Britain) CAN Canada (Canadian)

A-H Austria-Hungary

GE German (Germany) FR French (France)

US United States (American)

LUX Luxembourg

AEF American Expeditionary Forces

BEF British Expeditionary Forces

Ldw Landwehr

Jag Jaeger

Plt Platoon Mar Marine(s)/USMC

Inf Infantry ID Infantry Division

CD Cavalry Division

CR Cavalry Regiment

IR Infantry Regiment

Gr Grenadier(s)

Gd Guard(s) Fus Fusilier(s)

Cdr Unit Commander Hq Headquarters MLR Main Line of Resistance

PC Post of Command Pnr Pioneers R Reserve

USMC U.S. Marine Corps

Regt Regiment Res Reserve Stz Shutzen (Rifles)

Bde Brigade

Btry Battery

Arty Artillery

Cav Cavalry

Co Company Det Detachment Div Division Egr Engineers Bn Battalion

ABBREVIATIONS

Field Army

Army Group

Army Corps

Division

Brigade X

Regiment

Battalion

Company

Platoon

Section Squad

Army Group

& Field Army

Infantry

Cavalry

Machine Gun MG

Engineers E

Tanks

Artillery

MAP SYMBOLS 

EXAMPLES OF COMBINING SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

4 US Mar

X

4th Marine 

Brigade PC

5th Regiment

US Marine Corps

5 US Mar 9 US 

US 9th Infantry

Regiment

US 2

US 2d Division 

FR 26

French 26th Infantry Division 15th Colonial French 

Division

FR 15

Colonial

35th Infantry 

Austria-Hungary 

Division

419

Regiment 419th Infantry German 

A-H 35

77th Reserve German 

Division

77R

13th Landwehr German 

Division

13

Ldw

French 

2d Cavalry

Division

Dismounted

FR 2

Dismounted

American Expeditionary Forces (Cdr Name)

AEF

US

(Pershing)

US First Army 

(Cdr Name)

FIRST

US

(Pershing)

US I Army Corps

(Cdr Name)

(Liggett)

US I

(Maistre)

CENTER

FR

(Cdr Name)

French Army Group Center

(Gallwitz)

German

Army Group

Gallwitz

Battalions may be abbreviated by battalion

and regimental numbers separated by a 

solidis (/), such as:

1/5 Mar = 1st Bn, 5th Marine Regt 

II /110 Gr = II Bn, 110th Grenadier IR

DET C

(Fochs)

German Army Detachment C (Cdr Name)

Colonial

(Blondlat)

FR

Colonial Army Corps

(Cdr Name)

French 

I

2 89

2 5

Sector

2d Div

Sector

5th Div Sector

89th Div

Unit boundaries and sectors

(In the attack sectors may be called

 zones of action)

Boundary

Corps 

Boundary

Division

In U.S. Army infantry regiments, the 12 rifle companies were lettered A through M (letter J not used): 

Cos A, B, C, and D in the 1st Bn; Cos E, F, G, and H in the 2d Bn; and Cos I, K, L, and M in the 3d Bn.

In French infantry regiments, rifle companies were numbered as in the German Army, except battalions 

were assigned Arabic numbers. 

In German infantry regiments, subordinate battalions were identified by Roman numerals and the 12 rifle 

 Cos in II Bn; and the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th in III Bn.

companies were numbered 1 through 12: the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th Cos were in Bn; the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th I

U.S. Marine companies were numbered Corps-wide and assigned to battalions and regiments without 

regard to numerical sequence (i.e., the 1st Bn, 5th Regt, had the17th, 49th, 66th, and 67th Cos). The 2d Bn 

same regiment included the18th, 43d, 51st, and 55th Cos; and the 3d Bn included the 16th, 20th, 45th, 

and 47th Cos. 

U.S. Marine regiments as companies are

not assigned to battalions in sequential order—

the battalion number is in between the company

and regimental number: [Co/Bn/Regt].

 In separate battalions, such as MG units, 

 Jaegers, etc., company abbreviations have two 

 digits: [Co/Bn].

2d Bn, etc. This applies to companies that

are assigned letters (i.e., Co A is in 1st Bn,

Co H is in the 2d Bn, etc.). 

 sequentially, in 12 company regiments 

 the 1st Co is in the 1st Bn, 5th Co in the

In Army regiments, company abbreviations

have two digits: [Co/Regt]. As companies

are equally apportioned to battalions

97/3/6

84/3/6

84/3/6

83/3/6 82/3/6

6 

Mar 3 US 

3d Bn, 6th Regt USMC

with companies deployed.

is the 84th Co, 3d Bn,

6th Regt. ( )

4/461

7/461

461 

II Bn, German 461st IR 

II 

with companies deployed.

 is the 5th Co, Bn, 461st IR. ( )

5/461

5/461

6/461

Deployed 

Company

Deployed 

Battalion

Trace of 

Front Line

Strong Points,

MG Nests, etc.

Post of Command (PC)

Type

Indicated

Assembly Area

Observation Post (OP) (Plt or Smaller)

(red for enemy troops)
8 87 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY

gh

The National Archives, College Park, Maryland

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8 95 8

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

gh

William T. Anderson retired from the Department of Defense 

in 2005 after more than 35 years of service. From 1987 to 2005, 

he served as a senior legal advisor at the Supreme Headquarters 

Allied Powers Europe, the operational military headquarters for 

the NATO. He attended Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia 

and later received a bachelor’s degree in economics from American University. He holds a law degree from Washington and Lee 

University and a master’s degree in political science from Georgetown University with a special emphasis on security studies. He 

was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1969 and served as a 

judge advocate in both the 1st Marine Division and the 1st Marine 

Aircraft Wing at the conclusion of the Vietnam War. In 1980, Anderson became a civilian international attorney in the Department 

of the Navy in Washington, DC, until he was seconded by the 

Department of Defense to the NATO assignment. He retired as 

a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1999 following duty as 

deputy chief of staff, Marine Corps Forces, Europe. From 2009 

to 2017, he served on the adjunct faculty, College of Distance Education and Training, Command and Staff College, Marine Corps 

University at Quantico.