"Over There! Part 3: Retreat, Hell! We Just Got Here!" U.S. Marines At Belleau Wood
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- Watch this American Rifleman Television video segment "Over There! Part Three: Retreat, Hell! We Just Got Here!" to learn about the United States Marines Corps action at Belleau Wood during World War I.
By the summer of 1918, German forces on the Western Front were stronger than at any point prior during World War I. This was due to the fact that the Russians sought a separate peace from the other allies. With the Eastern Front no longer a concern, the Germans were no longer in the draining position of fighting a two-front war. As a result, the Germans poured all of their available resources and men into fighting the remaining allies on the Western Front.
Beginning on March 21, 1918, the German launched the "Spring Offensive" or a series of attacks and advances along the Western Front. At the time the Germans had a temporary numerical advantage over the allies, and began another push toward Paris. After a steady advance, in June the German offensive ran into the U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division on the road running from Paris to Metz. Attached to the 2nd Infantry Division were elements of the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments. The Marines were pushed forward between June 1-26, 1918 in a series of engagements to counter the German advance.
These engagements took place near areas know as "The Triangle Farm", Hill 142 and Belleau Wood. The battle fought by the Marines at Belleau Wood would help forge the legacy and ethos of the U.S. Marine Corps that is revered to this day. At stake was France itself, as Belleau Wood was only 35 miles from Paris which was already under bombardment from German long-range artillery. If the Germans were able to take Paris, France would fall and along with it the allied war effort. The Marine riflemen of the time were expert marksmen and their skill was displayed through German casualties. The Germans were unpleasantly surprised at the skill of Marine marksmen.
U.S. Soldiers were issued with the Model 1903 Springfield bolt-action rifle chambered in .30-'06 Sprg. The M1903 was based off the sturdy Mauser 1898 action. The M1903 proved to be very accurate much like the Mauser, and had precise target-style sights. The M1903 has an adjustable rear peep sight that while not ideal for a battle sight, is excellent for pin-point shooting.
The Other rifle used was the Model 1917 bolt-action rifle produced by Eddystone, Winchester and Remington. Originally it was designed by the British as the Pattern 14 chambered in .303 British and produced under contract by American manufacturers. The design was chambered in .30-'06 Sprg. as a means of dressing the shortage of M1903 rifles.
U.S. Marines were armed with foreign-made machine guns like the French M1914 Hotchkiss heavy machine gun and M1915 Chauchat CSRG light machine gun chambered in 8 mm Lebel. The U.S. military had not focused on machine guns as a priority prior to joining the war, and production of domestic models was far behind. So, American Soldiers turned foreign examples to supplement their need for automatic weapons.
Marines also packed large-caliber handguns on the battlefield at that time. The semi-automatic, Browning-designed M1911 along with the Smith & Wesson M1917 double-action revolver were both chambered in .45 ACP. These handguns proved invaluable in the closer quarters fighting in the woods.
When Marines charged across wheat fields into Belleau Wood, they suffered heavy casualties. They advanced in their standard line formations against German positions reinforced with machine guns. These German positions were set up to cover one another throughout the woods.
The Marines engaged in intense fighting against German forces at Belleau Wood for a month. By the end of June 1918, the battle ended with the Germans unable to advance any further. Two regiments of Marines succeeded in not only taking on six German Divisions in the process, but stopping their advance and playing a key roll in halting the German "Spring Offensive" of 1918.
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Every man is a rifleman in the Corps. Semper Fi brothers. When I was with 3rd Recon, we used to beat up other special ops forces in a match.
The problem with seeing history like this is it sets a damn high bar to compare your life too .
The 5th and 6th Marine Regiments are the ONLY Marine Units allowed to wear an award from a foreign government on their dress uniforms. The French Fourragere. The battle of Belleau Wood was also where we earned the nickname "Devil Dogs".
Ya but then 1953 in Korea a Army General surrendered and forced the 5 marine Battalion to surrender to the Chinese and North Koreans to! Black mark there! Dam ARMY!
No they didn't "Devil Dogs" is some American thing thought up by an American newspaper guy. It was in print six weeks before Belleau Wood so it had nothing to do with the Germans.
@@johnmichaelson9173 Hey Bud check your history Devils Dogs the name isn't American if you search it up it was something the Germans were saying in German language I forgot who had it translated but it got translated to Devil Dogs. It just goes to show someone doesn't know their history or checks it before saying something on the internet. Also if you claim that it was a myth and legend you don't know for sure about that considering you can't prove it nobody can really prove if it is full true that germans did give the nickname.
The history of the Marine Corps is that every marine is a rifleman. Every marine has to continually take markmanship training. It doesn't care what your MOS is. Your first MOS is a basic rifleman.
Fact!
Gotta love the United States Marines
Thank you JESUS CHRIST for making
me one of the few good men, Amen!🙏🙏🙏 Hallelujah JESUS CHRIST!
Same in the US Army. Fact! All US Army soldiers, not just infantrymen, go through Basic Training. US Army soldiers are assigned a weapon in their permanent units, must re-qualify with their weapons every 6 months, and must re-qualify on the soldier common tasks they learned in Basic Training every six months despite their MOSs.
I recently re-read a book by a P-47 squadron commander in which his USAAF ground personnel (P-47 mechanics, airplane armorers, refuelers, cooks, and PAC rats) were issued M-1s and sent to forward from their airfield in southern France to fight approaching Germans near the end of WW2. His P-47 pilots continued to fly close air support missions against the approaching Germans despite their critical shortage of ground personnel. The P-47 pilots had to land, rearm, and refuel their own P-47s then take off again.
2 Marine regiments against 7 German full divisions? Poor Germans, never had a chance.
That’s because just like the second they decided to join at the end rather than the beginning
One Marine brigade and two Army divisions.
Yeah that battle is one of the 3 greatest of the Marine corp.
But they weren't alone.
A lot of Army boys died in that battle too including my great uncle.
@@joecombs7468; WE're gratefull for Your great uncle's SACRIFICE. The important thing is that OUR Servicemembers went as Americans, each and every single one of them is a hero.
Teke care Sir.
SEMPER FI!.
@@EldeLDorELLEN that’s because the the First World War was a totally European one, we didn’t have to be there . The second time we were in Europe because after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, it’s ally Nazi Germany declared war on the USA first.
While the USA would’ve finally joined the allies, it was never a sure thing because average Americans wanted no part of another European war
@@EldeLDorELLEN USA fought for 4 and a half of the 6 years in ww2 and the allies were a few weeks away from losing the war when they joined
my grandfather told me of a man named Charles Bellecourt that lived down the road from him in rural MN that was native american.he was with the Marines in Belleau Wood..he said they all got medals from the French govt..my grandfather,and so do I, found it ironic the native peoples were fighting for the United States govt..the same govt that had taken their customs and land..My grandmother was also from White Earth..
US Marines, kicking ass and taking names all around the world since its inception. Semper Fi.
They were formed earlier than the USA itself, November 10th 1775. US Independence was on July 4th 1776
Served usmc 2013 to 2019. Was on Embassy duty in Belgium in 2017, got to go to belleau wood and see it all. Every Marine deserves to see it in person.
Jackson says hold my beer watch these deer hunters.😂😂😂❤
Thanks guys you rule.
Truly amazing how 13% of fighters can change the course of history... God Bless these greatest of generations. They fought so hard, so we could live free. We are forgetting these sacrifices, these hero's made. We need to remember cause history is always going to repeat itself. We need to wake up and embrace our history and how far we have come. God Bless 🙏
I agree wholeheartedly friend.
How exactly did the allied victory in world war 1, ensure US freedom?
@@mollkatless You must have a difficult time thinking far ahead.
The geopolitical implications of World War I and it's outcome echo still even to today's modern world.
How do you think the US would have fared, say - economically - if France and Britain defaulted on their war loans? The United States, even in despite of it's rising industrial strength was already having economic difficulties even before the first World War kicked off, the Allies losing the war would have ruined us.
Furthermore, it would have stripped us from having one close ally in continental Europe (France, no doubt that from the day the German Empire's flag hung over Paris the old government would be replaced with one more amicable towards Germany), and god knows how it would have effected our relationship with the UK whom, in our own timeline would become our closest ally.
Best case scenario, the allies losing WWI severely changes the power dynamic in the world as the US never rises to any sort of dominance and slinks back away into massive economic hardship (which would have left us even MORE unprepared for the Depression), while Germany most likely strips France of it's overseas colonies and challenges the British for global domination... all the while France is struck with a treaty just as humiliating as was forced unto Germany in our own timeline, with crippling war reparations from France and a fallen Russian Empire both ensuring that there is no one to challenge German superiority in continental Europe. Don't even say the Soviets would have been there to challenge them - a major part of the strength of the USSR came from territories that originally were supposed to be stripped from them as the Bolsheviks had no other choice but to uphold the peace deal brokered by the Kerensky Government. They were obviously able to break this deal with Germany when it turned out that Germany lost anyways despite of everything... this would not be the case in a world with a victorious Germany. Secondly - the other half of the USSR's strength came from Stalin bringing in outside help (mostly from Britain, France, and the United States) to kickstart Russia's industry. Again - no victorious Allied Power, no massive jumpstart to Russian industrialization.
Worst case scenario, the US collapses inward upon itself entirely as massive unpaid debts are defaulted upon and the Great Depression sweeps up whatever was left of a severely weakened federal government.
So yes, the fate of the United States depended upon the outcome of World War I. Being a mostly (politically) isolationist nation at the time, the US otherwise never would have stepped foot in Europe if it weren't absolutely sure that pretty much everything hinged upon the outcome of that war.
Being a Marine Scout Sniper Instructor was the greatest time of my life. Teaching those young Devil Dogs the skill to kill was truly amazing.
This is my rifle, there are many like it but this one is mine. Without my rifle I am useless, without me my rifle is useless.
What happened to the, "this my gun, one is for fighting, and one is for fun" part?
This is My rifle ,This is My gun .
One is for killing ,One is for fun .....
@@jeffw.4205 a rifle kills , a gun produces 😁
Well at least they used to ..
I could use your rifle and it would no longer be useless.
Hoorah
"Every Marine a rifleman"
My son, SGT Matt went through the Marine Marksmanship Training Program, a week long intense school.
I asked him once how many rounds he fired. "I don't know. 5, 6 thousand?" he replied.
Wow !!!! Gr8 comment. Please don't be shy, we need more like you. God Bless 🙏
Every marine a rifleman, but not every marine earned to be a rifleman
@@TropicalAsian-1000; Sir, how did You came to that conclusion?, please enlighten us.
Chesty Puller!!!!
The US Marine Corps is a great example of heroes, generally teenagers....
A long history of bravery and self sacrifice..🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
A different breed of men. Both of my grandfathers served with the 'South African Infantry', one in the Battle of The Somme, and the other In The Battle of Delville Wood. Amazing bravery and integrity that will never be forgotten.
why say this. Not trying to be a dick, but what are you doing?
Man this makes me have that much more pride in the American military . Truly ,truly the Marines are the baddest fighting force around . My grandpa was a Marine and fought in Korea , unfortunately I never had the honor to meet him but learning of Marine Corps history makes my heart race. The fighting , the patriot and warrior spirit that fueled the fighting is beyond what any movie or anything can depict. Such true honor and passion can't be replicated or brought to life by an artificial depiction attempt of a motion picture . A movie can't display the sincere heroism that's formed in a man's heart when he's fighting for the man next to him ... Learning of this is incredible and it should be taught in elementary schools to American children growing up . Children need to understand the price of freedom and that they are privileged to have these freedoms in the country they live in . That freedom is brought to us by the United States Marines ... and that it isn't free but it was bought by the life of one of these Marines . Any man who gives his life for his country, a nation that's blessed by God Almighty is a true hero and should be honored and remember for the rest of his life . We should know many of these Marines by name as we were growing up in schools as children... The reason we are able to sit in a school in peace and learn is because of these Marines giving their lives for their country . Without our American soldiers and Marines fighting , we may be speaking German .... thank God for men and their will to fight in those days
I feel the baddest regular fighting force around is the Japanese, and later the Vietnamese, not the Marines. Marines, especially nowadays, have too many rules of engagements , while the Japanese suffered from inferior weapons ,supplies and equipment. But their lives are less valuable, an advantage. They could care less trading lives one for one but not the Marines, that is the main reason they had to cancel the Japanese mainland invasion.
The job I loved most in my life was a Range Coach while I was an active duty Marine. Helping Marines maintain their proficiency with a rifle and pistol made me love coming to work every day.
Mine also
It is of historical interest that the first major involvement of US troops was the battle of Hammel , under the great Australian general Monash . 4th of July 1918. The beginning of a history of Aussies standing with Americans that continues to this day,
My Grandfather was a Marine at Belleau Wood. All Marines are riflemen first.
God bless grandpa
We will never forget, dam war is horrible yes, but I’m grateful for these men who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you gentlemen thank you 🙏🏼 🇺🇸 🫡
To bad I can’t get this history lesson on the history channel. Love it
Proud to have been part of 6th Marines
This is my rifle, this is my gun. This is for fighting, this is for fun!
Really helps the marksmanship department when your country was founded under the effectiveness and availability of firearms and firearm discipline, despite what "certain people" tell you.
The Springfield rifles were standard USMC rifle during their deployment in Europe WWI and then standard rifle during the first USMC offensive operation in WWII in Guadalcanal, before they were replaced by Semi Auto M1 Garand in 1943.
My great-uncle was in 3rd Army 7th regiment at Belleau Wood. He was killed on the first day of battle and is buried there. He had no wife and no children.
But one day I'll visit his grave.
First row. Third grave on the left from the center aisle.
To be there will bring all kinds of emotions and I wish you the best. He deserves a salute for his contribution to the war effort
@@clevelandwilliams5922 thank you. Thank you. To the best of my knowledge, the last family member to visit his grave was his mother almost 100 years ago.
I want to bring him a wreath, my salute, and a thank you.
I'd like to leave a photo of my daughter.
As a Marine and Iraq vet, I can tell you that the 3rd Army are a well disciplined and tough fighting unit. I believe they are the most decorated unit in the army. Much respect to your great uncle. He is a hero for our country.
Three years in a row expert myself...Semper Fi brothers.
Semper Fi!
My great uncle John died at Belleau Wood. 2 of his brothers died in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Only my shot up grandfather came home. He never spoke a word about it.
My Father is a veteran of Army in Lebanon he emigrated to Australia as Civil War got bad. He never speaks about his horrors a true warrior learns to deal with it through reflection and meditation. They never forget there struggles and I respect all servicemen no matter what nation because they all have to deal with there experiences in peace time. Because of his struggles I did everything to make my fathers life here as peaceful and quiet as possible. He went through enough and his silence tells me a lot went on so much horror that no one should deal with. I know your Grand Fathers pain and I hope he is remembered for ions to come
My grandfather was over there too. He was a sniper who got shot up real bad. Shot so many times in the head he lost count! One day he found an abandon German plane that belonged to the red baron and did strafing runs all day in Berlin. He never spoke about it.
Ah, the US Marines, well trained, well motivated and first to fight
My grandfather was at Belleau Wood and took part in the advance through the wheat field. The only thing he ever told me was it wasn't much fun advancing across the wheat field and have friends on either side of him get hit and go down.
this only cements Marine Mystique in place...(1 riot, 1 Ranger)...."What'a U mean that's not enough ? that's S.O.P...U got 1 war, U get 1 Marine Brigade "....😂😂😂
Marine General Lejeune was the commander of 2nd Infantry. Which was 2 Army Regular regiment and Marine regiment. As Pershing said when he gave him command " You have the finest division in US military any problems and I know where to look " Note on Picture of Medal of Honor award to Kelley the 2nd Division patch.
"Come on you sons of b***hs, do you really want to live forever?" Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly, US Marines
I was in the Marine Corps for 15 years and I served with 3rd Battalion 6th Marines semper fidelis teufel Hunden
OOORAAAH DevilDog!. Thank You for Your Service!.
SEMPER FI BROTHER!.
15 years, you should of done the full 20 lol
Bco 1/3.
The United States Marine Corps: Brutal Finesse
There's a saying in the Marines Every Man a Rifleman no matter what your job is
Every Marine is a “BASIC” rifleman. All poges know how to operate all machine guns, throw grenadines, do land navigation, clear rooms, maneuver in different environments, know the difference between cover and concealment etc… but the MOS riflemen obviously cover much more and in greater detail.
I was a Marine Corps expert rifleman. They do have training marksmanship down to a science. Not like anything anyone could do on their own.
Even if you followed the field manual closely?
@@reallyhappenings5597 Somethings just cannot be taught by a book, but rather must be handed down via someone else with personal experience in the matter.
Extreme long range marksmanship is one of those things. Only practice and handed-down experience will give you the skills necessary to master such a thing.
Great series! Loved this. My Grandpa was in this war.
Respect. My Dad was a Marine in Vietnam. He always said a Marine was a rifleman first
So was my grand father. He was Black.
Kryptonian my dad was army, 3rd of the 8th, 4th ID around dak to. These guys have been through hell and back for us to have freedom and iPhones. And not many people realize the significance….
The Wood of the Brigade of MARINES….USMC long range marksmanship…
“All ready on the right, all ready on the left, commence firing when your individual German comes in view.
“Teufelhunde” Devil Dogs, yer damn right! Semper Fi my Brothers!
My sociology professor told me the reason I was always wearing my marine cover was because I was a person that used the marine Corp to identify myself out of an inferiority complex, all of the students laughed, I replied have you ever done anything in your miserable life to change history because I have and 3 of operations I was in are noted in my history class that I am attending next, all I heard from him was crickets
I still love Retreat hell we just got here🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
That phase sound good but it lacks flexibility, often retreating is a key part of tactics , maybe to lure the enemy into a trap.
Kill, fight, die
That's what a soldier should do
Top of their game, earning their name
They were the Devil dogs
In a war machine
They were the USA marines
They ain't soldiers, they Marines.
@@jar8808 he’s saying lyrics from a sabaton song
It's the end of the war that's in sight
Hill 142, it's a final break through
It's the key to controlling the battlefield
Second to none, a marine and a gun
And the foes run in fear of their name
@@jar8808 read it again and you’ll understand
When I was in the kohler we were always told make the other guy die for his country
God bless America greatest country in the world. God bless our military and the sacrafice so many paid for our freedoms. I love the 🇺🇸
The Few, The Proud!
Everyone knows that Marines are good rifle shots. But people often forget that the USMC specializes in close combat. For every hour of shooting practice, at least 5 or 6 were probably spent on bayonet drill, grappling, and other cqb techniques
I've always loved how certain units have such great PR. The 2nd Inf Div in France was made of four regiments, two Army and two Marine. When they fought, it was like in any other division. One regiment would fight so far, than another would push through and take up the fight like a leap frog. It wasn't the Marines that took Belleau Wood, it was the 2nd Inf Div. Both Army and Marines.
I've always loved petty, jealous people. The 2nd Division's two army regiments did not participate in the Battle of Belleau Wood. Division artillery did support the Marine Brigade and one army regiment, the 7th, spent one week in the battle before being removed. The 3rd Brigade's 23rd Infantry Regiment also supported the Marines by attacking Hill 192 on 6-7 June 1918. But that was it, not too sure how much credit can be taken for a single event lasting little more than 24 hours in a battle that lasted over three weeks. Interestingly enough, the Marine Brigade was commanded by an army brigadier general who said that the 7th Regiment (army) was "incompetent." The Marines were excellently support by army engineers and there contribution should be noted.
PR?
Only the 5th and 6th Marines and the 6th MG Battalion (Marines) were awarded the Croix de guerre for the battle. Not the 2nd Division... just the Marines.
The French government named the woods "Bois de la brigade de Marine," (Woods of the Marine Brigade). They did not rename the woods Bois de la second division. The casualties from the battle were overwhelmingly Marines, not soldiers.
The 2nd Division was one of the most elite in the entire AEF... perhaps the most elite and General Pershing ultimately selected a Marine, MGen. John A. Lejeune, to lead it.
General Pershing did say that the deadliest weapon in the world was a Marine and his rifle.
The Germans did consider the Marines to be of storm trooper quality.
By the time the war ended, the Marine Brigade sustained over 11,000 casualties including nearly 2,500 KIA. They earned the honors accorded them.
Think of Belleau Wood as one might think of Midway. Lots of players there, army air corps bombers, Marine fighter and dive bombers, Marines defending Midway and yet it is rightly remembered as a stunning U.S. Navy victory... not because of PR, but because they earned it.
Semper Fi, brother!
2-5! Retreat hell!
Thank you. Semper fi.
1 2 3 4 I love the Marine Corps!
Damn!... outstanding!!! I love it. Get some !
By 1918; the german army was spent. New recruits and worn out veterans, didn't have the gas for a fresh well supplied force in a head on fight. The movement and tempo of the later stages of the war changed and the Marines weren't hamstrung by Prussian leadership. It pays to come in the 4 th quarter and kiss the cheerleader.
Excellent stuff bro
The was a dormitory named for Capt Williams (who was killed and received the Distinguished Service Cross) at Virginia Tech. Great film and enjoyed it.
Shouldn’t it be, “Retreat!? Hell, we just got here!”
Semper Fi!!!
I believe when the D-Day invasion occurred in 1944 the soldiers from American units went to Belau Wood and paid there respects to there fallen veterans
The different branches are competitive and do a lot of trash talk to each other but, at least for most, there is an underlying respect for each other. My top 3 favorite vets to read about are marine vets Dan Dailey, Chesty Puller and Army 101st paratrooper Ron Spiers.
Semper Fi Marine Grunts at our finest hr
Marksmanship is still important in the Corps.
My Australian friends point to the Black Day of the German Army in August 1918. But they fail to realize that had US Marines not stopped the German Army on its drive to Paris in June, there could not have been the Black Day.
Chesty puller said retreat hell, yes we are surrounded this means we have them right where we want them
they were very brave men who died in a useless war
They wasn’t called Devil dogs for no reason. Hoora.
Semper Fi Marines
Nice summation of Belleau Wood but you left out a large part of Marine Corps tradition and history. After all, once the Marines entered the woods they eventually ran out of ammunition and had to engage the Germans using bayonets and hand-to-hand combat. The Marines literally growled at the Germans and tore into them like a pack of wild dogs. This so unnerved the German troops that many ran away in fear. The Germans started referring to the Marines as "teufelhundes" meaning Devil Dogs. The nickname stuck and became part of Marine Corps lore.
Both Army and Marines could learn from each others Training.
God bless the Corp!🇺🇸
Thank God we have more concern for our people today
That was nice of the French to warn the Yanks that der boche were coming. But the Marine sharpshooters had other things on their minds: they wanted to do some choppin'.
After 4 years of doing some choppin', French were nice to you, Yanks.
the 2nd division (army ) was commanded by lt Gen. leguene. ( marine) .appointed by
blackjack persion .
@8:40 let's not forget the .455 Webley. It may have only held 6 rounds but mine shot very well, thank you.
God Bless Archibald Henderson
God Bless Uncle John Wayne
God Bless Colonel Chesty Puller
Racks!
Both my grandfathers were in World War 1. My dad father was in the army my mother's father was in the United States Marine Corps and fault at Bella Wood
True heros gave there lives for us
With out question I'm sure real badasses
Semper Fidelis
My great uncle William Dowdell was w the 5th Marines in WW1. He was gassed several times. Severely during the Muse Argonne. My mother's earliest memories are of Uncle Bill's terrible coughing fits. That was in the late 1930s.
I'm a veteran of the US Army and we push out the 300M that's where we own it the Marine Corps trains up to 600 M cuz they have the M16s. 800m is incredible we don't shoot like that today unless you're in some sort of sniper program.
Units in Afghanistan were asking to get the M14 back for its reliability at distance.
Dude that thumbnail is intense
Minor issues with this videos take on the small arms, the Lewis guns weren’t taken from the marines, depending on how you look at it. William Crozier, head of U.S. ordnance at the time had a quite unjustified dislike of Isaac N. Lewis (the inventor of the Lewis gun) and stifled adoption of it for mainly that reason although early Lewis guns chambered in .30-06 were unreliable, of course this was later fixed. By the time this issue was ameliorated and their were ~100,000 (if I remember correctly) Lewis guns chambered in .30-06 ready to be shipped to France with the AEF, Pershing basically said “nah we’ll wait for the BAR” (this rough approximation if a quote shows how well respected John Browning was/still is) and just handed the Lewis guns over to the Air Corps.
Also this videos take the 1911 pistol and the 1917 revolvers is quite optimistic in how effective they were in general. Despite how nice the the ‘03 Springfield and the 1911 were this video paints a tainted picture of why Americans won and discounts how effective the machine guns/artillery the Americans had were.
The marines who landed on Guadalcanal in WWII were still using 03 Springfields. it was only later they were equipped with the M1.
The wheat field at Bella Wood resembles the wheat field at Antietam..
The wheat field was where the Texan rebels were mowed down by artillery from the Union men.
A division is made up of 4 regiments they were not just attached,they cross trained nco’s and officers between marines and the army regiments 23rd and ninth infantry, the staff was heavy with marine officers, the 2nd division in WW 1 killed and captured more Germans , captured more equipment,and captured more territory than any other division in the AEF , Black Jack Pershing did not like the 2nd division or the marines, in 1972 I was in the 4/23 infantry we were told that the 5th and 6th marines are our brother regiments, we all wear the green French fourragere, there are some excellent books on the second division in WW1
75% of the American army in France had Lee Enfield 1917s at this time not Springfields.
While I applaud the series, there are several minor mistakes. First, the 4th Marine Brigade was not attached to the Army 2d Infantry Division; the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion were incorporated into the U.S. 2d Division (Regular) and were reorganized to AEF standards. By order of President Wilson the Marines were operating under the articles of war rather than navy regulations. Marine numbered companies were officially redesignated using Army nomenclature (ie. Company A rather than 17th Company). AEF divisions were not "Infantry" divisions because there were no specialized units of that size. There were three divisional designations: Regular, National Guard, and National Army. Technically, the term "Marine Brigade" was an honorific title. The correct official designation was 4th Infantry Brigade and it included not only Marines but navy and army personnel as well. In fact Lieutenant Elliot D. Cooke, USA, rose to command a Marine rifle company then stayed in charge until he was invalided out just prior to the end of the war; he later became a U.S. Army general officer during World War II.
Interesting, but please learn to use the return key more often to make it easier to read.
My great grandfather and little brother both went to France for WW1. From Thompson Falls, Montana. His little brother never came home and is buried in Flanders Field. Henry Helman US 🇺🇸 Army company C, 20th engineers. I have his letters of death signed by Woodrow Wilson and another signed by French prime Minister framed on the wall.
An awesome piece of history to be remembered by the family for ions to come
Handy the Americans getting there just in time for well the victory celebrations although full respect for the losses they took takes a long time to adapt to trench warfare 2 great grandfathers served in the Royal irish Rifles one joining up in sep 1914 from the Ulster volunteer force not to be confused with the modern namesake Regards from ulster Northern Ireland
I think the stagnant nature of WW1 was the biggest adjustment the US had to make, they had previously fought in trench warfare all the way back in the US Civil War and in the subsequent Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars. Not to the degree at which was seen in 1918 but it wasn’t a completely new concept for the Americans. God Bless your grandfathers for their service, heroes!
US Navy 92-98, always respected the Marines!
Just a bit of trivia: the correct pronunciation is “Below” not “Bella.” The correct name is “Bois de Belleau.”
Bellow, not Below. Like, to bellow out an order.
Love this
Gentlemen and Ladies; WE'll always be gratefull for the Sacrifices made by Your loved ones when they took the desicion to Serve Our COUNTRY, in every conflict up to this date. For that they deserve our RESPECT and Admiration. Thank You for Your Service!, from the ones before us to the one's that will come after us.
I can't even begin to imagine a "DUMB A*S" asking who were the good guys there? and calling OUR Servicemembers lost "loosers". He must be descendent from Nazis.
When I got my marksmanship ribbon in the USAF. I was Asked Where Did You Learn How To Shoot? I Told Them From 4-H.
How far does AF shoot on qualifying day marine shooter shoots 500 meters
We did it with peep sights
Air Force shooting at close range at different sized targets to simulate different distances is completely different from actually shooting at the distances. Dialing into the wind and weather is a big part of it. And marines shoot from 500 yards out.
The title of US Marine already says expert marksman.
Eugene Lee was the last survivor of this battle you can look him up
I was in 2/5 Fox
Blackhearts.
Errr-Rah!
Lima 3/5 here, Vietnam 67/68-0331...Semper Fi
Retreat? Hell, we just got here
Became
Retreat, Hell! WE just got here
Retreat after 2 millions deaths, Big green ....
I love ww1 my great great grandfather fought in ww1. He was in the 3rd HQ division, if anybody has more info about this division lmk. He fought in the meuse argonne offensive. And then he later became a pow prison guard during ww2.
I found that the 3rd hq is a special batallion in the 3rd infantry.
Some of my anscestors fought in the US army, and 2 in the heer
Nobody loved WWI .... NOBODY !!! It nearly wiped out multiple countries entire breeding generations. Well to be fair I guess the 1% that got stinking rich loved it ..
Semper Fi
Semper Fi. Sgt. Elias 0331 1/5 Marines.
Bco 1/3
Uhhhh ….German general Von Kluck said of the British in September 1914: “They shot my army flat.”
Every Marine is taught this story at Parris Island.
Every time I hear a Marine story I feel like my service was Insegnifec.
Remember those days snapping in around that 50 gallon drum