US Marine vs German Soldier: Belleau Wood 1918 (Combat) by Gregg Adams

Author:Gregg Adams [Adams, Gregg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472825575
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2018-05-30T23:00:00+00:00

The 4th Marine Brigade’s Field Order No. 4, issued at 1745hrs on June 10, ordered an attack on June 11 by the 2/5th Marines. This order assumed that the 1/6th Marines’ line was near the middle of Belleau Wood’s north–south axis. Brigade reported to the 2d Division that the 1/6th Marines had captured the southern half of the wood; in reality, the battalion was just within the southern edge of the wood. The 2/5th Marines was to clear the northern part of the wood, taking Hill 133 at its northern apex overlooking Belleau village; the 1/6th Marines was to advance their left to conform with the 2/5th Marines’ drive so that the final front line would be the eastern side of Belleau Wood after the attack. The brigade’s order called for the 2/5th Marines to attack the northern portion of Belleau Wood, north of Hill 169. The battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Wise, intended to use woodland to the west to cover the approach and minimize the extent of open ground that would have to be crossed. Only one German company, 2./IR 461, was in position to oppose an attack here. For reasons that remain unclear, the 2/5th Marines did not follow this route. Instead, the battalion attacked Belleau Wood south of Hill 169 across the fields that had been the site of the 3/5th Marines’ costly assault on June 6. In doing so the 2/5th Marines attacked straight into I./IR 461 and II./FR 40.

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