This four page history of the Battle of Belleau Wood is primarily concerned with the fighting that took place at Les Mares Farm; it was written in 1921 by William E. Moore, formerly a U.S. Army captain who was attached to the Historical Branch, General Headquarters of the A.E.F..
Throughout his article, Moore compared the fight at Les Mares Farm to the Battle of Gettysburg, and believed it to have been just as decisive. Convinced that this contest was as slaughterous an event for the German Army as "the Bloody Angle" was for General Picket's men on July 4, 1863, the author concluded:
"That was the last effort the Germans made to force their way to Paris... It is is truly at Les Mares Farm where the Gettysburg of the A.E.F. lies, and there some day a monument should rise to inform the world what deeds were done upon that field."
German historians have long maintained that the Battle of Belleau Wood was not as significant as the Americans have liked to think that it was - insisting that a drive on Paris would have involved far more divisions.
Read what the editors of YANK MAGAZINE thought about the Marine Corps Magazine, LEATHERNECK...
