The Blood of Americans was Spilled to Defend France

Col.Albertus W. Catlin stood at the rising grown advancing through the waist-high wheat toward the woods 400 yards away. June 6, 1918 his men walked toward the French hunting the preserve of Belleau Wood, they were about to launch a new bloody era in history of the Corps. In April French President Macron gave the White House a oak sapling from Belleau Wood where he said, “the blood of Americans was spilled to defend France.” The battle was compared with the titanic and World War 1 there were struggles that went on for months. The Battle of Belleau Wood was fought in a open field in the dark, overgrown woods, were they would have there open hand fighting.

In late May 1918 the German offensive of that year penetrated the western front that was 45 miles of Paris. The United States forces that were under the General Pershing had helped halt the German advance, and on June the 6 Pershing had ordered people to counteroffensive a drive to get the Germans out of Belleau Wood. The Marines that were backed by the United States army heavy military weapons had launched many attacks into the forested area the german general Ludendorff was determined to deny the americans a victory. General Ludendorff had reinforcement pushing in while the german had fought the United States shooting heavy guns, military weapons and throwing gas at them. On June the 26 the Americans had succeeded in the battle but there were 10,000 soldiers that was dead, wounded, our missing in action.

At Belleau Wood the Americans went up against a great army that had heavy military equipment. The army walked through the battlefield which look like a battle ground from the civil war. The battle had turned into a free for all in a combat war. “The frowning wood, with its splintered trunks and shell-shattered branches [and] the jungle of undergrowth at the edge [was] filled with threat and menace,”

In june 1918 Russia got out of the war against Germany and Austria- Hungary. At Belleau Wood Germany waited while the marines where on the bridge. The marines had a variety of colors in there patrol. They had a young men name John W. overturn that was killed during the war. The men in the patrols didn’t know about the almost impossible task that was about to happen. The shots “was more than flesh and blood could stand,” Catlin remembered. Prominent Pennsylvania politician son was wounded in his arm. Catlin was shot by a sniper “It felt exactly as though someone had struck me heavily with a sledge,” he wrote. “It swung me clear around and toppled me over on the ground. When I tried to get up, I found that my right side was paralyzed.”

Berry’s attack was unsuccessful but Maj. Berton W. Sibley’s stated that his battle went way better. “The minute they got into the woods our boys found themselves in a perfect hornets’ nest of … gunners, grenadiers and riflemen,” Catlin recounted. “There were machine gun nests everywhere — on every hillock … every ravine … and every gun was trained on the … Marines.” As americans have been going through the woods they saw the truth part of germans hearts. “They are yellow … and will not fight like men,” Pvt. Edward Cary wrote home to St. Louis, according to Catlin’s account. “I could lick a squad of them with a soup ladle.” On June the 30 the French Army had named the Belleau wood as “Bois de la Brigade de Marine.”

There were five German divisions that was fighting against the United States army. On June the 4 there was a 1,000 Germans that had settle in the woods. Before the dawn of june the 6 american soldiers had drove the germans out of the hills. The marines failed to stop the germans guns. The Belleau Wood battlefield was a amazing place in marines history. In March the Germans had launched a huge attack on the west front. 

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