Battle Of Bellau Wood Essay

In order to fully understand the Battle of Belleau Wood, one must first understand how World War One began. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Gavrilo Princip, the assassin, was a member of the Black Hand. The Black Hand was a Serbian national group that was dedicated to the destruction of Austria-Hungary. Austra-Hungary blamed Serbia and gave them an ultimatum. Serbia refused and Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia then started to mobilize their army because of their allegiance to Serbia. Germany and Austria-Hungary had a previous alliance, which thrust Germany into it. Germany realized Russia was preparing their own forces for war so Russia was given a

June 10th the bombardment of artillery tears apart Belleau Wood. The next day, the infantry advance and capture a large portion of the woods. Even though the Marines made progress, they still suffered extremely heavy casualties. The intense fighting was bringing a lot of men to the brink of exhaustion. The following days an attack breaks through the German’s foothold in the north, but it leaves American lines exposed. Marines are brought up to plug this gap in the line. The Germans counterattack, almost breaking through but are repelled again. Mass casualties occurred on both sides. The Marines are temporarily relived by Army units. The Army conducts attacks and are unsuccessful. The Marine battalions return to relieve army on June 22nd. 3rd battalion, 5th Marines assaults the German positions with little success and heavy losses. The French Commanders had strict orders that Belleau Wood must be taken. On June 25th, an artillery bombardment lasting fourteen hours reduced the once luscious hunting grounds into a wasteland. The ensuing attack by Marines, Army and French forces cleared out the woods once and for all. June 26th a message was received. Hill confirms in his book, the message read, “Woods now entirely U.S. Marine