thedrifter
07-12-06, 10:52 AM
Friday, July 07, 2006
Marine Mettle and Foxholes
Eighty-eight years ago the Marines of the 4th Brigade were recovering from the Battle of Belleau Wood, the bloodiest engagement of the Marines until the capture of Tarawa in November 1943. Colonel Wendell C. Neville who was in command of the 4th Marine Brigade had just received his first star; he had been awarded the Medal of Honor four years earlier. Even though the brigade had lost half of its men as battle casualties, the tough old veterans were returning to their units still nursing wounds. The Marines at Belleau Wood had weakened the German resolve; soon the tide of the war would be turning.
In July of 1918, Marshal Foch of the French Army launched the first of many organized multi-national counterattacks on the Germans that eventually resulted in their surrender in November 1918. British, French and American forces were intent on driving the Germans from the positions in the Allied front that they had taken that spring.
On July 15 the Germans launched their last offensive of the war. Thirteen German divisions were tasked to take Rheims and then push on to capture Paris. Marines spearheaded the defense at Soissons. On the 19th of July the 6th Marines ran head-on into an attack by the Germans and they used a trick they had learned in Belleau Wood. Whenever they hit the front lines they dug shallow rifle pits to fight from, someone called them foxholes. A war correspondent heard the name and reported it, and so “foxholes" were born. These days the Marines call them “fighting holes.”
The Marines held against the massive numbers of Germans, but the causality rate was high. When the German intelligence questioned some of the captured Marines they discovered just exactly what the Marines were made of. They reported that “The high percentage of Marksmen, Sharpshooters, and Expert Riflemen, as perceived among our prisoners allows a conclusion to be drawn as to the quality and training in marksmanship the Marines receive. The prisoners are mostly members of the better class, and they consider their membership in the Marine Corps to be something of an honor. They proudly resent any attempts to place their regiments on a par with infantry regiments.” (The Leatherneck, November 1957.)
Ellie
Marine Mettle and Foxholes
Eighty-eight years ago the Marines of the 4th Brigade were recovering from the Battle of Belleau Wood, the bloodiest engagement of the Marines until the capture of Tarawa in November 1943. Colonel Wendell C. Neville who was in command of the 4th Marine Brigade had just received his first star; he had been awarded the Medal of Honor four years earlier. Even though the brigade had lost half of its men as battle casualties, the tough old veterans were returning to their units still nursing wounds. The Marines at Belleau Wood had weakened the German resolve; soon the tide of the war would be turning.
In July of 1918, Marshal Foch of the French Army launched the first of many organized multi-national counterattacks on the Germans that eventually resulted in their surrender in November 1918. British, French and American forces were intent on driving the Germans from the positions in the Allied front that they had taken that spring.
On July 15 the Germans launched their last offensive of the war. Thirteen German divisions were tasked to take Rheims and then push on to capture Paris. Marines spearheaded the defense at Soissons. On the 19th of July the 6th Marines ran head-on into an attack by the Germans and they used a trick they had learned in Belleau Wood. Whenever they hit the front lines they dug shallow rifle pits to fight from, someone called them foxholes. A war correspondent heard the name and reported it, and so “foxholes" were born. These days the Marines call them “fighting holes.”
The Marines held against the massive numbers of Germans, but the causality rate was high. When the German intelligence questioned some of the captured Marines they discovered just exactly what the Marines were made of. They reported that “The high percentage of Marksmen, Sharpshooters, and Expert Riflemen, as perceived among our prisoners allows a conclusion to be drawn as to the quality and training in marksmanship the Marines receive. The prisoners are mostly members of the better class, and they consider their membership in the Marine Corps to be something of an honor. They proudly resent any attempts to place their regiments on a par with infantry regiments.” (The Leatherneck, November 1957.)
Ellie