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13074 - U.S. Marine Fighting with German Infantryman – Belleau Wood, 1918 | W.Britain
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U.S. Marine Fighting with German Infantryman – Belleau Wood, 1918
The Battle of Belleau Wood – France, June 1918
In June 1918, during the final year of the First World War, the United States Marine Corps earned one of its most legendary battle honours in the dense forests of Belleau Wood, France. As German forces advanced towards Paris during their devastating Spring Offensive, American troops were thrown into the fighting in a desperate effort to halt the German advance.
The U.S. Marines of the 4th Marine Brigade, serving with the U.S. Army's 2nd Division, were ordered to hold their positions before launching a series of determined assaults against heavily entrenched German defenders.
Facing deadly machine-gun fire, barbed wire, artillery bombardments and poison gas, the Marines fought their way across exposed wheat fields and into the thick woodland. What followed was nearly three weeks of brutal fighting, with both sides engaging in savage close-quarter combat among the trees, rocky outcrops and German defensive positions.
Armed with rifles, bayonets, grenades and sheer determination, the Marines battled experienced German infantrymen for control of the strategically important woodland. The fighting was so fierce that positions frequently changed hands, with individual soldiers often confronting one another at incredibly close range.
By 26 June 1918, Belleau Wood had finally been secured by American forces, marking a significant victory and establishing the Marines' reputation as a formidable fighting force.
This dramatic miniature captures the ferocity of hand-to-hand combat between a U.S. Marine and a German infantryman, depicting the courage, desperation and determination of soldiers fighting for survival during one of the most famous American engagements of the Great War.
Now available from The Military Workshop.
Brand: W.Britain
