Introduction Belief and belonging Recruitment and training Appearance Weapons and equipment Life on campaign Preludes to war The Marines go to France First combat The defining battle - Belleau Wood Aftermath and controversy The legacy of the Great War

The words 'Retreat? Hell, we just got here' have become a central part of the legend of the US Marine Corps, indicative of its reputation for dogged determination and bravery. Uttered at the height of the fierce battle for Bellau Wood, the phrase came to define the Corps, establishing their 'first to fight' ethos in the public eye.
This history follows the experiences of the Marines during the Great War, from their training in the US and France through the fighting in the trenches and battlefields of the Western Front and right up to their occupation duties in the Rhineland. Packed with first-hand accounts and detailed information from the USMC History Division at Quantico, and published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of America's involvement in World War I, this is a timely analysis of one of the US Marine Corps' finest hours.

Ed Gilbert has written numerous titles in Osprey's Warrior, Battle Orders and Campaign series, with a focus on the history of the US Marine Corps and state militias in the American War of Independence and the War of 1812. The author of a four-volume history of Marine Tank battalions, and co-author of Tanks in Hell: A Marine Corps Tank Company on Tarawa and True for the Cause of Liberty (written with his wife Cathy), Ed sadly passed away in February 2019.