Osprey Men-at-Arms 327 : US Marine Corps in World War I 1917-1918

The 5th and 6th Marines were amongst the first elements of the expeditionary force to be sent with General Pershing to France during the First World War: they were thus among the first US troops to experience regular warfare since the engagements of the Spanish American War twenty years earlier. The Marines remained in action until the armistice was signed, and participated in many of the famous battles of the Western Front. They were to earn a fighting reputation second to none in their battles at Belleau Wood, Soissons, St Mihiel, Blanc Mont and the Meuse-Argonne. The eminent US Army historian S.L.A. Marshall was to describe these Marines as '...a little raft of sea soldiers in an ocean of Army that was without doubt the most aggressive body of diehards on the Western Front'. After their initial encounters, the Germans nicknamed them 'Devil Dogs' - though history has remembered the American servicemen better as the Doughboys. Mark R. Henry examines the organisation, uniforms, insignia, decorations, weapons and equipment of the US Marine Corps in World War I, with many illustrations and photographs throughout, including eight full page colour plates by Darko Pavlovi.

Contents

• Introduction
• Organisation
• Uniforms
• Insignia and Decorations
• Weapons and Equipment
• Web Gear and Equipment
• Further Reading
• The Plates