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To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918
by
Edward G. Lengel (Goodreads Author)
The authoritative, dramatic, and previously untold story of the bloodiest battle in American history: the epic fight for the Meuse-Argonne in World War I
On September 26, 1918, more than one million American soldiers prepared to assault the German-held Meuse-Argonne region of France. Their commander, General John J. Pershing, believed in the superiority of American "...more
Hardcover, 416 pages
Published
January 8th 2008
by Henry Holt and Co.
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Easy to read, good historical description. More maps would have aided the readers understanding. Not a lot of literary references to this particular WW1 battle, even in later day history volumes. This is possibly the result of the duration of the battle which is dwarfed by the activities of the previous 4 years and the preponderance of French and English literature covering WW1. This also may explain why it is not specifically remembered by Americans.
The unforgettable fact emerging f...more
The unforgettable fact emerging f...more
Very entertaining read but relies much too heavily on personal accounts and overstates casualties.
Maps add little and are from the US Gov't Battlefields and Monuments publication. The author's numbers simply do not add up. Many regiments we encounter are eventually reduced to a weak battalion, indicating at least a 66% casualty rate. Many eyewitness accounts are from men who were never before in combat but their estimates of killed are taken at face value.
I actually agree with much o...more
Maps add little and are from the US Gov't Battlefields and Monuments publication. The author's numbers simply do not add up. Many regiments we encounter are eventually reduced to a weak battalion, indicating at least a 66% casualty rate. Many eyewitness accounts are from men who were never before in combat but their estimates of killed are taken at face value.
I actually agree with much o...more
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One would think the lacunae of World War I would be so tiny as to equate to angels/heads of pins. Amazingly, not so. This story--the story of America's bloodiest foreign battle, in a most important campaign--hasn't been told before. For students of the war, it's gripping, in particular because of the portraits of the participants, from Harry S. Truman to George Patton (which one had a more significant role?? Truman) to George C. Marshall to the novelist James M. Cain ("The Postman Alway...more
Probably the definitive work on the definitive battle of the "war to end all wars", this scholarly work is a victim of too-scholarly writing and drags a bit at times.
For history buffs it's worth the effort.
For history buffs it's worth the effort.
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Edward G. Lengel received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia in 1998, and is now Professor and Editor-in-Chief of the Papers of George Washington documentary editing project at the University of Virginia. In addition to editing several volumes of the Papers of George Washington, he has written six books, with four more on the way, and numerous articles for Military History (for w...more
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