The Lost Battalion and the Meuse-Argonne, 1918

This volume, with exhaustive on-site research, details America's last major offensive of World War I, the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne, which took place from September 26 through November 11, 1918. It examines the movements and countermovements that comprised the still unequaled conflict of the Argonne Forest. The main focus of the work is the five-day isolation and besiegement of the so-called "Lost Battalion." From October 2 to 5, Major Charles Whittlesey and 554 men were cut off from all other U.S. units and attacked by German forces in an area known as "The Pocket." Written with a view toward bringing this legendary tale to a more personal level, the work creates a vivid picture of the men who lived, fought and died in the final, all-consuming battle of World War I.