Book Description
In 'Finding the Lost Battalion' author Robert J. Laplander meticulously chronicles what would become one of the most famous events of American participation in World War One, discovering the truths behind the legend. Drawing on hundreds of sources - many never before seen - and spanning eight years of research, including four trips to the sight of the action in France, Mr. Laplander leads the reader through the events in the Charlevaux Ravine during early October 1918, and the circumstances leading up to it, virtually hour by hour. In this way the book does not merely tell the story itself, but explains why it all came about in the first place. The end result is the single most factual acounting of the Lost Battalion and their leader, Charles W. Whittlesey, to date, told in an entertaining, fast moving style. Never dry or boring, as some military tomes can be, this one is sure to quickly become a favorite on your shelf and the benchmark against which all further work on the Lost Battalion will be measured.
Customer Reviews:
One of the best AEF in WW1 books... ever .......2007-07-03
This is one of the finest books on the US Army in WW1 I have ever read, and I have read them all. It is well researched, well written and is not only the best work I have seen on the lost battalion in a scholarly way, but reads smoothly. The tale itself is a great one, but it often gets sensationalized. I don't know how Laplander did it, but he found a lot of material that others have missed and seems to have left no rock unturned in digging out the facts.
It's big, thick, and the text is a wee bit small - but I cannot see any even semi-serious library of WW1 AEF books with out this one. Seriously, I'm impressed and that does not happen often.
Informative, Entertaining, Definitive.......2007-06-09
World War I has become a minor passion of mine, so I read as many books on the topic as I can squeeze in. One of the first was the 1938 book, The Lost Battalion. I was hooked. Then along came the thin volume, Five Days in October. I loved it. Then I got this... WOW!
Robert Laplander has written the definitive work on the subject. It's extremely well researched. The writing is terrific, engaging and entertaining. He not only provides reams of detail, but he does it while keeping you interested and awake. He tells the story in a manner that is clearer and more accurate than any of the other books I've read on the topic. The author is very engaged with his subjects and his excitement gets transmitted right to the reader. I'm sorry the book is done.
Compared to the other small books on this topic, this one makes you feel like you're creeping through the woods, minute by minute, under fire, bullets and gas and shells. All this while communicating the history. It's just amazing. He gets a lot more of the German point of view across than I've read in most books on World War I.
I have to say one thing about the book that really irked me though. The maps in the paperback edition stunk. No other way to describe it. There was only one per chapter and it was confusing and difficult to read. Not only that, but the printing of the maps provided was in this large scale dots sort of thing like an old time comic book that made it even worse. It's a good thing the rest of the book was so utterly amazing or the maps might have dropped this down to a four or three star review.
If you're interested in World War I, this is a must read. If you need a good book, regardless of interest, this is a must read.
Given Voice.......2006-12-02
My wife used to tell of her grandfather relating the story of being a part of what was called the WW1 Lost Batallion. His children had heard the story and thought it was an old man talking. In her research into those tales, she came into contact with Robert Laplander and through his research has confirmed the story was true.
It is said that history is written by the survivors. The survivors were telling their story, but no one was listening. Robert Laplander has given a voice to those men and their history is preserved.
A very easy read, with the facts to back it up as true history.
A truly epic struggle from beginning to end.......2006-06-12
Finding The Lost Battalion: Beyond The Rumors, Myths And Legends Of America's Famous WWI Epic by Robert J. Laplander is the extraordinary World War I story of a group of allied soldiers who found themselves cut off by German forces and had to hold one against over whelming odds until they could be rescued. The troops were never really "lost" in the sense that no one knew where they were, but they were without communications and their superiors did not know if they were alive or dead. Deftly compiling previous studies and in-depth documentation of the "Lost Battalion", author Robert J. Laplander comprehensively explores the recorded stories in a truly epic struggle from beginning to end. An invaluable and appreciated contribution to the growing library of World War I military histories, Finding The Lost Battalion is very highly recommended reading for military buffs wanting a factual understanding and true appreciation of the incident that made the men of the Lost Battalion legendary in military annals.
Cutting through the myths and the malarkey.......2006-05-18
Robert Laplander has the gift of narrative, with the well-honed senses of a keen researcher. I know from personal experience the profound sensation that comes from standing on the battlefields of the Great War and visiting with the ghosts of the past as you follow in the very footsteps of our brave men, those who made the ultimate sacrifice for democracy so long ago. From meticulous work and repeated visits to France, Laplander brings back to us the anonymous faces of the boys come men who left their homes and daily lives to experience the adventures of war. What these troopers found waiting for them was the horror of slaughter and the bitter decision of duty.
Laplander gives you the feeling of the trenches with an extraordinary series of character sketches that make you feel like the men of the Lost Battalion are your own friends, your own comrades in arms. Finding the Lost Battalion is a very readable meld of big-picture unit action with a focus on the situations of individual Doughboys. It puts the reader there among the troops in trees of the Argonne, under the rain of artillery and the clatter of the Maxim guns. You'll enjoy this read for many hours and revisit their story many, many times. Well done.
Byron Scarbrough, Author, They Called Us Devil Dogs
Customer Reviews:
Great Reading.......2007-03-06
Very well researched and yet very entertaining. Hard to put down once you get into it.Lots of time period sayings, song verses,skits, and jokes.Not hard reading at all. Usually these books bore you with too much of what wasn't important. Not this book. It will definitely hold your interest.
How to keep 700 men alive, sans food, for 4 days........2006-04-29
Readers who enjoy stories of military units and army encounters will appreciate Alan D. Gaff's BLOOD IN THE ARGONNE: THE 'LOST BATILLION' OF WORLD WAR 1. For the first time the story of the 77th Division is told from the perspective of soldiers in the ranks, following the unit which penetrated German lines in the Argonne Forest of northeastern France only to find themselves surrounded by German forces and alone. How to keep seven hundred men alive without food for over four days? The story of their ordeal comes to life as Gaff explores soldier backgrounds, struggles and achievements.
Good book but lacked depth.......2006-03-03
There were a lot of liberties taken for the sake of telling a story in this one. The author could have gone deeper into the men and their effort. I would definitely recommend other books, for a historical view, first. Not a bad book just not that great either. I would recommend "Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous Ww1 Epic" for more depth.
Brutal but Honest Depiction of War.......2006-01-30
Alan Gaff has produced a first-rate depiction of war from a fighting man's perspective. Unlike many military histories I've read, this one doesn't subscribe to the "Big Man" theory of history that emphasize generals and strategy. Instead, this book tells the stories of the regular, blue collar guys in battle. It has a gritty realism, lushly illustrated with songs and anecdotes that reveal the underlying humanity of a truly human endeavor--the practice of war.
Eye Deep in Hell........2006-01-15
I first became interested in the "Lost Battalion" when I learned there was a local connection. As part of my volunteer work for my local county historical society, I have been privileged to listen to taped interviews with two of the men who surivied being pinned down for 5 days in the Argonne Forest. Their names were Peter P. Koshiol (pg. 152) and Albert A. Euteneuer (pg. 306). Although they were both long dead, their words remained just as fresh as the day they were spoken. But one thing was clear. Although their experiences have gone down in history as a great example of American courage under fire, the blood and fire of those five days in the Argonne Forest scarred them both for the rest of their lives. This is a point that Alan Gaff hammers home again and again in the book he has written about what they went through. His book follows the "Liberty Boys" from the moment they were all drafted, their training and their shipment "overseas," and their final experiences in coming up against the Kaiser's military machine. Mr. Gaff pulls no punches in describing the brutal reality of hand to hand combat during the First World War. AS the Generals and Colonels whiled away their time in fortified bunkers behind the lines, thousands of "grunts" were killed fighting for their country. On October 2, 1918 a ragtag crew of American soldiers were pinned down and surrounded behind enemy lines without food or water, and what comes out of this book is not only the story of the Officers, who most accounts have focused on, but also the strory of the common soldiers who watched their best friends eviscerated before their eyes. This is combat reporting at it's best. It is also the most accurate report we are likely to get. This book, which I recommend highly, is certain to remain the definative account of World War I's heroic Lost Battalion. For this Mr. Gaff deserves a round of applause.
Customer Reviews:
A Hero, my Uncle, my Friend,.......2007-05-05
I purchased this book, because of the I had been looking for informationm on the 551st. Parachute Infantry Battalion. As my uncle Carlo is mention,
in the book, as well aa a picture of him on the boxing team.
I found the book very interesting reading and well written, once I started I could not put the book down.
The only thing that concerns me is that the auther did mentioned Carlo was listed as missing in action, and found the following month, frozen to
death the snow. I do not know if he stayed with his friend who had a trip wire in his hands, and my Uncle had Rosary beads in his hand when the bodies were found. I would like some closure on this matter. if Carlo stayed with a buddy, or if he had been, shot.
If in fact hr stayed with his buddy and prayed for him, I would concider this above and beyond the call of duty, and this would mean that he should have been awareded some type of medel for his heroisim.
Any one who has anuy infoemation on this subject, I would appriciate knowing whae actually happened.
A short family history My Grandmother, had 15 children 5 girls and 10 boys
during the secongd world war se had 8 of her 10 boys in the service, 5 in the Army and 3 in the Navy, znd my grandfather joined the Merchant Marines and made 7 crossing on the Alantic ocean.
Three of her Sons were in the European theater,in WWII Carlo was tn the 551st. Parachute Infantry Battalion, Ernest eas in the 1st indfantry division,
and Walter was in the 45th Infantry Division, Richard who was the youngest son joined the 82nd Airborne, but the war was over before he could be shipped to Euorpe.
John Intinarelli
From the family.......2006-02-25
I just returned from a family reunion of three brothers who lost their 551st father to a postwar life of change, sorrow, and memories. We were reunited with the sister we never knew, of a father we shared. We brothers lost our father in 1952; our sister lost him in 1986, this nation lost him in 2002. With deep thanks of appreciation to all the members of the 551st family, from Missouri to Maryland, Florida to New York, we four children of the 551st thank you so very much for keeping the family and unbreakable loyalty that was wrought from the days of that odd formation of tropics-trained badasses and the crucible, unimaginable oddysee of terror, death by frost, and combat at the Bulge. The author has performed a compatibably honorable, right for his generation, task of searching out and recording these untold stories of brotherhood and true patriotism. The things that caused these men to come together, and to support, and ultimately love one another in ways that those who follow can only remotely imagine, these are the things that their families and their nation, must search out for themselves, individually. For each of us, as we try to uncover those facts, we will find pieces, torn and stained fragments of their lives, well worn; and, in that process, uncover pieces of our selves -common remnants of times and lives long past, and by the grace of god many still living, some in strength, some in frailty, all in unity. For those of us who live in their shadow, it is our honor, and it must be our duty to piece that quilt of tangible life and abstract emotion that does now and will make the fabric of our nation and our individual families sturdy and warm against the unknown challenges we shall all face, or have faced. I hope to meet this fine author and thank him for his most honorable service to us all. The story of his father's 551st and all those who were equal parts of it is a true record of the real greatest generation.
Honor, Airborne,
Mark Roberts LaPierre
on behalf of his father, Gordon I. Roberts, PFC, 551st PIB, and his entire family.
Great History - Great STORY!.......2005-03-23
While helping a friend clean the house of his father who had recently passed, I came across this book and learned that my friend's father had served in the 551st, and was mentioned in the book. It is a very engrossing story, a history retold by the heroes who survived. So many soldiers were killed that the unit was disbanded and absorbed by other units leaving no-one to record their horrible and heroic experiences. Bob Shultz of Charleston West Virginia, actually arrived in Europe with Malaria caught from long training in Panama. The book recounts how on a reunion trip, he parachuted in Europe again at the age of 80, and was asked jokingly to pay for broken roof tiles by a French homeowner who's home he landed on during the war. When Bob Schultz of Charleston got shot at the battle of the buldge, it was just another battle to this battle hardened group of men, and his first thought was remove the women's underwear he was wearing to avoid shocking the medics; underwear which had been given to him by a local women to help keep warm in the severe conditions.
Outstanding effort by Mr. Orfalea.......2004-05-16
Some histories need to be written, and Gregory Orfalea did it for personal reasons and he produced a great book. Twenty years ago I met and got to know one of the survivors of the 551st PIR. He never mentioned anything about it's history or his experiences, so I never pushed the issue. At the time, the 551st was just another battalion who fought in WWII, my knowledge of that war was (and still is) limited. It would have been a travesty if these men had been forgotten. Thanks to Greg Orfalea, the record has been set straight.
A wonderful tribute.......2004-04-20
Upon the death of my grandfather, I was sitting around the house with my family and was informed of the existance of this book. I had no idea that my grandfather was part of a publication. I haven't read the book and it honestly isn't a typical interest of mine, but I plan to read it. My grandfather was part of the 551st and especially after his death, I find it an honor to be his granddaughter. Thank you, Mr. Orfalea. I'm sure you feel the same way about your father.
Average customer rating:
- "I was there"
- Thank You
- New generation finds lessons from the past.
- Solid, vivid account of Que Son and Hue
- I was there...
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The Lost Battalion: Controversy and Casualties in the Battle of Hue
Charles A. Krohn
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
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Marines in Hue City: A Portrait of Urban Combat, Tet 1968
ASIN: 0275945324 |
Book Description
In 1968 in South Vietnam, a U.S. infantry battalion was ordered to charge a fortified North Vietnamese Army force 200 yards away over an open field with no artillery or air support. The defenders had every advantage. The Americans started moving across the field just before noon, every man a target. By the time they reached the tree line at the other side of the open field, nearly one half of the 400-man battalion was a casualty. Nine long, agonizing hours afterwards, U.S. artillery units began support fire, although the units remained desperately short of ammunition. The entrapped men saw their fate: death or captivity. Help from headquarters was neither offered or available. The following night the battalion commander decided to make a run for it. It was a gamble with high stakes. But the battalion did make it through enemy lines to a mountaintop where the NVA could not follow. When the Lost Battalion finally escaped encirclement, after nine hours with no artillery or air support, and 30 hours of fighting against an enemy that outnumbered them three to one, the tragic episode disappeared from official memory and relevant U.S. Army records--as if nothing had happened. Krohn tells the whole story--and it tells it with the words of those present. That some of the testimony comes from those responsible is remarkable.
Customer Reviews:
"I was there".......2006-05-11
I am one of the three Pathfinders with 2/12 and was in the foxhole to the left of Mr. Krohns. He did a wonderful job of telling it exactely the way it was. I can still remember that night as if it happened yesterday. I returned later with 5/7 and recovered the deceased troopers we had left behind.
Juan C. Gonzales(Night Jumper 4-2)
Thank You.......2003-02-27
Charles, I want to thank for writing this book. For years I lived with the memories, questioning what had happened. I was in Company D, and on Jan 3,1968 they did use a flame thrower, the guy just missed me. I became a WIA just days before the end of your book and I was able to relate my experience during this time. Again, Thank You, it really helped.
New generation finds lessons from the past........2001-09-11
I was the 2-12 Cav S-2 from January 2000 to July 2001, this book is everything a staff officer should and must read. I came upon the book because it was about my unit, it has been deliberately overlooked by army professional reading lists. Mr. Krohn's account highlights the unfathomable value of honesty and integrity in our profession; the lack thereof causes lives. An excellent read, a heart-wrenching story even today for those who were not there. "Those who do not study the past are doomed to repeat it." Thank you Mr. Krohn.
Solid, vivid account of Que Son and Hue.......2000-11-21
Charles Krohn has presented a well researched book that sheds new light on a complicated battle, the fighting for Hue City during Tet. His book is a valuable addition to history because it specifically deals with a regularly overlooked topic: the 2/12 Cavalry's involvement in the battle for Hue and it's fight against the NVA headquarters there. He was there. In addition, he touches upon the battalion's earlier fighting in the Que Son Valley.
I was there..........2000-06-05
I have read this book. I was with A Co., 3rd. platoon during this time at Hue. It was a very trying time for all of us. I was also one of the people who was with Capt. Helvey when we went on our little night trip. The book talks so much about the first few days of the month of Febuary. In fact we were there for the whole month. It was Feb 24 that My machine gun crew was killed as we were trying to advance toward Hue, "AGAIN". To Broadus Dale Hilyer, "Rest in Peace" You were a great friend.
The book also reflects on the Que Son Valley. I have since had the pleasure to meet Jim Hietz who was wounded on Jan. 7, 1968. Jim was also in the 3rd platoon. We met for the first at a 1st Cav. reunion this year(2002), Wow, what memories we had to talk about. I will also add that I was and will forever be impressed with all the many fine people that I met at this reunion. History is in this book, good, bad, or indifferent, it is there for everyone to read.
George Patterson
Book Description
Personal account by U.S. Army Private John W. Nell of the Lost Battalion during World War I.
Customer Reviews:
Grunt's Eye View.......2002-07-10
This book about the experiences of one private from the Lost Battlion is a good read for those interested in Military History or WW1.
I think the most interesting part of the book was his description of training and the travel. Boot Camp 1917 seemed to be more of a boy scout camp than the Boot Camp of Full Metal Jacket. It is also revealing that the author (although a patriotic American) didn't get caught up in the jingoism of the time (or maybe he omitted it by hindsight?) He ends the book by echoing the sentiments of many combat soldiers when he says that the people should think hard before committing men to battle.
As for those who asked why WW1 was forgotten while WW2 is glorified there are several reasons:
1) The Doughboys were poorly equipped, led and trained as described in this book. This made a mockery of the "Nothing's too good for the boys" propaganda that was in vogue at the time. This is not a knock against the actual soldiers who went, but at those who were responsible to equip, lead and train them (including the civilian leadership.)
2) In the 1920's, America grew rich from such new fangled things such as the stock market so people just wanted to make money and forget about this war nonsense.
3) The peace and isolationist movements didn't want anything to do with war or the study of it. They thought that by banning war and words associated with it would prevent war from happening ever again (understandable considering how deadly WW1 was, but naive as WW2 proved.)
Sounds familiar...
They held out against incredible odds.......2002-01-06
The Lost Battalion: A Private's Story is a unique, first-person perspective memoir of John W. Nell, one of the privates involved in the World War I "Lost Battalion" incident. Published 83 years after the events it relates, The Lost Battalion is a gripping tale of courage, terror, and survival. The Lost Battalion was not in fact "lost" at all. They were cut off and surrounded by German forces. They held out against incredible odds (including an artillery barrage of "friendly fire" from the American lines) until their presence compelled the German forces to retreat and American forces to finally reach them. World War I ended five weeks after this dramatic battle took place. A scattering of black and white photographs illustrate this slim but compelling story. The Lost Battalion is an essential addition to any World War I studies collection or reading list.
Why don't we hear more about WWI?.......2001-08-09
This book is really fascinating, because it gives one a ground level view of what combat was really like in WWI. And it was really different from most of the combat images we see on the tube (our primary source for such). It is different because the high impact images we see are tied to the ability to record combat photographically in a high resolution format. That limits our (21st century mankind) experience to WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War (plus a few other minor skirmishes).
What is so incredible about WWI, as seen through the eyes of John Nell, is that he and his comrades did not have the tools or the ability to communicate, which we take for granted.
The fact that the Lost Battalion was saved by a homing pigeon is certainly a metaphor for the level of combat communication in WWI.
Then there is the issue of medical care. How about a hole drilled in your side to release bronchial gunk?
But I guess most impressive was that these soldiers were willing to face grueling fire and near certain death, without question, on the basis of an order from a superior. Would today's 18 year olds do that?
This book is highly recommended.
A Could Not Put Down Read.......2001-07-26
Having never been a fan of war related books I was astounded at my reaction to this book. From the first two pages the narrator and main character drew me in with the very personal approach to his story. And that is exactly what it is..a story of war which does not focus so much on the places, dates and battles but on the interaction of the soldiers, the first person feeling of a young private and the tenacity and heroism that seems to be almost taken for granted. The type of communications available in the trenches...the lack of medical care in that era...all types of things we take for granted today. It was an eye opener and a can't put down read. A book which I'll highly recommend and loan to my friends. GC
Lost Battalion, A Private's Story.......2001-07-26
After reading the Foreword of this book, I became completely drawn in to the story of this scared young man getting ready to go to war. Only as the book progresses and John Nell's trials and tribulations escalate, does it become crystal clear the enormity of the sacrifices made by these men. Long before we were a technologically advanced military, these men fought using the simple weapons available and when those weren't available, they used sheer will and resolve to survive. The story of how John Nell survived is riveting. This is one page-turner I wasn't able to put down.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but far too short.......2006-01-01
This is a well written, but extremely brief, account of the Lost Battalion of WWI. The story, with myths & mistakes removed, is pretty amazing. Robert Ferrell clearly knows the details and larger picture, but only offers glimpses of this knowledge in this tiny little book. It's well written and worth reading, but may only be of interest to someone already familiar with the Great War in general and the Lost Battalion in particular.
Not lost, not a battalion, and not as interesting a story as had been hoped.......2005-12-19
A force of raw Americans, cut off by German troops, in the last full month of World War I, makes for a compelling story line. Ferrell gets all of it. Ferrell has done scrupulous research. He apparently scoured all of the relevant archives and surfaced notes, records, letters and material previously unreported. He corrects errors from previous works on the subject and tries to place the entire story in context. His writing is clear and straightforward if a bit too academic. His multi-layered maps are useful in attempts to zero in on the battlefield, but the maps themselves are sketchy, absent topographical detail, and show none of the movements. "Boundaries" appear, and while much of the time the 'battalion' was lost, the run up to the 'lost' five days needs more dynamic mapping and more than the background personalities of Pershing and Alexander. There is still too much of a sense that the men found themselves surrounded, fought herocally from being overrun, and then the media created a plethors of false heroes and images for the battle. Some pictures of the brush-filled "pocket" finally give the setting a three-dimensional feel, but it is too little, too late to make this battle late in the war very colorful. Two airmen of the nascent 'air force' earn Medals of Honor trying to supply the men. Three men on the ground also earn Medals of Honor, including the bespectacled leader, Major Charles Whittlesey, portrayed in a recent film version by Ricky Schroeder, a film worth watching for dramatic, three-dimensional effect.
The book itself is small and short. Eighty-eight pages include eleven pages of photographs. Three appendices, including one devoted to a battalion roster, cover 27 more pages. This is a quick, even brief, pretty dry read. The sad, even ironic fate of Whittlesley is worth more of an explanation.
A must read for the history aficionado with a sense of history, military terminology and brushy French terrain.
The incredible story of five hundred American soldiers.......2005-06-05
Five Days In October: The Lost Battalion Of World War I by Robert H. Ferrell (Professor Emeritus of History, Indiana University, Bloomington) is the incredible story of five hundred American soldiers comprising elements of two companies from the 77th Division who were entrapped on the side of a ravine in the Argonne Forest by superior German forces from October 2 to 7, 1918. The courage displayed against overwhelming odds as they fought under siege in the midst of rifle, machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire both day and night, with nothing to eat after the morning of the first day, and with water that was highly dangerous to obtain, is among the finest examples of the American troops under fire as is recorded in the annals of American military history. With Five Days In October, Professor Ferrell offers new material that was previously unavailable in earlier treatments of this event and reveals what really happened during those horrific days in the Argonne Forest. Although "Lost" is not an accurate description because American high command knew where the men were, during the five days the men were on their own Five Days In October will elaborate striking details of the ordeal, and includes the findings of court-martial records and 77th Division files that contain full accounts of the taut relations between the Lost Battalion's brigade commander and the 77th Division commander providing the most complete account now available. Five Days In October is an impressive work of scholarship and a welcome contribution to the growing library of World War I Military History.
Book Description
The story of two World War II battalions--one German, one American--each cut off behind enemy lines in the same forest at the same time, and the heroic efforts to save them--Infantry Magazine
Customer Reviews:
Good book that need telling..........2004-02-12
This proves to be an interesting book about Japanese-American battalion that drove to saved another American battalion while at the same time, there was a German battalion which also cut off as well. Its an interesting story and since there isn't too many books out there dealing with the Japanese-American units, this book proves to be quite informative. The book also look at things from the German perception as well and their experiences which was much more bitter then the American "Lost Battalion".
However, I also wished that the book was written better. Its seem bit cut and dry writing style almost make the book read like marching through the Vosges slogs itself.
What They Never Told You In History Class.......1999-12-01
Throughout the last fifty years since the end of World War II there have been many accounts of the many battles fought and the people who fought them. There is one group which is almost always left out. The 442nd RCT. This group of Americans fought some of the bloodiest battles in the war. This book truly places the stellar record of the men of the 442nd in the history books. I gives me a new found respect for these men and the job that they did through what must have been tremendous pressure to succeed. Some of these men I know personally and have the utmost respect for the job that they did. It makes me proud to be an American. This book really does them justice in a time of great injustice. This is one to pass down to the next generation.
The research invloved in this book is fantastic........1999-09-14
Having been one of the men rescued, there is no way we can thank the men of 442 for their heroic efforts. The American press ignored the fact that they were Japanese- Americans. Unfortunately, it is only of late we became aware of the casualties, killed and wounded, suffered in releasing us. It is my beleif they were one of the finest combat units that fought in Europe. The book is extremely well written.
Good history of a neglected campaign........1997-06-10
Mesmerized by the breakout from Normandy and the
race to the Rhine, the world hardly seemed to
notice the U.S. Seventh and French First Armies' sweep
up the Rhone Valley, miscalled by some a "cakewalk". If
that term seemed to apply to their rapid advance
during the first weeks after the Riviera landings,
it quickly lost meaning when the German Nineteenth
fortified the Vosges Mountains for one of the
hardest-fought battles of the European Theater.
This well told history recounts that largely
unknown struggle, concentrating on two "lost
battalions", one German, the other the 141st "Alamo
Regiment" of the 36th (Texas) Division, which was
rescued by the heroic 442nd RCT, which was composed
of Japanese-Americans and was the most-decorated
unit of the U.S. Army.
Based on many interviews, and with photos, maps, and
appendices, this is a worthwhile addition to the
scarce literature of the Vosges Campaign.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting
within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not
employ numerical ratings.)
Book Description
For a generation the Lost Battalion exemplified the best of America’s involvement in World War I. Until World War II pushed the Lost Battalion out of the national memory with its own scenes of horror and heroism, mention of the unit’s name summoned up what America admired in its soldiers: unpretentious courage, dogged resistance, and good cheer and adaptation under adversity.
Customer Reviews:
The Power of Passive Resistance.......2002-03-29
The Lost Battalion was originally written in 1938 and has been re-issued with minor editing in 2000. For those readers seeking a companion volume to the 2000 A&E film by the same title, this book is more than a bit disappointing. However, the lost battalion is an interesting journalistic account of the seven companies of the American 77th Infantry Division who found themselves cut off behind German lines for six days during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in the First World War. About 550 US soldiers under the command of Major Charles Whittlesey were trapped in a small river valley under constant German fire. As the authors point out, the unit was neither a single battalion nor was it ever "lost," merely isolated. By the time that Whittlesey's command was finally relieved, the unit had suffered 65% casualties. Whittlesey himself was awarded the Medal of Honor for his stubborn defense. Yet the main lesson of this tale of combat heroism is that, "the human capacity for endurance, for mere passive defense, exceeds all belief and possibility as long as there be a leader to say, don't give up, we're not licked yet."
The book is divided into chapters that cover each day from 2-8 October 1918, with events arranged chronologically. Edward M. Coffin, a modern-day historian at the University of Wisconsin who arranged for the work to be re-printed, provides a short effortless forward. There are several photographs and a few totally inadequate maps that supplement the text, but only weakly. Unfortunately, Mr. Coffman made little effort to update or augment the original narrative and while the story flows smoothly, a lazy and jingoistic style might annoy after awhile. The authors are comfortable with using non-words like "ploying," or "funk-hole" [i.e. foxhole] and attacks that "corkscrew (the soldiers twirl around while advancing?).
Readers expect a hero may be perplexed by Major Whittlesey. Initially, the Harvard-educated lawyer seems comparable to Joshua Chamberlain, the soldier-scholar who won the Medal of Honor at Little Round Top in 1863. Certainly this book paints Whittlesey as a man devoted to duty, who was the only battalion commander to reach his objective and then refused to be budged off by repeated German counterattacks. While Whittlesey demonstrated determination and obstinacy, his actual command abilities are less certain because there were few decisions for him to make after his initial un-opposed occupation of the objective. Thereafter, Whittlesey's role became rather passive - encouraging resistance and vigilance - but not making any critical decisions. Furthermore, Whittlesey's post-war suicide three years later compared poorly with Chamberlain who went on to live a long, productive post-war life. The author's allude to Whittlesey's post-war guilt, particularly sentiments he expressed that his unit's sacrifices served no useful purpose. If this was so, then why did Whittlesey not retreat before the German ring closed around his unit? Having been ordered not to give up ground without direct orders from the division commander, Whittlesey was content to await rescue, but he demonstrated little initiative or imagination. Certainly Whittlesey 's actions merited a Medal of Honor, but the accusations that the price of two virtually destroyed battalions was hardly worth the moral victory that was achieved bears consideration. Apparently Whittlesey himself doubted the value of this sacrifice. Given the inability of Whittlesey to live with the decisions he made and the losses his unit suffered, it is also possible that Whittlesey was fundamentally un-suited to making the kind of life-or-death decisions required of a combat leader. While some of these questions are addressed in the book, the reader should recognize that important questions about combat ethics and psychology have been given short-shrift in the interest of story-telling.
Certainly one of the most interesting aspects of the book is the perspective provided from the German side. The authors were able to obtain interviews with many of the Germans who fought against the Lost Battalion and their side of the story indicates that desperation was not unique to Whittlesey's intrepid band of doughboys. In fact, the German front was beginning to crumble and they never had sufficient reserves to crush Whittlesey. Indeed, while German attacks were constant, the worst damage to the Lost Battalion was done by friendly artillery fire and hunger. One odd omission in this account is that the author's fail to mention that Corporal Alvin C. York of the 82nd Division won his Medal of Honor in the attempt to relieve the Lost Battalion.
Modern readers should also recognize the subtle anti-military bias, common to America in the 1930s, which pervades these pages. The authors want to honor these men as heroes, but not as soldiers. In trying to put the Lost Battalion incident in perspective, the author's conclude, "that the men of the 77th Division lacked not for courage, intelligence, patriotism or any other fundamental quality, but simply that they were poorly trained and insufficiently experienced. Seen from this angle the ultimate responsibility rests on the Washington authorities who sent such soldiers to a major war, and the lesson is that democracies should not engage in mass wars, for when they seek a universal competence they tend to lose democracy." This pro-isolationist hogwash asserts that despite the heroism of soldiers such as Whittlesey, military effort and preparedness fundamentally threatens and debases democracy. In fact, the lesson of Whittlesey and Alvin C York should be that democracies can produce soldiers every bit as good as totalitarian states, but without the need for militarized cultures. Unfortunately, America's enemies also failed to note our ability to produce heroes such as Whittlesey and York and instead perceived the United States as soft and unwilling to sacrifice. Three years after the Lost Battalion was published, the Axis powers demonstrated what happens to democracies that eschew military preparedness.
Great Read - Less Than Perfect History.......2000-09-14
If you are at all interested in WWI or the US Army and it's traditions, read this book. It was written in the 30's based on documentation and interviews with the living participants. One of the writers was a correspondent. They spin a very lively tale about the "Lost Batallion", a group of men that advance "without regards to their flanks" during an offensive in WWI and get cut-off.
The story is grand. It's filled with heroism, cowardice, triumph and tragedy.
Now, on to the history. While the story is a great read and very good supporting documentation comes with the book. Sometimes the story telling gets in the way of the history. Also, the author's didn't explain the physical location of the events well enough to visualize and the pictures provided are, while interesting, unhelpful. These are the only things preventing this from being a 5.
It's interesting that the sort "cauldron" battle that takes place is similar to the one that the Germans one on the Eastern Front, Tannenburg. It also brings into mind all the cauldron battles that were to take place during WWII. It's a shame these authors didn't write this book after that war, just to see if they compared and contrasted the different events.
Book Description
During the bloodiest days of World War I, no soldiers served more valiantly than the 369th Infantrythe fabled Harlem Hellfightersand the legendary lost battalion composed of New York City immigrants drawn from the 77th Division. At separate times during the war, both units found themselves cut off behind enemy lines, lost, in fierce battles that claimed the lives of more than half the men from each unit. As Richard Slotkin follows the Negro soldiers of the 369th and the Jewish, Italian, and other immigrants of the 77th into combat, he depicts an America where these soldiers were viewed as lesser citizens. Even after they demonstrated their loyalty and bravery, nothing changed. They had lived up to their side of the bargain, earning the right to first-class citizenship. But the America to which they returned chose to maintain and even extend the laws and patterns of social behavior that had stigmatized these men. Denied benefits, further armed forces employment, and basic respect, these heroes were treated with utter indifference. But the soldiers sacrifices were not entirely in vain. Their struggle to create consensus in favor of ethnic and racial pluralism would finally prevail, the first engagement in a fight for equal rights that would last half a century. Both a riveting combat narrative and a brilliant social history, Lost Battalions delivers a stinging reminder of how unattainable the ideals of America often were for those who fought hardest to preserve them.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but should have been shorter.......2007-08-29
Nicely done story of two WWI units of "minorities," or racial others, and how they served in the Great War. Slotkin is a good writer (although anyone who has been forced to read his earlier book, Regeneration through Violence, may be surprised.) Unfort., he does not seem to have been willing to leave out anything he found, and as a result he has come forth with a massive tome the size of which may scare off many readers.
A great work of social and military history.......2006-01-25
Richard Slotkin is the author of one of my favorite works of historical fiction "Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln" now he has produced one of the finest works of American history I've had the pleasure of reading with "Lost Battalions."
Slotkin tells the story of two U.S. battalions made famous in battle during World War I -- the African-American 369th Infantry and the 77th Division famed as a broad mixture of recent immigrant cultures.
But Slotkin's is more than just a tale of men in battle. This is look at American society in the early 20th century. Many will be shocked at the virulent racism that was as much a part of our popular culture as our political reality. It was in this context that African-Americans (patriotic to the core never mind their second tier place in society) along with Jews, Italians and other immigrants, sought to prove their mettle in the Armed Forces. With a war requiring so many soldiers, they would get their chance.
Along with them we meet some of the Teddy Roosevelt disciples, those young educated men of the privileged class whose belief in the vigorous life and pre war training led to their comprising a significant portion of the officer corps.
Slotkin provides the political backdrop to events as we meet such notables as TR, President Wilson, W.E.B. DuBois and others and how they shaped American response and entry into the war and the manner in which it was executed.
The battle portion of the story is appropriately gut wrenching featuring as it must the inevitable deaths and maiming that are a sad reality of warfare. At the heart of the book is the horrific battle in the Argonne that earned the 369th the nickname, Lost Battalion. The surrounded men of the battalion held of the Germans for days at a terrible and grisly loss of life. Their story forged the seminal American myth of the war and a true blue hero, the battalion's commander, Charles Whittlesey.
Slotkin also follows some of the soldiers upon their to return to America after the war. Most notable here are the sad stories of Whittlesey and the African American battle hero, Henry Johnson.
"Lost Battalions" is an important book in capturing a crucial time in American history and how it was emblamatic of the struggles for equality and justice that are so integral to American history.
Slotkin is an excellent writer providing mountains of information and thought-provoking insights at a brisk and readable pace.
My only possible quibble is the mysterious lack of photographs. Weighed against the impressive achievement that this fantastic book represents, that is indeed a minor detail.
I'll take the Reader's Digest Edition, Please!.......2005-12-14
This is the memorable true story of two unigue American Combat units, one all Black and the other made up of immigrants some thought were to dumb to deserve citizenship, and their extraordinary contributions to the war effort on The Western Front during WWI. In hard combat each battalion was caught behind enemy lines in the 1918 Allied offensive. After the war each of the units sterling record of service and sacrifice were again lost, this time in America. There's a great story here but its too often buried under a suffocating mountain of textbook prose.
Book Description
Once again, Lost Battalion historian and author Robert J. Laplander takes his readers back to France in September and October of 1918...into the famous 'Pocket' of the Charlevaux Ravine, deep in the heart of the Argonne Forest, where the 'Lost Battalion' made its historic stand. Meant as a companion volume to his tremendously successful book 'Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legends of America's Famous WW1 Epic', Mr Laplander again dips into his decade long research into the events surrounding this heroic story in order to present another view of what is arguably the most important episode to come from America's involvement in WW1. Told mostly in the words of the men involved (most of which have never been seen by the general public), 'The Lost Battalion: Return to the Charlevaux' brings even more depth to a story which has facinated readers for nearly 90 years now, and will definitely earn an honored spot on your shelf next to Mr. Laplander's first volume!
Books:
- Fireground Strategies
- Flags of Our Fathers
- French Chivalry: Chivalric Ideals and Practices in Mediaeval France
- FRENCH IMPERIAL GUARD - VOL 4: 4 - Cavalry and Horse Artillery (Officers and Soldiers)
- From Sand Creek: Rising in This Heart Which Is Our America (Sun Tracks)
- German Battlecruisers 1914-18 (New Vanguard)
- Grandfather's Tale: The Tale of a German Sniper
- Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 2)
- History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
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The Lost Battalion
Blood in the Argonne: The "Lost Battalion" of World War I (Campaigns and Commanders)
The Lost Battalion: Return to the Charlevaux
The Lost Battalion
Five Days In October: The Lost Battalion Of World War I
