The words Retreat? Hell, we just got here, has become a central part of
the Marine Corps legend, indicative of their reputation for dogged
determination and bravery. The iconic words were uttered at the height
of the fierce battle for Belleau Wood and became a defining moment for
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 United States and France through the
battles in the trenches and battlefields of the Western Front and right
up to their occupation duties in the Rhineland. Packed with firsthand
accounts and detailed information from the USMC History Division at
Quantico and published to coincide with the one hundredth anniversary of
America's involvement in World War I, this is a timely analysis of one
of the Marines defining moments.