America's Deadliest Battle: Meuse-Argonne, 1918

Infantry Magazine,  March-April, 2008  

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America's Deadliest Battle: Meuse-Argonne, 1918. By Robert H. Ferrell. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2007, 195 pages, $29.95 (cloth). Reviewed by LTC (Retired) Rick Baillergeon.

The numbers are staggering: 26,277 U.S Soldiers dead and 95,786 wounded in a battle extending 47 days and involving 1.2 million men. Yet, despite the shear magnitude of this battle, the brutal fighting in World War I's Meuse-Argonne has remained virtually ignored by military historians over the years. Author Robert H. Ferrell has finally filled this void with his superb volume, America's Deadliest Battle." Meuse-Argonne, 1918. It is a book long required in the realm of military literature.

In the area of World War I history, Ferrell has established himself as one of today's foremost historians of The Great War. Past books such as Collapse at the Meuse-Argonne: The Failure of the Missouri/Kansas Division and Five Days in October: The Lost Battalion of World War I were highly acclaimed by readers and critics alike. These volumes were characterized by exhaustive research, crisp, descriptive writing, and the ability to fully engage and inform a reader. His latest effort, America's Deadliest Battle shares each of these qualities.

Within Ferrell's pages, he details the planning, preparation, and execution of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) during the battle of the Meuse-Argonne. During this discussion, the author displays the unique talent to seamlessly shift between the operational and tactical levels of war (with additional discussion of the strategic situation). This enables the reader to put in perspective the actions at the foxhole level and its relationship to the higher levels of war. Most impressive is the author's ability to provide this to his readers in just over 150 pages. Ferrell is able to accomplish this by his mastery of the subject area and his aforementioned writing skills.

Obviously, as the book's title suggests the focus of the book is on the battle of the Meuse-Argonne. However, Ferrell does an excellent job of concisely outlining America's entry into the war and the days prior to the battle. This truly sets the conditions for the reader to better understand the performance of the AEF during the battle and puts the battle in perspective in the overall framework of World War I. Additionally, at the conclusion of the book, Ferrell provides analysis on what the battle meant to the thought process of military and civilian leadership in the inter-war years.

America's Deadliest Battle is not simply a rehash of the events comprising the battle or a play-by-play dialogue. Throughout his narrative, Ferrell interjects numerous instances of candid opinion and analysis on decisions, leaders, and tactics employed as they relate to the specific battle and to World War I as a whole. These include the following:

1) The Wilson Administration's performance in preparing the country for war.

2) The use of U.S. artillery in the Meuse-Argonne.

3) The AEF use of machine guns in the Meuse-Argonne.

4) The AEF's adaptation of tactics during the battle.

5) The U.S. military's ability to utilize lessons learned from the Meuse-Argonne in the upcoming years.

Strengths are numerous within America's Deadliest Battle. First, Ferrell includes 25 highly detailed maps to assist the reader in understanding the battle. The author inserts the maps to coincide with his subject material which is of great value and convenience to the reader. Second, Ferrell has included over 40 photographs complementing his words perfectly. Readers will find his photograph section to be well-thought out and of relevance to better understanding the Meuse-Argonne. Finally, the volume concludes with a highly detailed notes section. This section provides further detail to sources and gives refinement to points stressed in the book. This portion of the book is almost as beneficial to readers as the body of the volume.

It is hoped books such as America's Deadliest Battle will spark interest in not only this incredible battle, but in World War I itself. Unfortunately, it appears today there exists a relatively small number of authors and readers with an interest in the war. Truly, there is much to be learned from a battle and a war that exemplified the human dimension of war to such a great extent. Robert Ferrell is doing his part in opening this part of military history to a new readership.

COPYRIGHT 2008 U.S. Army Infantry School
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning