Lafayette We Are Here!: 6th June 1918: The American Marines Attack Belleau Wood

6th June 1918 saw more American soldiers fall on French soil than the famous 1944 D-Day landings. Why is this fact so little known?As well as providing a detailed account of this funereal episode, Lafayette We Are Here! looks at the reasons behind American involvement in what was primarily a European conflict. Why did a neutral government in 1914, driven by a largely pacifist population, end up joining the Allies in 1917?

In this third instalment of his trilogy concerning the deadliest days of the First World War, Jean-Michel Steg investigates a cataclysmic battle for the American Marines in a small wood in northern France, and presents an informative and accessible overview of the military strategy and geopolitical context.