Blood in the Argonne Volume 8: The "Lost Battalion" of World War I (Campaigns and Commanders Series) - Softcover

Alan D. Gaff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0806196343 ISBN 13: 9780806196343

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press, 2025

Synopsis

In this unique history of the "Lost Battalion" of World War I, Alan D. Gaff tells for the first time the story of the 77th Division from the perspective of the soldiers in the ranks. On October 2, 1918, Maj. Charles W. Whittlesey led the 77th Division in a successful attack on German defenses in the Argonne Forest of northeastern France. His unit, comprised of men of a wide mix of ethnic backgrounds from New York City and the western states, was not a battalion nor was it ever "lost," but once a newspaper editor applied the term "lost battalion" to the episode, it stuck. Gaff draws from new, unimpeachable sources—such as sworn testimony by soldiers who survived the ordeal—to correct the myths and legends and to reveal what really happened in the Argonne Forest during early October 1918.

About this title

About the Author

Alan D. Gaff is an independent scholar and the author of several books, including Bayonets in the Wilderness: Anthony Wayne’s Legion in the Old Northwest, Blood in the Argonne: The “Lost Battalion” in World War I, and On Many a Bloody Field: Four Years in the Iron Brigade.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0806196343
• ISBN 13: 9780806196343
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384