The Battle of Belleau Wood (1â26 June 1918) occurred during the German spring offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S. 2nd (under the command of Major General Omar Bundy) and 3rd Divisions along with French and British forces against an assortment of German units including elements from the 237th, 10th, 197th, 87th, and 28th Divisions. The battle has become a key component in the lore of the United States Marine Corps.
At 1700 hours on June 6, 1918, the 4th Marine Brigadeâcomprising the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments and the 6th Machine Gun Battalionâ attacked into the densely wooded former hunting preserve near the French village of Belleau to push back elements of the German 237th Division. But the commander of the French XXI Corps who had ordered the attack had vastly underestimated the hold the Germans had on the woods and consequently failed to support the Marines with sufficient heavy artillery. By the end of the first day the Marines had suffered 1,087 dead or wounded, more casualties than the Corps had taken thus far in its 143-year history. The Marines kept fighting, however, and by June 26 they had secured Belleau Wood. The combined casualty count for U.S. Marine and Army units committed to the battle totaled 1,811 dead and 7,966 wounded.
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