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.

Ed Gilbert is a retired geoscientist, the author of a four-volume series on the history of the U.S. Marine Corps tank units, and has written several numbers in the Osprey Warrior and Battle Orders series.

Catherine Gilbert is a retired speech pathologist and audiologist. Her interest in genealogy led to extensive research into the organization and activities of the militia in the American War of Independence. Ed and Cathy are residents of Texas.