The Marines of World War I

Gilbert, Oscar E., and Romain V. Cansiere.  First to Fight: The U.S. Marines in World War I. 
         Philadelphia: Casemate, 2017.  ISBN: 978-1-61200-508-9

The Marines are known for the hard fought Battle of Belleau Wood, but there is much more to their World War I history than that one battle.  In First to Fight, Gilbert and Cansiere seek to provide the reader with the tale of the U. S. Marines during the course of the whole war.

Gilbert and Cansiere provide a readable, full history of the U. S. Marine Corp during World War I.  They examine the expansion of the Marine Corp, the role of the Marines in the Mexican Expedition, the safe-guarding of the Azores, ship board duties, female Marines and Marines in the air.  But the main body of the book deals with the Marines who fought in the U. S. Second Division, the only division in the U. S. Army that was half Army and half Marines.  All the major engagements (Belleau Wood, Soissons, St. Mihiel, Blanc Mont Ridge, and Meuse-Argonne) are covered in decent detail.  The book finishes off with the occupation of the Rhineland.

Gilbert and Cansiere provide a personal view of the war by utilizing several sets of personal papers and later interviews rather than just relying on official documents.  They provide maps of individual battles, but their strict focus on the heroics of the Marines creates a situational vacuum in regard to the rest of the 2nd Division and the broader picture of the course of the war.  The book is recommended for those readers who already have a grasp of the war and want to delve into the details of individual units.