Five Days in October.Five Days In October Robgert H. Ferrell University of Missouri Press 2910 LeMone Boulevard, Columbia, MO 65201 0826215947 $19.95 1-800-828-1894 www.umsystem.edu/upress Five Days In October: The Lost Battalion Lost Battalion, in World War I, popular name given to those American units of the 77th Division—six companies of the 1st and 2d battalions of the 308th Infantry, one company of the 307th Infantry, and the platoons of the 306th Machine Gun Battalion—that were cut off by German forces after the launching of an American attack in the Argonne Forest in early Oct., 1918. The Lost Battalion, numbering about 600 men and under the command of Major Charles W. Of World War I by Robert H. Ferrell (Professor Emeritus of History, Indiana University, Bloomington) is the incredible story of five hundred five hundred, card game, similar in principle to euchre, usually played by three persons with a pack of 32 cards and a joker. Each player receives 10 cards, and highest bidder for the widow (the three cards left over) names trump. The two other players play in temporary combination against the bidder, and 500 points wins the game. In the early 20th cent. five hundred was very popular in the United States. American soldiers comprising elements of two companies from the 77th Division who were entrapped on the side of a ravine in the Argonne Argonne (ärgôn`), region of the Paris basin, NE France, in Champagne and Lorraine (Meuse, Marne, and Ardennes dept.), a hilly and woody district centering around the capital, Sainte-Menehould. Thinly populated, with unimportant cultivation and only small industries, it has been of strategic significance. Forest by superior German forces from October 2 to 7, 1918. The courage displayed against overwhelming odds as they fought under siege in the midst of rifle, machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire both day and night, with nothing to eat after the morning of the first day, and with water that was highly dangerous to obtain, is among the finest examples of the American troops under fire as is recorded in the annals of American military history. With Five Days In October, Professor Ferrell offers new material that was previously unavailable in earlier treatments of this event and reveals what really happened during those horrific days in the Argonne Forest. Although "Lost" is not an accurate description because American high command knew where the men were, during the five days the men were on their own Five Days In October will elaborate striking details of the ordeal, and includes the findings of court-martial court-martial 1) n. a military court for trying offenses in violation of army, navy or other service rules and regulations, made up of military officers, who act as both finders of fact (in effect, a jury) and as arbiters (judges) of the law applying to the case. A general court-martial is conducted by a military legal officer (Judge Advocate) and at least five officers for major offenses, including those requiring the death penalty. records and 77th Division files that contain full accounts of the taut relations between the Lost Battalion's brigade commander and the 77th Division commander providing the most complete account now available. Five Days In October is an impressive work of scholarship and a welcome contribution to the growing library of World War I Military History. |
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