THE SECOND DIVISION AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN FRANCE 1917-1919

Col Oliver Lyman Spaulding
& Col John Womack Wright

VG. An uncommonly tight, clean copy of the scarce original edition of this history, without chips, tears or edgewear. Spine slightly darkened. (NY: The Hillman Press, 1937). Dark blue boards with faded gilt lettering and decoration (2nd Division Indianhead shoulder patch encircled by Croix de Guerre braid on front cover). No dust jacket, as issued. 6" x 9". 26 photographs, 8 maps, 412 pp.

~~~ INSCRIBED TO A SOLDIER OF THE DIVISION (15th Field Artillery) BY DIVISION COMMANDER MAJOR GENERAL JAMES HARBORD.

The history of America's most decorated division in WWI, and the only Army division in the history of the country to contain a brigade of U.S. Marines, also the only Army division ever to be commanded by a Marine Corps officer.

Contents as follows: Organization; The Beginning of the Division; Entry into Combat--Sector Toulon; From Toulon to Chaumont-en-Vexin; The Movement Towards Chateau-Thierry; Belleau Wood; Vaux; Comments on Belleau Wood & Vaux; Before Soissons; Soissons; Marbache; St. Mihiel; Meuse-Argonne (Blanc Mont); Meuse-Argonne; The Rhine.

Also included are fifty-two pages of enlisted men's diary excerpts; eighty-three pages of Company Citations; Officer's Citations; Enlisted Men's Citations, and the Roll of Honor of division members killed in action. The Second Division suffered the highest number of killed and wounded of all the American divisions in WWI.

~~~ Both the original Hillman Press edition and the 1989 Battery Press reprint edition of this book are now OUT OF PRINT. ~~

Major General James G. Harbord, after serving as Pershing's Chief of Staff, commanded the Marine Brigade at Belleau Wood (the only Army officer ever to command a Marine Corps unit) during June 1918, and commanded the entire Second Division the following month at Soissons. Subsequently he was placed in command of the AEF's Service of Supply (to bolster what was perceived as a weak link the the army chain). After the war (Sept 1919), he was again placed in command of the Second Division in the U.S.

$435.00