Malone Hill Park: Fill & Download for Free

First of all, I am going to destroy the myth that the Marines were the only ones that fought at Belleau Wood. The Marine 4th Brigade consisting of the 5th and 6th Marines and the Army Infantry 3rd Brigade consisting of the 9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments fought side by side as part of the Army’s 2nd Infantry (Indianhead) Division at Belleau Wood. Belleau Wood was a bloodbath that lasted more than a month and the real baptism of the American Army in World War I from which many mistakes were made and lessons were learned. My great grand father, then Colonel (later Major General) Paul B. “Follow Me” Malone commanded the 23rd Infantry Regiment at Belleau Wood and Soissions and the 10th Brigade, 5th Infantry Division at Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne through the Armistice and into the occupation. I am writing a biography about his service in WWI. Most of what has been written about Belleau Wood is about the Marine Brigade however, they were closely supported by the Army’s 2nd Battalion, 2nd Engineer Regiment as well as the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (the 1st and 2nd Brigades were in the 1st Infantry Division) and they were relieved for a couple days by the Army 7th Infantry Regiment from the 3rd Infantry Division. I am a graduate of the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College and love my Marine Corps brethren but my answer will be more expansive than just discussing the Marine Brigade at Belleau Wood. Also of note, several of the officers leading Marine units were Army officers and vice versa throughout the American Expeditionary Force. As most Marines know, Major General John A. Lejeune was the only Marine to ever command an Army Division; the 2nd Infantry Division. That happens later than this battle. My great grand father and he were great friends during and after WWI. In fact, when Major General (Ret) Lejeune was Superitendant at Virginia Military Institute in 1932; he asked my great grandfather to to be the the graduation speaker which he gladly did. For comparison consider the battle of Gettysburg lasted only 3 days; the battle of Belleau Wood lasted more than a month and was fought by only one division, the 2nd Infantry Division, which was “Second to None” and along withe the 3rd Infantry Division at Chateau Thierry; saved Paris in 1918 and shut the door on the possibility that the Germans could win World War I.WWI began in August 1914. Through the alliances the Central Powers of Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria and Turkey were arrayed against Great Britain, France, Russia and Italy. Due to a number of incidents and factors including the Zimmerman letter, the sinking of the Luisitania; the United States finally declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917. General John Pershing was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson as Commander and Chief of the American Expection Force (AEF). At this time the largest permanent military formation that existed in the United States Army was the Regiment. Most of the Army had been scattered in small detachments across the country, Hawaii, Alaska, the Canal Zone and the Philippines. Just prior to America’s entry into WWI, some of the Army under then BG Pershing had a dress rehearsal chasing Pancho Villa at the Mexican border and in Mexico.The 1st Infantry Division “Big Red One” was formed in the United States and brought over to France along with the AEF and included Infantry regiments that had distinguished themselves to Pershing in Mexico (16th, 18th, 26th and 28th). The 1st Division was Pershing’s favorite. The 2nd Infantry Division was a different story. It was formed in France with the Army’s 9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments. The Secretary of the Navy offered the Marine units to the Secretary of War. The Marines hoped for a Marine Division. Pershing would not agree to it. However, he did agree to the Marine Brigade being the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division. With the caveat that he made his trusted Chief of Staff, BG James Harbord, USA, as its commander. My Great grandfather started out in the AEF as the Chief of Training (G5) and set up the school system for the AEF from basic and advanced individual training and Officer Candidate School to an abbreviated Command and General Staff College and everything in between. During this time he ran amuck of a very serious adversary, then BG Petain C. March the Commanding General of the AEF Artillery and soon to be the Chief of Staff of the Army. Pershing was very happy with Malone’s performance as Chief of Training and when asked by Pershing where he wanted to serve, Malone said, “at the fighting front.” Pershing assigned him to command the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division in February 1918. The 2nd Infantry Division was just forming for operational deployment in combat an was put into quiet sectors to acclimatize for real combat. Although these were Regular Army soldiers most were recently drafted and minimally trained soldiers. The Marines on the other hand were predominantly veterans of banana rebellion combat in Central and South America and some were veterans of the battle of Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1914. The Leathernecks were a tough bunch. The 2nd Infantry Division proved to be one of the best, if not the best Division in the AEF due to the healthy competition that existed between its two brigades; the Infantry Brigade and the Marine Brigade.As 1918 began, the British and the French were in dire straits. They had lost a generation of men in the 3+ years of the war. Their tactics were suspect and had not achieved success. They insisted that the Americans provide “cannon fodder” to replenish their units. General Pershing resisted with all his might allowing Americans to fight under a foreign flag. The British tried to strong arm him by refusing transit American troops to France on British transports unless the Americans relented. Both the British and French had little confidence that the Americans were up to the challenge of defeating the Germans. The British and French had committed to staying on the defensive for 1918 until the Americans would be ready in 1919. The Germans also had a low opinion of the Americans but knew that their numbers could make the difference so they launched their final push to capture Paris and break the will of the Allies in May-June 1918. The US 1st Division was committed to Cantigny and the 28th Infantry Regiment “Black Lions of Cantigny” under Colonel Hanson Ely, seized Cantigny and fought off counter attacks in May. The 2nd Infantry Division under Major General Omar Bundy was scheduled to relieve them when the call came to reinforce the French. The Germans were driving for Paris. Pershing offered the American Army to be at the disposal of the Allies. The 3rd Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne” went to Chateau Theiry along the Marne River and blocked the Crossings. The 2nd Infantry Division was diverted to stop the German advance four miles northwest of Chateau Thierry near Belleau Wood, Bouresches and Vaux which controlled crossroads leading to the Paris-Metz road; less than 40 miles from Paris.The French XVII Corps was near collapse. They were send French units against the Germans piecemeal were they “evaporated immediately, like drops of rain on a hot iron.” The French Commanding General Degoutte wanted to deploy the 2nd Infantry Division as they arrived and became available. Both Major General Bundy and his Chief of Staff, Colonel Preston Brown disagreed vehemently since the Infantry units which were arriving first only had rifles and 100 rounds of ammunition. General Bundy ended the discussion by stating that the Americans would not go into battle without their artillery and machine gun units and recommended that the Americans establish a defensive line which the French could retreat through and at the same time stop the German advance. French General Degoutte gave grudging approval but expressed doubts about the fighting ability of the untested 2nd Division. Colonel Brown replied, “these are American regulars. In one hundred and fifty years they save never been beaten. They will hold.”Despite their orders, the situation remained fluid as the parts of the Division arrived on the battlefield on 1 June 1918. The Army 9th Infantry Regiment was first to arrive went in on the right of the line and tied into the French 43rd Division. The next to arrive was the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines and they were deployed to the left of the 9th Infantry. The rest of the 6th Marines fell in on the left as they arrived. Then later that night the 5th Marines arrived and fell in on the left of the 6th. The 23rd Infantry arrived late on the 1st and after midnight on the 2nd, Colonel Malone led a task force of the 23rd Infantry Regiment; 1st Battalion, 5th Marines; 5th Machinegun Battalion and an Engineer Company 6 miles northwest of Lucy to tie in with French units on the left which spread the defensive line pretty thin. BG Harbord inspected the line and stiffened it by deploying the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines in the gap between the task force and the end of the Marine defensive line. As the defensive line stabilized, both of the Army Regiments were on the flanks and the 4th Marine Brigade was in the center on 2 June.On 3 June, the 2nd Division artillery finally arrived and the responsibility for the defensive line passed from the French to the US 2nd Infantry Division. Contact between units all along the line and on the left flank was elusive. The German rained the heaviest artillery fire on the Marine Brigade prior to sending assault waves with bayonets fixed moved toward the Marines. At 300 yards, the Marines opened fire with machine guns, well aimed rifle fire and American artillery. The Germans fell back after suffering 800 casualties and had to go into defense, they did not know that they were no longer fighting the French; they were fighting the Americans. BG Harbord gave the Marine Brigade the order, “hold our positions at all costs.”'On 4 June the French 167th Division relieved the 23rd Infantry Regiment on the left of the line. The 23rd was redeployed in between the Army 9th Infantry Regiment and the 6th Marines taking over some of the area previously occupied by the 6th Marines and providing a vital link between the two brigades. Now the 4th Marine Brigade was on the left and the 3rd Army Infantry Brigade was on the right. Enemy artillery continued to rain on the American line with the Germans using liberal use of poison gas as well as high explosive rounds which continued throughout the 19 day battle.On 5 June planning began for an attack on the 6th by the the left of the 2nd Division, the 5th Marines was ordered to attack into Belleau Wood in conjunction with a French attacking their left at 1500 hours followed by the rest of the Division. As the commanders and staff were learning since this was the first major action for the Americans except for Cantigny, inadequate time was given for a deliberate attack and little intelligence on the dispositions of the enemy or terrain had been obtained. Maps were either nonexistent or scarce. To make matters worse, adjustments of the defensive line was made during the night of the 5th that put many of the units on unfamiliar ground added to the confusion. Finally, inadequate artillery preparation was planned. It should be remembered that wireless radio was not available at this time and most artillery was planned using a timetable rather than being adjusted like it would be when wireless communications became widespread. The objective of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines was Hill 142.On 6 June the 2nd Infantry Division was ordered to attack along multiple axis toward Belleau Wood, Bouresches and toward Vaux. From left to right, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines attacked at 0345 hours into St. Martin Wood and seize Hill 142. It was recommended by Colonel Brown, 2nd Division Chief of Staff, that they use infiltration tactics and closely coordinate artillery however, the 4th Brigade provided a limited artillery preparation and the Marines attacked in waves. After being stopped they were hammered with repeated German counterattacks for the rest of the day. At 1700 hours, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines attacked into Belleau Wood. Units took heavy losses. Several companies are pinned down. A few companies penetrate Belleau Wood. 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines attacked Bouresches. 96th Company captured Bouresches with just a few men. With 50 minutes notice, Colonel Malone drove an automobile into the front line in his haste to make sure his two battalion commanders got the order to support the Marines on their left attacking Bouresches sketching positions on their maps before being recalled to 3rd Brigade Headquarters. The 1st and 3rd Battalions, 23rd Infantry attacked supporting the 6th Marines on their left as they attacked Bouresches. Throughout the day, lack of adequate artillery preparation due to planning and insufficient ammunition frustrated attacks and increased friendly casualties. Confusion, inadequate coordination and vague and conflicting orders also stymied progress as well as a determined enemy who was shocked by the determination of the Americans in contrast to the French who had been giving way readily. Colonel Malone reported, “at 5:00 PM the Marines were seen advancing in splendid order. The spectacle was inspiring.” Malone’s orders to Major Waddill, 1/23 Commander was to keep up with the Marines and let their eventual position govern his left flank. The men of the 23rd Infantry were unable to restrain themselves when so many buddies on their left (6th Marines) were fighting for their lives. Malone’s report continued, “A fight thus spontaneously resulted was conducted with great dash and courage, without adequate artillery support as the supply of artillery ammunition was running low and it was absolutely necessary to conserve the supply for the next morning when an attack was expected.” Malone reported about the fighting spirit of the men of his Regiment and how they exceeded their limits because of “enthusiasm and by the desire for combat.” Malone’s 3rd Battalion, under Major Elliott to the right of Waddill’s seized Hill 192 beyond Triangle Farm. They we’re brutally counterattacked by the Germans and took many casualties; Company M almost wiped out. Malone brought up reserves to prevent a breakthrough and moved them back to their original line after receiving orders to return from 3rd Brigade. Apparently, the tactics of the day was to fight one brigade at a time and the 4th Brigade was in the fight. The Division casualties for the day were in the neighborhood of 30 officers and 900 enlisted including the commanders of the 6th Marines, the 3/5 Marines wounded and several company commanders killed and wounded. Officer shortages would plague the Division for the rest of the battle. Twenty-six Years later, on this very day was D-Day. The 2nd Infantry Division followed the 1st and the 29th Infantry Divisions across Omaha Beach.On 7 June, the lines were tidied up. 2/5 Marines were moved into St. Martin Woods and tied into 1/5 on the left and 3/5 on the right just in time along with the 6th Machine Gun Battalion to repulse a German attack from Torcy. 3/5 Marines launched a successful attack toward Torcy and gained some ground. All around the rest of the line German attacks were beat back. 3/5 Marines was withdrawn from Belleau Wood to reorganize. 2/23 Infantry relieved 3/23 Infantry in the line near le Thiolet. 3/23 Infantry became a reserve. The 23rd Infantry and then the 9th Infantry repelled major enemy night attacks which left a 100 enemy dead and lost only 6 soldiers.On 8 June there was aborted attack by 3/6 Marines that was pinned down by German machine guns. On 9 June the German relaunched their offensive and continued to pummel the American line with artillery and gas. On 10–11 June 1/6 Marines attacked Belleau Wood from south to north but were stopped short of their objective. Meanwhile 2/5 Marines attacked Belleau Wood from West to East and become disoriented winding up south of their objective but hit the flank of the Germans which causes them to retreat to the north. One company from 2/5 Marines reaches the eastern edge of Belleau Wood and erroneously reports all objectives taken. This report is relayed to BG Harbord. Reports keep coming in that the woods to the north are still full of enemy. Word gets back that Belleau Wood belongs to the Marines and makes it into The NY Times.As reality becomes clearer, the 1/6 Marines begin moving north and run into German reinforcements that were preparing to roll up 2/5 Marines left flank. Replacements were sent to the Marines during the night. One company was down to 16 men (out of 200+). BG Harbord began requesting relief for the Marine Brigade since they had been in the line for almost 2 weeks. “Officers and men are now at a state scarcely less than complete physical exhaustion. Men fall asleep under bombardment and the physical exhaustion and the heavy losses are a combination calculated to damage morale, which should be met by immediate arrangements for the relief of this brigade.” On 12 June 1/6 and 2/5 Marines attacked north to take the northern portion of Belleau Wood. Colonel Malone, CO of 23rd Infantry sent BG Harbord a message (Harbord had been the Chief of Staff and Malone G5 (Training) on the AEF staff), “Hearty congratulations on the splendid work of your brigade. It will inspire all Americans”….he added that he had a small slice of the action but wished he had more and soon: “We rejoice in your victory.” Harbord replied, “Many thanks….The Marine Brigade is certainly a superb lot of officers and men…All you need is the opportunity, which I hope you may soon get.” At the end of the day the 2nd Infantry Division acknowledged that only a portion, but a large portion, of Belleau Wood was taken the previous day.During 13–14 June, the line shifted to the left expanding the coverage of the 9th Infantry and to shorten the coverage of the 23rd Infantry and Marines who had been taking the bulk of casualties. The 23rd Infantry took over responsibility for Bouresches which was a salient in the lines from the Marines. Artillery and heavy gas continued to rain on the American line. In reading the orders and memorandums in the National Archives, Malone continually pushed for the United States to use offensive chemical (gas) warfare with their artillery. He apparently wrote a recommendation 25 May 1918 and later on 25 June 1918 after he had sustained 855 casualties in his Regiment of which 334 were produced by gas. He said he Regiment was allocated about 3,000 artillery shells of support per day yet The Germans who used gas were more effective with less rounds were 9 times more effective at producing casualties when using gas. He recommends to obtain large quantities of yperite to launch a gas offensive.In Belleau Wood, 2/6 Marines joined 1/6 and 2/5 Marines under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Logan Feland, Deputy Commander of the 5th Marines. The effort to get relief for the Marines was picking up momentum. The 3rd Brigade was recommended by the French Commander and seemed to have the support of AEF headquarters but General Bundy, CG of the 2nd Infantry Division objected and pressed for the nearly idle 3rd Infantry Division to provide a Regiment. The 7th Infantry Regiment was provided to provide the relief. On 15 June the reliefs occurred one battalion each night for Three nights. The orders from BG Harbord were, “You must hold the woods at all costs.”By 17 June, Colonel Malone, “The Marines are being relieved, are are we going to be also? …If not, I am going to have to replace Capt. Charles E. Moore and I Company in Bouresches, because the strain is more than they can stand for long.” Malone was right, the town was constantly being shelled and attacked from three sides by the Germans. It was a key point which both sides understood.No relief was to come, Capt Moore and his company stayed in Bouresches. The 7th Infantry attempted two attacks into the northern portion of Belleau Wood; both failed. On 22 June the Marines began to relieve the 7th Infantry. 3/6th Marines relieved 2/7 Infantry. On 23 June 2/5 Marines now under the command of Major Ralph Keyser relieved 3/7 Infantry. 3/5 Marines launched another attack into the northern part of the woods that evening with heavy losses and no gains.On 25 June after a full day (0300–1700 hours) of heavy Americans and French artillery, 3/5 Marines along with a company from 3/6 Marines the Marines seized most of the woods. At the end of th day, 2/6 Marines relieved 3/5 Marines in Belleau Wood and 2/23 Infantry relieved 3/23 Infantry in Bouresches. The lines were adjusted around Belleau Wood during 27–29 June. Planning to take Vaux was began and in earnest on the 30th. One battalion from 9th (2/9) and another from the 23rd (3/23) were selected to attack under the command of the 3rd Brigade Commanding Brigadier General Edward M. Lewis. Colonel Malone was not happy with the command arrangement which cut both of the Regimental commanders out of the action. By this time, the 2nd Infantry Division understood how to use artillery including gas. They followed the rolling artillery barage. Within an hour it was over. The 3/23 Infantry Commander sent a message, “All the front is secure. Many machine guns captured.” The Germans hiding in the cellars were defeated by the gas. The Germans made serious counterattacks but could not drive the Americans from Vaux. 3/23 Infantry took the majority of the casualties and were replaced by 1/9 Infantry that night. The Germans lost 926 most that became POWs after being made ineffective by the gas..The 2nd Infantry Division consolidated their positions from Vaux to Belleau Wood. The 26th Infantry Division relieved the 2nd from 4–6 July. The 2nd Infantry Division had suffered 7,876 casualties and attached units another 375. The 2nd would be thrown back in combat in two weeks time in the Battle of Soissons again under the French with little opportunity to plan and none to reconnoiter. Prior to the battle, General Harbord would replace General Bundy as Division Commanding General. Colonel Lee USMC would command the 4th Brigade, BG Hanson Ely came to command the 3rd Brigade from the “Black Lions of Cantigny,” 1st Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Holcomb commanded the 5th Marines and Colonel Feland the 6th Marines. BG Lewis was promoted to command the 30th Infantry Division. Colonels Upton and Malone remained to command the 9th and 23rd Infantry Regiments, respectively.BibliographyAmerican Battle Monuments Commission Map of Belleau Wood with graphics.Bonk, David, “Chateau Thierry and Belleau Wood 1918,” Osprey, Oxford, UK 2007.Clark, George B., “The Second Infantry Division in World War,” MacFarland, Jefferson, NC 2007.Davis, Henry Blaine Jr., “Generals in Khaki,” Pentland Press, Inc., Raleigh, NC 1998.“Infantry in Battle”, The Infantry Journal Inc., Washington, DC, 1939.Stallings, Lawrence, “Bloody Belleau Wood,” American Heritage, Volume 14, Issue 4, 1963.23rd Infantry Regiment at Belleau Wood documents, National Archives, College Park, MD, June 1918.Thomason, John W. Edited by Clark, George B., “The United States Army Second Division Northwestof Chateau Thierry of World War I,” McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2006.

When I was 15–16 I was attending La Guardia High School of Music & Art in NYC. It was in Harlem on a hill that overlooked St. Nicholas Park, it was known as, “The Castle on The Hill”. I remember a very pretty girl who went to our school was having a birthday party at her apartment in The Bronx, a lot of my schoolmates were going including all the friends in my circle. So I decided to go even though it was way up in The Bronx somewhere. I mean, I am from Manhattan so the idea of going to one of the outer boroughs to party didn’t seem all that appealing to me. Just being honest. But I went and when me and my friends arrived there were a lot of kids from our school already there and the environment was very chill , I remember we were all in her apartment chilling and enjoying conversation.Now there was a kid in my school his name was Miles Carter, his dad is Ron Carter the legendary jazz double-bassist. Miles was very popular, considered very good-looking. I mean the effect that he had on girls was insane ..I’m from NYC I have met some of the most insanely handsome and sexy men, but Miles Carter had an effect on women I have rarely encountered. There was a “hood” JHS at the bottom of St. Nicholas Park and girls from that school would come up the hill during our lunch break just to stare at Miles. He was at the party and had come with a friend of his he went to Intermediate School 44 with (I.S. 44) on the upper west side of Manhattan.Now when I was in High School I wasn’t a total zero , but I was close. My High School was for children who had artistic and musical talents and one of the rules to attend M&A was that you could not be working professionally as an actor, model or musician. Needless to say, many of the kids there were professionals , one young lady was featured in a lay-out in Vogue magazine, there was a family of kids who attended our school that were japanese and danish one of the sisters was a top-model who was in a movie with Mickey Rourke, the funny thing was she had a sister who was shorter than her but so damned beautiful people would stop and stare at her for at least 5 minutes before they shook it off. There was a kid in my 9th grade spanish class named Charlie Drayton who was a world-class drummer at that time and would show up to school periodically, sit in class and be just as jovial, he was touring with The Stones. One time he lost his leather case with his drumsticks in it, NYPD found it, came to our spanish class and handed it to him with such reverance, I thought they were going to bow. The last I heard of him, he was Chrissy Amphlett’s (lead singer of The Divinyl’s) live-in boyfriend when she passed. My heart went out to him.Back to the party. Miles who never paid me any mind in school, has this friend with him who comes , sits next to me and starts chatting me up. He was very attentive and very very funny. We’re talking and laughing and I am shocked that he is showing interest in me. My best friend, Sabrina, who was always competing with me and tried to steal every boyfriend I had, can’t handle it comes up and tries to divert his attention away from me, he paid her no mind and continues focusing on me. When I get up to leave with my friends he follows me and we walk arm in arm to take the train back to Manhattan, on the way he tells me he’s an actor and that he is on the verge of stardom, he says that he almost got Scott Baio’s role in, “Bugsy Malone”that the auditions started out with hundreds of kids and finally came down to Scott and him.Scott Baio got the role opposite Jodie Foster.All my friends were stunned that he was interested in me because they always treated me like I wasn’t all that attractive, which i didn’t give a shit about to be honest. We went on a few dates and he visited my family’s apartment on Central Park West, as I stated earlier he was very charming, funny and erudite. I really liked him. I remember my mom collected African art and he paused to look at some of her pieces looked at me and said, “Ancestors?” I was like, “You know what..”It didn’t come off as racist or condescending, he was simply hilarious and he would go on for hours like that. I later found out his dad was a famous director. Who was he?Robert Downey Jr.

It may not be specifically Lacey but downtown Olympia there’s the railroad tracks by the park at capital lake. If you follow those into the forest away from town, there are beautiful little openings to a small river that’s at the bottom of the small hill on the left side of the tracks. It’s a little difficult climbing down but it’s definitely worth seeing the simple clearing and shallow stream.