Never in finer company : the men of the Great War's lost battalion / Edward G. Lengel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lengel, Edward G., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Army. Infantry, 308th.

United States.

World War, 1914-1918--Regimental histories--United States--308th Infantry.

World War, 1914-1918.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

ix, 358 pages, 4 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Da Capo Press, 2018.

Summary:

"It was one of the most heroic events in American military history. Here is the larger-than-life story of World War I's "Lost Battalion" and the men who survived the ordeal, triumphed in battle, and fought the demons that lingered. In the first week of October 1918, six hundred men attacked into Europe's forbidding Argonne Forest. Against all odds, they surged through enemy lines--alone. They were soon surrounded and besieged. As they ran out of ammunition, water, and food, the doughboys withstood constant bombardment and relentless enemy assaults. Seven days later, only 194 soldiers from the original unit walked out of the forest. The stand of the US Army's "Lost Battalion" remains an unprecedented display of heroism under fire. Never in Finer Company tells the stories of four men whose lives were forever changed by the ordeal: Major Charles Whittlesey, a lawyer dedicated to serving his men at any cost; Captain George McMurtry, a New York stockbroker who becomes a tower of strength under fire; Corporal Alvin York, a country farmer whose famous exploits help rescue his beleaguered comrades; and Damon Runyon, an intrepid newspaper man who interviews the survivors and weaves their experiences into the American epic. Emerging from the patriotic frenzy that sent young men "over there," each of these four men trod a unique path to the October days that engulfed them--and continued to haunt them as they struggled to find peace. Uplifting and compelling, Never in Finer Company is a deeply moving and dramatic story on an epic scale."--provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prologue: Four men

Playing the game

War's story

The country awakens

The adventure begins

First blood - Through the forest gate

Into the pocket

Surrounded

Friendly fire

The test

The quality of courage

The crisis

Heroes

Unknown soldiers

Homecomings.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-342) and index.

ISBN:

9780306825682

0306825686

OCLC:

1019651132