To the Last Man - Jeff Shaara [0]
Title Page
Epigraph
Acknowledgments
List of Maps
To the Reader
Introduction
Part I TO TOUCH THE SKY
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Part II THE KILLING MATCH
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Part III A WORLD AFIRE
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Part IV OUT OF MANY, ONE
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Afterword
Other Books by Jeff Shaara
Copyright Page
There must be no course but to fight it out. Every position must be held to the last man. There must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall and believing in the justice of our cause each one of us must fight on to the end.
—FIELD MARSHAL SIR DOUGLAS HAIG
Commander in Chief,
British Expeditionary Force
April 12, 1918
I HAVE OFTEN BEEN TOLD THAT NOVELS REQUIRE NO ACKNOWLEDGMENT. In this case, I disagree. One enormous benefit that has come to me in the preparation of this story is the input I have received from descendants of soldiers who fought in the war. In addition, since I am frequently asked about the kinds of research materials I use, I thought it appropriate to list many of the primary sources.
For their generous gifts of materials, I offer my sincere thanks to:
Jeff and Colleen Clenard, Scottsdale, Arizona
Walt Diffenderfer, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania
Patrick Falci and Joan McDonough, Rosedale, New York
Dr. William B. Gallagher, Tucson, Arizona
Colonel Keith Gibson, Lexington, Virginia
John M. Kennedy, Shelby, Ohio
Fredrick Landesman, Walnut Creek, California
Jack Smith, Pleasanton, California
The following is a partial list of the historical figures whose original source materials, memoirs, or collections of letters were used in the research for this book:
General John J. Pershing, USA
General George S. Patton, USA
General George C. Marshall, USA
General John A. Lejeune, USMC
General James Harbord, USA
Captain Edward Rickenbacker, 94th Aero Squadron
Lieutenant Edwin “Ted” Parsons, Lafayette Escadrille
Lieutenant Bert Hall, Lafayette Escadrille
Lieutenant Roland Richardson, 213th Aero Squadron
Captain (Dr.) Marshall C. Pease, USA
President Woodrow Wilson
Private Carl Heterius, 137th Infantry Regiment
Private Arthur G. Empey, BEF
Lieutenant Harvey L. Harris, USA
Private John Thomason, USMC
Captain Manfred von Richthofen, Imperial German Flying Service
General Erich Ludendorff, Imperial German Army
Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Imperial German Army
Sergeant Karl McCune, USMC
Private Fitch L. McCord, USMC
Corporal John Aasland, USMC
Prime Minister David Lloyd George
Marshal Ferdinand Foch
The Schlieffen Plan
The Reality of the German Invasion, August 1914
The Western Front, November 1914
Location of Air Bases
The German Offensive, Spring 1918
Battle of Belleau Wood, June 4, 1918
Allied Counterattack, Reducing the Soissons Salient, July 18, 1918
Haig’s Breakthrough, August 8, 1918
Reducing the St. Mihiel Salient, September 12, 1918
Battle of the Meuse-Argonne, First Day—September 26, 1918
Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, First Day—October 3, 1918
Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, Second Day—October 4, 1918
Battle of the Meuse-Argonne, Attack of November 1, 1918
The Marines Cross the Meuse River, November 10–11, 1918
NO CONFLICT IN HUMAN HISTORY HAS BROUGHT ABOUT GREATER change to our world than the First World War. In no other war were so many nations so transformed, from the borders drawn on maps to the rulers whose empires fell to dust. In no other war was the horror so utterly surprising,