An authoritative chronicle of the 1918 battle of the Meuse-Argonne region of France details the bloodiest battle in American history and offers an in-depth account of the campaign and its long-term legacy for the Great War and the American military.

"All the promotion in the world would make no difference now" : John J. Pershing -- The cult of the attack -- "Right or wrong, my country" -- "Retreat, hell. We just got here" -- "An independent American army" -- "Here is the golden dream" : the Meuse-Argonne -- "The only way to begin is to commence" -- "You boys are my kind. Now let's go in!" September 26 -- "We began to realize what artillery really meant." September 27 -- "Words can never describe it, nor is the mind imaginative enough to conceive it." September 28 -- "There were very few heroes that morning." September 29 -- Relief. September 30 -- "God damn it, don't you know we're going over the top." October 4 -- The lost battalion : "Our mission is to hold this position at all costs." -- "Just plain murder." October 5 -- "It is not a dishonorable deed to give up." October 6 -- "Their faces told the whole story of their fight." October 7 -- "York, I hear you have captured the whole damned German army." October 8 -- "We are going to have a very hard day." October 9 -- Beyond the Argonne. October 10 -- Last gasp. October 11 -- "Like the heat from a blast-furnace door." October 12-13 -- "The best day's work." October 14 -- "There are times when even general officers have to be expendable." October 15 -- "Large bodies move slowly, though with great momentum when they start." -- "When I get back, you can wager I will be a home loving man.".