To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918

Account of the WWI Battle of the Argonne in 1918.

The Barnes & Noble Review

If World War I was "the war to end all wars," then the Meuse-Argonne offensive, fought in its waning days, should have been the "battle to end all battles." From our perspective, we know that Omaha Beach, Ia Drang, and Fallujah loom in the even more dreadful future; but for the doughboy crouched in the trenches 90 years ago, the carnage of the Meuse-Argonne must have looked like an inconceivable hell.

Edward G. Lengel is an associate professor of history at the University of Virginia. He is the author of several books on military history, including General George Washington: A Military Life. A recipient, with the Papers of George Washington documentary editing project, of the National Humanities Medal, he has made frequent appearances on television documentaries and was a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize.