The Doughboys were the American soldiers who entered the Great War in the last year of the conflict, and of their number the Marine Corps were the absolute elite. The author of this episodic but vivid series of sketches, John W. Thomason, was a Captain in the Corps, descended from a distinguished Southern military family. A natural writer, his colloquial account follows the Marines through France, giving an account of their most famous- and bloodiest - actions, including the Argonne Forest, Belleau Wood, Chateau Thierry, Mont Blanc and St Mihiel. As well as the fighting itself, Thomason is good on off-duty anecdotes. First-hand American accounts of the Great War are rare. This is one of the best. It is profusely illustrated by the author's own excellent drawings