Fix Bayonets!

by John W. Thomason

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

Genres: History, War, World War I, Nonfiction, Memoir, Military Fiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1926

Reviews

[Matt Danner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for all Marines. A bonus for me is that Thomason dedicated the book to 1/5. Make Peace or Die!

[Mark Mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

John W. Thomason Jr. was an accomplished artist and author of several books; however his true lifelong profession was as a Marine Corps officer. He served during WWI in the 49th Company of the 1st Battalion 5th Regiment. His first combat action came at Belleau Wood where he proudly served under his company commander Capt. George W. Hamilton. I regard “Fix Bayonets” as Thomason’s best piece of work and consider it a true piece the “Old Breed” history.

[Scott Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a former soldier, I have never suffered for a lack of material in regard to the US Army‘s experience, during World War I. On the flip side, there is an almost complete dearth of literature regarding the hard fighting conducted by the US Marines, during the same conflict. With that in mind, I completely understand the enthusiasm that both military history buffs and Marine Corps veterans have for this book. I, too, highly enjoyed this book, but would caution readers that it is best seen as a series of vignettes, rather than a linear story. Furthermore, more sensitive readers may be taken back by some of the language and view points displayed throughout the book, although it did not detract from my experience in the slightest. Of chief interest to me, was that the battles portrayed in this book are often more like the open warfare of the earlier stages of the war, rather than the stagnant trench warfare which tends to dominate most histories of the Great War.

[Steve Coutee · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Charles H Berlemann Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book at the Marines experiences in WW1 from the Muse-Argonne to the occupation of Germany. With sketches by the author included in the book to help give ideas to the stories in the chapters.

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection for WW1 buffs of experiences the US Fifth Marine Regiment had during the Great War.
Includes drawings from the author as well during his time in and out of trenches, combat, and R&R.
Highly recommended.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book ever written about the American Marines in the Great War/WWI.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like an odd thing to say about a book of war stories, but the writing is beautiful. Clear, flows well, never gets in the way of the story.

This is a collection of sketches, not all in chronological order, of a group of US Marines fighting in France during 1918. The author does an excellent job of providing enough detail--and the right detail--to give a real sense of how things were, without being so graphic that it's unreadable.

There is some profanity and violence, things I generally don't care for, but handled discretely and to be expected given the subject matter.

[Max Zappe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The recollection from the author was a hit scattershot, but it was a very good firsthand account of events from the American perspective. Strangely, you don't see as many books about ww1 from an American primary source, so this made for a good bit of reading. It was a very brisk book, and I finished it in about two days. Extra points awarded to the book due to it being written by a native of Huntsville, Texas.

[Robert M. Roth MD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay

This book was probably written by an officer after World War I. It follows a Marine regiment from its initial combat through the Armistice. It reads like a series of stories during distinct battles rather than a historical narrative. A number of sketches accompanies the text. It’s an interesting but not memorable book and is reflective of the times during which it was written.

[John Copeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

one hell of a read.

Readable and relatable. After viewing “The Pacific” and reading the books associated with it, I’m of the opinion that Marines are a breed beyond just about anyone out there. This book puts it all in perspective.

[Mark Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its a good book but adding conversations that the author couldn't know is a little misleading.

[RICHARD CLARK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty

This would have been a better read if the manuscript had been more closely edited. Ex: mist is spelled “m 1st”. Otherwise, a realistic glimpse of WW1.

[David Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. A series of vignettes rather than a narrative. The descriptions of combat are pretty strong stuff, especially for the time this was published.

[Holly Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must have read "Geography III" en route to Vermont, actually, if I read this next. My girlfriend and I went to her hometown in Vermont for her brother's high-school graduation, and after talking about World War I for a bit her father took an old copy of this out and told me to read it. I don't really go out looking for war stories so I can't really judge but this was a fairly interesting read. Kind of in that mid-war twilight zone between "war is hell" and "war is the proving ground of masculinity and that's all there is to it." Really Thomason's beautiful accompanying sketches are the real draw here.

[Wachlin007 Hotmail · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book was going to be awesome, it wasn't that great in my opinion. The author was a Marine who fought in World War I. The stories he writes are fictional, but based on his experiences. None of the stories connected, and they mainly involve a bunch of random Marines dying.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The US Marines made up part of the American division fighting in France and saw intense action. The fighting helped solidify the Marine legend as fikerce warriors.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful mix of memoir and fiction; full review to come

3/16/24 -- Sorry, no full review.