BELLEAU WOOD WAS THE NEW JERUSALEM THERMOPYLAE

ANCIENT GREECE HAD SPECIAL FORCES CALLED SPARTANS WHO STOPPED THE VAST PERSIAN INVASION OF EUROPE....IN JUNE 1918, THE U.S. MARINES STOPPED THE PRUSSIAN INVASION OF PARIS, AND THEREBY SAVED THE ENTIRE WORLD FROM BRITISH-PRUSSIAN TYRANNY!! THE "DEVIL DOGS" WERE BANNED FROM FIGHTING THE NAZIS IN WWII.

Adolf Hitler was very familiar with the reputation of the 'Devil Dogs" because he served in the trenches in WWI.

From the Halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines. (Marine Corps Hymn on utube).

By banning the Marines from the European battlefields, the war was needlessly prolonged, and millions of lives were lost!

After WWII, Secretary of "Defense," Louis Arthur Johnston (1891—1966) tried to abolish the Marine Corps by merging the Army, Navy, and Air Force into one department called the Department of War....He also tried to ban the observance of the Marine Corps Birthday on November 10.....Only the outbreak of the Korean War saved the Marines from extinction!

The ancient Greek Spartans were the precursors of the U.S. Marine Corps!!

History does repeat itself in a marvelous way. Tyrannical King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a terrifying nightmare that none of his astrologers or fortune-tellers could interpret. Finally, Daniel the Prophet explained to the king the meaning of his nightmare.

Daniel told the king that the dream was a preview of 4 world empires that would tread down the earth until the end of time. The second empire represented the Persian Empire that would seek to dominate the entire earth:

And now I (JEHOVAH) will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than all of them; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece (Daniel 11:2).

The second JEHOVAH appeared personally to Daniel and gave him a preview of the last 400 years of Jewish . . . and Christian history!

A statue of King Xerxes (438 BC–385 BC).

The Persian Empire replaced the Babylonian Empire when King Belshazzar saw the handwriting on the wall. That empire was vast and fabulously wealthy. Its dominion stretched from Egypt to India (Esther 1:1). King Xerxes also sought to add Europe to his vast domains. Opposing him were the divided city-states of Greece which he expected to easily crush with his army of about 2 million men.

A pontoon bridge allowed the vast Persian army to transit the Hellespont.

The many city-states of Greece were dominated by Athens and Sparta. Athens was a maritime power while Sparta was a military state dominated by a warrior caste.

Marble statue of King Leonidas (d. 480 BC).

The vast Persian army successfully crossed the Hellespont into Europe but then they were confronted by a narrow gap with the sea on one side. King Leonidas took advantage of the terrain to force the Persians to fight on a narrow front. That terrain neutralized the vast Persian superiority in manpower.

Outnumbered Spartans versus the Persian host at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.

King Leonidas was killed in the battle, and he was succeeded by General Pausanias, who confronted the Persians on an open plain the following year.

Bust of General Pausanias (d. 397 BC).

The Greek city-state of Sparta imposed a severe and highly disciplined way of life on its citizens. A boy began his military training at 7 and "boot camp" for a Spartan soldier lasted his entire life. The word spartan has entered the language as synonymous with great courage, endurance, and harsh discipline.

The Persians were defeated by the Spartans at the Battle of Plataea.

The defeat of Persia by the Spartan prepared the way for the third universal empire of Alexander the Great.

Daniel was cast into the den of lions figuratively because the chronology in the Book of Daniel was extended by about 80 years (Daniel 9:27). Another strategy of that roaring lion Satan is to late date the Book of Daniel, as most "scholars" claim that it was written about 200 BC.

The U.S. Marines stopped the Boche at the Battle of Belleau Wood

The best know historical battle that occurred in the woods was the Battle of Ephraim's Wood between King David and his rebellious son Absalom. That battle ended in victory for King David and the death of his son Absalom (II Samuel 18:14-15).

After the Treaty of Brest-Livovsky was signed in December 1917, over 1 million Boche began moving to the Western Front.

"Dead Head" Kaiser Wilhelm II was at Queen Victoria's deathbed.

Queen Victoria's favorite grandson assigned General Ludendoff the "honor" of leading the Prussians into Paris. The operation was coded name Michael after the "patron saint" of Germany. Success was guaranteed because the brave French were exhausted after 4 years of fighting and losing millions of men. Field Marshall Douglas Haig had his ships on standby for a quick evacuation!

General Erich Ludendorff (1865–1937).

No Doughboys were transported to France on British warships because those ships were required for rapid evacuation once the Prussians entered Paris.

Queen Bertha Krupp (1886–1957).

By spring 1918 the Prussians were just 30 miles (48 km) from Paris. "Big Bertha" was named after Krupp Queen Bertha. The huge gun began lobbing shells into the city; soon to be followed by Prussian troops. Many Parisian panicked and began fleeing the city. Not since August 1914 was the city in such grave danger!

"Big Bertha" lobbed shells into Paris.

General Pershing knew that the situation was critical, but the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) had just arrived in France a year earlier and most of the troops had absolutely no military experience. The one exception was the Marine Corps, who had experienced commissioned and non-commissioned officers.

General James Harbord (1866–1947).

The Marine Corps was founded in Philadelphia in 1798 but their role in the military establishment was not clearly defined. Neither soldiers nor sailors they were the nation's special forces. The highest ranking officer in the Marines was a colonel, so General Pershing assigned Army General James Harbord to overall command. Colonel Albertus Catlin miraculously survived a sniper's bullet through the chest and a fellow Marine carried him to a first aid station.

Colonel Albertus Catlin (1868–1933).

Here is a quote from a history of the American Thermopylae by Colonel Catlin:

Early in May, shortly before we left the trenches. General Doyen, on account of ill health, was relieved of his command of the brigade by Brigadier General Harbord of the Army. Of course we were a bit disappointed not to have a Marine officer at our head, but there was no Brigadier General of Marines in France at that time, and it was advisable to have an officer of that rank in command of the brigade. But every Marine in the brigade knew that a better man could not have been assigned to the post. General Harbord had been General Pershing’s Chief of Staff; the very best had been sent to us, and that we appreciated. (Catlin, With the Help of God and Few Marines, p. 43).

Marine Corps recruits were chosen for their BRAWN . . . and the BRAINS . . . as many of them were college men. They were the brightest, bravest, and toughest hombres in the entire world.

"Dead Head" Crown Prince Wilhelm (1882–1951).

When the Crown Prince heard that the Marines were blocking his advance on Paris he ordered his most fanatical, husky Huns into the battle. It was Armageddon in the Wood, and the Marines called it "Hell in the Wood." Christian civilization hung in the balance as at Malta, New Orleans, Gettysburg, and Stalingrad. General Richard von Conta commanded the fanatical Army Group German Crown Prince regiment.

General Richard von Conta (1856–1941).

The crack regiment named after the Crown Prince was ordered not to yield one foot of the wood to the Marines. The Boche used machine guns, poison gas and flame throwers while the Marines countered with rifles, bayonets, and knives.

A Boche Vickers-Maxim-Krupp machine gun squad waiting for the Marines.

Belleau Wood was literally crawling with Vickers-Maxim-Krupp machine gun crews. Almost every tree concealed a machine gunner or sniper. Only the bravest of men could withstand such a hailstorm of lead. Every machine gun nest was covered by crossfire so the casualties were horrendous.

A Boche up a tree with a machine gun waiting for the Marines.

All Marines had to be expert marksmen and they also trained extensively with the bayonet. The Boche did not relish up close combat as they preferred to kill from a distance with artillery, machine guns, and rifles.

With rifles and bayonets the "Devil Dogs" chased the Boche out of Belleau Wood.

During the Battle of Belleau Wood the Marines earned the sobriquet "Devil Dogs." Their mode of fighting up close with rifles and bayonets alarmed the Boche. They were accused of "unsoldierly conduct," even though the Prussians used poison gas and flame throwers!

"Devil Dogs" recruiting poster.

---

Vital links Ge

Warmongers Who Started WWI	9 Popes Named Benedict	12 Popes Named Pius
Victoria and Adolf	New Jerusalem in Bible Prophecy	New Jerusalem Embassy Banished to Boondocks.

---

References