Customer Reviews

Fix Bayonets! (Classics of Naval Literature)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found an old copy of this book years ago, when there was very little to be found on the USMC in WWI, I am glad to hear it is being published again at this time. My interest in that subject stems from the fact that my Grandfather & his twin brother served in the 5th Marines in WWI.

Even without that connection this is a great book, one of my all time favorites. CPT Thomason keeps you turning pages as you follow the Marines through every battle, where they suffer unbelieveable casualty rates. For a book that was published in the 1920's it has a surprisingly contempoary feel, and is an easy, "must" read for anyone with an interest in the Marines or an American unit in WWI.

As a personal aside, I was looking at my Grandpa's discharge papers from 1919, (all hand written back then) and noticed that the officer that signed his discharge was none other than a John W. Thomason, Captain, US Marines, how cool is that?

I've had this book on my shelf for several years, and I finally decided to pick it up this week. You can't make up fiction that's half as good as this book! You just can't. See how he describes the Marines: "a number of diverse people who ran curiously to type, with drilled shoulders and a bone-deep sunburn, and a tolerant scorn of nearly everything on earth... They drank the eau de vie of Haute-Marne, and reminisced on saki, and vino, and Bacardi Rum-- strange drinks in strange cantinas at the far ends of the earth; and they spoke fondly of Milwaukee beer. Rifles were high and holy things to them, and they knew five-inch broadside guns. They talked patronizingly of the war, and were concerned about rations. They were the Leathernecks, the Old Timers..." How can you beat that?

With out a doubt, Colonel Thomason's book stands out as one of THE classic works of literature about Marines and the Corps. If you are a Marine or know a Marine, get your mitts on a copy of this masterpiece. For every Marine that thinks he's Old Corps, this IS Old Corps!

I first read of Col. Thomason when I was reading a biography on Chesty Puller. Finally, "Fix Bayonets!" came and I was not disappointed. I couldn't put it down. Even though it's been 80 years since WWI, I felt that I was there in the trenches and no-man's land with the 49th Company, 5th Marine Regiment.

Semper Fi, Colonel!

I've had first heard of Col Thomason's book when I had read a biography on "Chesty" Puller. When I heard that it was re-issued a couple of years ago I search EVERYWHERE for it. The book is well worth the wait. There are scenes that made me laugh, cry, and just stare in amazement.

And the artwork! Wow! I am most amazed by sketches that were done "in the field." Some of these were done while under fire.

What I found most enjoyable about the book that it was honest. Col. Thomason did justice to himself and his comrades in the US Marine Corps.

I cannot recommend this book more highly.

"Fix Bayonets!" is a great read. There are some good pencil drawings of Marines fighting German soldiers in the Battle of Belleau Wood (1918). Every military historian should read this book.

From a first hand account of the Marines in World War One it was excellent. Thomason is readable and articulate in engaging and drawing the reader into his experience. His accounts, while not a day by day rendering of the Marines, delves into the "emotional" and "personal" aspects of the war. A classic in my opinion.

Not much has been written about the contribution of the United States Marines in the Great War. This book fills that gap.

After reading this book it becomes difficult to understand how a second world war could ever have been fought. Trench warfare was so inutterably brutal. Maybe the Second World War happened because there were so few survivors of the First World War, and those who did survive were unable to speak of its horrors. The civilized world has a very short memory. If we take anything as a lesson from the Great War it should be to never, ever, embark on another such war. To our credit, I suppose, we haven't, but we still fight wars. I wonder why?