Time Astra

Schematic plan · World War I (Western Front 1918)

Belleau Wood

All battlesBattle of Belleau Wood: engagement 1 of 13The event in the chronicleWikipedia
A schematic plan, generated from the statistics of the CAA Database of Battles: the armies' size and width, the hours of fighting, the plan of attack and the outcome are as recorded; the ground and the positions are not.
Rugged, Heavily wooded groundCentreLeft wingRight wingCentreReserveLeft wingRight wingReserveGunsGuns01 km2 kmN

One of the 13 engagements of the Battle of Belleau Wood recorded in the CAA Database of Battles (number 1 in date order). USA (US 4th Bde(+), 9,437 men under Bg Harbord) attacked Germany (Ger 4th Res Corps(-), 6,436 men under Gen Conta) in France. The CAA Database of Battles records 12.8 hours of fighting on a front of 4.4 km, a frontal attack against hasty defense and prepared defense, and that neither side won. Losses: USA 1,087 (12%), Germany 730 (11%).

This plan is generated from those figures. It shows the shape of the battle the database describes: the size and width of the armies, the plan of attack and the outcome. It does not show where the units actually stood.

The armies

USA

Bg Harbord

UnitArmMen
USA left wingInfantry2,135
USA centreInfantry2,847
USA right wingInfantry2,135
USA reserveInfantry1,779
USA artillery (36 guns)Artillery540
Bg HarbordCommander—
In this plan9,436

Germany

Gen Conta

UnitArmMen
Germany left wingInfantry1,458
Germany centreInfantry1,944
Germany right wingInfantry1,458
Germany reserveInfantry1,215
Germany artillery (24 guns)Artillery360
Gen ContaCommander—
In this plan6,435

What the sources report

USAGermany
Strength, this plan9,4376,436
Losses, this plan1,087730

In the CAA Database of Battles

CDB90 no. 336, “Belleau Wood”, compiled for the US Army to study what decides battles. These are the figures a what-if engine can be calibrated against.

Fighting
12.8 hours
Winner
the draw
Terrain
Rugged, Heavily wooded
Weather
Dry, Sunny, Temperate, Summer, Temperate
Defender’s posture
Hasty defense, Prepared defense
Front width
4.4 km (attacker), 4.4 km (defender)
ForceStrengthLossesHorseGunsPlan and outcome
USAattacker9,4371,087036Frontal attack; Penetration; Repulse; Stalemate
Germanydefender6,436730024Defensive/offensive plan; Frontal attack; Repulse; Stalemate

Attacker’s advantages morale +1

CDB90 (US Army Concepts Analysis Agency, 1990), tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold; data under ODC-BY 1.0.

Notes

On this reconstruction

Generated automatically from the statistics in CDB90. Frontages, depths, distances, the order of events and the terrain are schematic: they follow the recorded strengths, front widths, hours of fighting, tactical plan and outcome, not maps or accounts of the battle. The sources give no hours; the timing is conjectural.

Sources

Facts gathered from Wikidata (CC0), Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikimedia Commons (licence per file); the plan and its text are timeastra’s own.