The Battle of Belleau Wood (1–26 June 1918) occurred during the German 1918 Spring Offensive

Spring Offensive

The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht , also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during World War I, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914...

 in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, near the Marne River

Marne River

The Marne is a river in France, a right tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. It is long. The river gave its name to the départements of Haute-Marne, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, and Val-de-Marne....

 in France. The battle was fought between the U.S. Second (under the command of Major General Omar Bundy

Omar Bundy

Omar Bundy was a U.S. Army general who participated in the Indian Wars and the Spanish-American War in Cuba, fought in the Philippine Insurrection and the Moro Expedition, and commanded a regiment on the Mexican border...

) and Third Divisions and an assortment of German

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 units including elements from the 237th, 10th, 197th, 87th, and 28th Divisions.
In March 1918, with nearly 50 additional divisions freed by the Russian surrender on the Eastern Front

Eastern Front (World War I)

The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...

, the German Army launched a series of attacks on the Western Front, hoping to defeat the Allies before U.S.