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France and Germany marshaled 3.7 million soldiers for the Western offensives that began World War I in August 1914—with Britain adding an additional 130,000. In the decisive days between Sept. 5 and Sept. 11, the two sides threw two million men into desperate combat along the Marne River, the right tributary of Paris's famed Seine. More than 610,000 men were killed and wounded during the month-long campaign—two-thirds the number of casualties suffered by the U.S. in the whole of World War II. But such numbers do little to bring home the ordeal. To reach the Marne, Alexander von Kluck's First...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, conducted training with their IA counterparts at Patrol Base Red May 15 to prepare the IA Soldiers for joint patrols. The Soldiers of Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, are stationed at PB Red along with the Iraqi company from 6th Battalion, 25th Brigade, 6th IA Division. “We’re currently training the IA in basic soldiering skills,” said platoon leader and instructor 1st Lt. Christopher Domenico, adding the Soldiers are right out of the Iraqi basic training environment. “They do know good skills. They can...

CAMP VICTORY — Operation Marne Rugged started March 15 in the area southeast of Arab Jabour and Salman Pak, south of the Tigris. The operation will establish support for local Iraqi communities seeking security against al-Qaeda in Iraq and criminal forces. The goal of Marne Rugged is to provide lasting security to the region by controlling the approaches to Arab Jabour, Salman Pak and Baghdad. Headed by Iraqi Security Forces with Coalition support, the operation will focus on controlling an area of the Tigris River valley to disrupt remaining criminal and AQI elements. Control of the territory is currently difficult...

CAMP VICTORY — On the heels of Operations Marne Thunderbolt and Grand Slam south of Baghdad, Multi-National Division – Center will push further south to squeeze extremists during Operation Marne Rugged, which kicks off March 15. The operation will cover a rural area southeast of Baghdad, south of the Tigris River in the area of operation of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division and 3rd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army. One phase of the operation will be the establishment of Patrol Base Summers, a joint Iraqi Army and Coalition forces base. It is named for Staff Sgt. Vincent Summers, who...

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2008 – U.S. troops have killed or detained some 35 suspected terrorists in an ongoing operation launched last month to pursue insurgents southeast of Baghdad, a military official said. Operation Marne Grand Slam also has produced civic results in Salman Pak, about 15 miles south of the Iraqi capital, where efforts to bolster the local government and economy are seeing success. “The big effect, from a brigade commander standpoint, was to strengthen the governance line of operation with the strengthening of the economics line of the operation,” Army Col. Wayne Grigsby said during a conference call today....

BAGHDAD, Jan. 28, 2008 – A top Air Force officer here praised the joint-service effort that has made Operation Marne Thunderbolt successful. Air Force Maj. Gen. David M. Edgington speaks with reporters in Baghdad after a press luncheon covering Operation Marne Thunderbolt, Jan. 27, 2008. Edgington is the forward coordination element between the Combined Forces Air Component and Multinational Force Iraq. Photo by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway, USAF   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon and B-1B Lancer crews, Navy F/A-18 Hornet pilots, Army 3rd Infantry Division soldiers and Iraqi forces integrated with Army...

BAGHDAD – Coalition Forces resumed the aerial bombardment of an al-Qaeda in Iraq sanctuary in Arab Jabour Jan. 20.  The precision air strikes targeted suspected AQI safe havens as part of Operation Marne Thunderbolt, which is part of the country-wide Operation Phantom Phoenix.  The raid follows the Jan. 10 and Jan. 16 air strikes in the same region which hit a combined total of 64 targets with a total weight of more than 80,000 pounds of bombs. Additional information will be released as story develops.-30-

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq, Nov. 26, 2007 – For some, a wake-up call came in the form of a B-1B bomber dropping its load on a suspected insurgent safe haven in the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 16. Soldiers from the 502nd Engineer Company pull floating bridge bays together and lock them in to ferry vehicles and heavy equipment across the Euphrates River in support of Operation Marne Courageous, Nov. 16, 2007. Photo by Staff Sgt. Tony Lindback, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Components from the Iraqi army and the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Rakkasans” kicked...

ARLINGTON, Va. - The only testament to Francis Lupo's death in a World War I battle has long been his name, etched on a French chapel wall with those of hundreds of other missing soldiers. On Tuesday, 88 years after he was killed, the recently discovered remains of the U.S. Army private were buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. And by year's end, his name will be carved anew, this time on a white headstone like those marking the graves of his fellow soldiers. Lupo is the first World War I soldier whose remains — a few fragments...