Historical Narratives
Amerikanernest tells the true story of two men whose lives became peculiarly connected through a German-run tungsten mine in Washington State and an infamous World War One battle in France.
At the turn of the 20th century, the German military-industrial complex understood the strategic value of tungsten ore decades before competitors. Germany established a global program to mine the ore, ship it to Essen, and use it at Krupp foundries to quintuple artillery and capital ship production for the Imperial German Army and Navy. One of these German mines was located outside Spokane Washington. The high-quality tungsten mined in Spokane had a significant impact on Imperial Germany's ability to sustain military operations between 1914 and 1918.
Private William Martin from Spokane and Oberleutnant Fritz Prinz from Cassel Germany share an an improbable connection through the city of Spokane, tungsten ore mining, and the perilous Argonne Forest in France. They lived and worked within blocks of each other in Spokane between 1910 and 1914, and they later fought on opposing sides during the Great War. In 1918, they would come face-to-face on a tiny, forested battlefield the Americans called 'the pocket,' and the Germans called 'Amerikanernest' (American Nest). The epic five-day battle and the beleaguered Lost Battalion's stubborn refusal to surrender would become US Army legend.
Martin's and Prinz's wars were different, each man's journey reflecting the trials and tribulations of their nation's trajectory through the war years. Through Prinz, we witness Imperial Germany's advanced awareness of strategic war materials. Prinz served on the Eastern and Western fronts before making a stand against the Americans in the Argonne. He wrote the now infamous 'Surrender Letter' to Major Whittlesey (Martin's Commander in 'the pocket') and later called Whittlesey 'a hero to refuse to heed it' in a 1927 interview with The Sunday Star newspaper. Martin's experiences reflect the US Army's chaotic growth and rush to get millions of Doughboys to France in the war's closing months. Like so many other US soldiers, Martin's journey draws attention to US gaps in military and geopolitical spheres, indicative of a nation that was not yet fully developed as a 20th-century Great Power. His story also underscores the latent power the US possessed in human resources, logistics, and planning.
Other enlisted Doughboys besides Martin, who are not usually the focus of Lost Battalion research, play prominent roles in this novel. Notably, Private Sigurd Lima from Gjesdal, Norway; Sergeant Michael Greally from County Longford, Ireland; Corporal James Dolan from County Leitrim, Ireland; Private Gustave Dahlgren from Dalsland, Sweden; and Private Oscar Potter from Cheney, Washington all play essential roles. Their narratives add a critical layer of insight into the nature of the American Expeditionary Force.
Amerikanernest recollects the service and sacrifice of actual Great War soldiers, till now mostly obscured by time. The work also builds the context for viewing the war through the lens of national strategy, Germany's race for strategic materials to sustain a long war, and American's race to build an Army from the ground up.
Amerikanernest (American Nest)
The Lost Battalion, Argonne Forest 1918
Images, from left to right:
La Chalade Abbey, Meuse-Argonne, France; Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, France; The Pocket, viewed from Charlevaux Mill; Lost Battalion, Medal of Honor recipients.
Oberleutnant Prinz's surrender letter to Major Whittlesey; French map, February 1918 (Lambert Conformal Conic Projection), showing area around Binarville, l'Homme Mort, and Charlevaux Mill; Colville Examiner, 28 December 1918, referencing Germania Mine; l'Homme Mort German bunker, Argonne Forest, 2019.
Lost Battalion Memorial, Binarville, France; Doughboys boarding French "forty and eight" boxcars, 1919; AEF Rail Routes, 1918; Argonne Forest (taken from Hill 198, looking west towards La Palette).
Meuse-Argonne region, 2024; 308th Infantry positions 26 Sep-7 Oct 1918; Apremont German Military Cemetery, Argonne, 2024; Jones and Dillingham, Spokane, circa 1900.
Lost Battalion Marker, Charlevaux Mill Road, France; 44th Regt Branch Library, Camp Lewis, circa 1918; 77th Division Phase Lines, Meuse-Argonne campaign, Phase 1; Camp Lewis, Washington, 1919.
Map of Allied Divisional Movement During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive,NAID: 404601074; Private William Martin, circa 1918 and Oberleutnant Fritz Prinz, circa 1927; Old growth, Argonne Forest, 2024; 'No appreciable field training' Memorandum, 6th Depot Division, 10 September 1918.
Related Images
Lost Battalion Marker
Argonne Forest, France
Germania Tungsten Mine
Washington State
Interactive Maps
A movie should be made of this book!
I’m a fan of historical fiction and find this story to be well researched, and a great read! The writing brought this fateful moment in US military history to life in vivid color. Glad to read about true American courage.
BrianL
'Amerikanernest' starts with a deliberate slow burn and then launches readers into the hell of the Meuse-Argonne sector of WW1 with a searing intensity. Told from the opposite perspectives of an Imperial German Army officer and of an everyday American Doughboy, the epic tale of the American "Lost Battalion" is reimagined from new angles. This book is sure to entice readers to learn more about the conflict that put the United States on the world stage.
Mike Cunha, Battles of the First World War Podcast
★★★★★
★★★★★
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