When the United States entered World War I, the U. S. Army numbered only around 128,000 men. The newly appointed commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), General John Pershing, after touring the battlefields in France, quickly concluded that the United States would need at least 3 million men to be victorious in the war. Eventually over 4 million served. Chosen in April 1917 to lead the American army in Europe, Pershing was one of the few American generals with battle experience. He had commanded American forces in Mexico in their pursuit of Pancho Villa. Pershing was anxious to keep the American army together as a cohesive unit, rather than dispersing them as the European commanders desired. The need for troops on the European front strengthened Pershing’s hand.
The entire initiative of the AEF was extremely important, as this was the first time that the United States sent a large land force outside its borders. Formed in large part by a civilian draft under the Selective Service Act of 1917, the AEF as a modern army was trained, equipped, and supplied thanks to the nation’s industrial capacity. It was the first of its kind in United States history, an integrated national military, rather than a collection of state militia integrated into regular army divisions as in the past.
The military draft supplied the men, but the soldiers still had to be housed, clothed, armed, equipped, and trained. There were not enough officers, facilities, nor time to train the men. To address housing issues, a Cantonment Division was created, which set to work expanding existing military installations, and 16 tent camps were made for the National Guard in the South and 16 wooden barracks
Enlistment poster for the American Expeditionary Force (Library of Congress)
For the national army in the North. Clothing for the men also had to be provided. Almost 132 million pairs of socks were needed at the end of May 1918. Many soldiers had to wait for their full allotment of clothing and equipment. Production of ammunition, radio, and other military equipment fell short as companies sometimes signed contracts they had no hope of fulfilling. The government eventually stepped in, and the Army took control of the manufacturing process in many companies. The War Industries Board set about dictating what it needed to industry and controlling resources.
During the war, a serious shortage of arms also needed to be addressed. Most weapons required leadtime to produce, and there were limits on production. Production on the Springfield service rifle, for example, could be increased to only 1,000 per day. As there were only 600,000 on hand, this was a major problem. It was many months after the United States declared war that it was able to effectively engage in fighting—only because France and Britain supplied weapons, ammunition, transportation, and equipment.
Despite these problems, the American soldiers were fresh compared with the war-weary French and British.
With their arrival in Europe, it was clear that a new era had arisen in the West. The American weight was now being heavily felt in the balance. American troops arrived in France in 1918. The first offensive occurred in September. On September 12, 1918, at 1:00 A. M., the Allied artillery opened fire. By September 13, Pershing’s First Army controlled the Saint-Mihiel sector at a line from Haudio-mont to Vandieres. Their victory cost 7,000 casualties. They took 15,000 German prisoners and 450 guns. By the 14th of September, the first units of Pershing’s army redeployed to the Argonne sector; 500,000 men of the First Army assembled. On the 26th of September, the American First Army, with the French Fourth, resumed the offensive. Colonel George Patton’s tank brigade accompanied them. By October 10, they controlled the forest. On October 12, 1918, Pershing decided that the First Army was too big. He created the Second Army and gave command to General Hunter Liggett.
Although the advancing Americans were eating up their supplies at a rapid rate, victory was close at hand. The Germans were near to conceding as their allies deserted them. The British blockade was causing critical food shortages, and the German armies were reeling. The Germans finally surrendered on November 11, 1918, what came to be called Armistice Day (Veterans Day, after World War II). The American Expeditionary Force saw only 150 days of combat, but in that time it seized 485,000 square miles of enemy held territory and captured 63,000 prisoners, 1,300 artillery pieces, and 10,000 mortars and machine guns.
Further reading: John S. Eisenhower. Yanks: The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I (New York: Free Press, 2001); Byron Farwell, Over There, the United States in the Great War, 1917-1918 (New York: W. W. Norton, 1999).
—Annamarie Edelen
World History
