Summary
Chapter 9 discusses the period after the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection when the United States became a member of the great power fraternity. With this elevated status came new territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean and requirements of administering those possessions. The United States was poised on the threshold of what would become the American Century. These strategic and political realities meant that the U.S. military would need to adjust its plans, missions, and forces to protect the nation’s interests. Yet the federal government cut military expenditures following the end of hostilities with Spain. The war with Spain also exposed weaknesses in organization and mobilization that hampered the creation of a modern Army that could maintain readiness in peace and expand during war. Unlike the Army, the U.S. Navy did not suffer such serious downsizing after the end of the Spanish-American War. Quite the contrary, it continued to modernize into a world-class naval force because of support from successive presidents, secretaries of the navy, and legislators in Congress. America’s other seaborne service, the Marine Corps, began its shift from shipboard security to constabulary and amphibious operations.
Then a long, bloody war broke out in Europe in 1914, a conflict modern in its scope of destruction and participation. After watching for three years, the United States entered the First World War in April 1917 and fought until November 1918. Mobilizing for war and fighting in this conflict put severe strains on the U.S. military as it expanded from 200,000 men to more than six million over the next twenty months. In the end, at least 60 million people from dozens of nations served in uniform, and as many as 10 million combatants died and another 20 million lived with physical and psychological scars. Yet, the war can likewise be seen as transitional in pointed to future doctrines, policies, tactics, and strategies. New applications of technology appeared in all areas of the conflict, and several key individuals in the U.S. military embraced those modern technologies during the war and laid foundations for their use in the coming decades.
In this chapter, students will learn about U.S. Army reforms to solve problems the service experience during the Spanish-American War while the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps expanded their roles to project American force and protect national interests. Ultimately, this chapter will focus on the causes and conduct of American entrance into the First World War. Emphasis will be placed on how Americans applied new tactics and technologies in combat in Europe.
Glossary
Aviation- The use of aircraft as a tool of war. Despite some advancements, early use of aviation remained in its infancy before 1918, primarily used in reconnaissance, air-to-air, and small-scale bombing roles.
Amalgamation Controversy- A disagreement between American Expeditionary Forces and their Allies during World War I over who would control the newly-arrived U.S. forces, with the Americans demanding freedom of command. Arguments between American General Pershing, French Marshal Foch, and British Field Marshal Haig lasted until September 1918, but U.S. forces remained largely autonomous for most of the war, avoiding being melded into Allied units.
amphibious operations- Arole largely filled by the U.S. Marine Corps, including assaulting enemy beaches. With the more expansive global presence of American forces after the Spanish-American War, amphibious operations became an important aspect of defending U.S. interests afar.
American Expeditionary Forces (AEF)- U.S. forces deployed to Europe during World War I between 1917-1919; led by Army General John J. Pershing.
Armistice- The cessation of hostilities during World War I between the Allied and Central Powers. Fighting ended on November 11, 1918 – on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
Battle of Belleau Wood- A hotly contested close-quarters battle in June 1918 that pitted two U.S. Army divisions and a Marine brigade against German forces entrenched in a dense one-half mile square forest. The Marines suffered 5,000 casualties from the 9,500 who entered the battle, and along with the purported respectful German nickname for the Marines – Teufelhunden (Devil Dogs) – Belleau Wood has become a significant part of USMC mythology.
Battle of Cantigny- The first successful offensive in France for the American Expeditionary Forces on May 28, 1918. With the support of French armor, the US 1st Division’s 28th Regiment wrested control of the town of Cantigny from the Germans. American victory rehabilitated the somewhat poor reputation of the AEF’s fighting capability to that point, but at a price: casualties totaled over 1,000 of the 4,000 men in the 28th Regiment.
capital ships- Large naval vessels considered to be the premier ships afloat, oftentimes by the early twentieth century all-big-gun battleships. With a pair of USS South Carolina-class battleships coming on line in 1909 in response to the British Royal Navy’s construction of the HMS Dreadnought, the Americans entered into a naval arms race, also spurring a similar expansion of the Imperial Japanese navy.
chief of staff- Conceived of by Secretary of War Elihu Root and put into effect by Congress in 1903, the chief of staff replaced the position of commanding general. In an attempt to centralize power, the chief of staff and became the titular head of the Army, directed the General Staff, and served as the principal military advisor in the War Department.
chemical weapons- First used in 1915 at Ypres, Belgium and Loos, France by the Germans, the Allies developed them for their own use as well. Often delivered by artillery shell, chlorine, phosgene, or mustard gas clung to the ground and caused eventual asphyxiation and potential death to those not wearing protective gas masks. In total gas attacks claimed the lives of over 100,000 soldiers and affected 1.3 million more during the war.
counterinsurgency- Operations to counter rebellions or civil unrest. For the first two decades of the twentieth-century, American forces undertook counterinsurgency efforts in disparate areas of Latin America. Operations in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Haiti were attempts to bring order to the nations, build government infrastructures, construct military bases, protect American investments, deter foreign intrusions, and quell revolution.
combined arms operations- The use of multiple weapons systems – artillery, aircraft, tanks, and infantry – together to attain specific objectives. While pioneered mainly by the British and French during World War I, the first American use of combined arms operations came during the Battle of St. Mihiel on September 12, 1918. Though not consistently employed together during WWI, post-war combined arms doctrine that utilized tanks and aircraft more evolved to the point of maturity during WWII.
constabulary force- The role undertaken by the US Marine Corps following the Spanish-American War of 1898 and imperial interests abroad. With their capabilities of assaulting enemy beaches the Marines could maintain an American presence around the world and essentially police the new empire, leading to counterinsurgency operations.
convoy- The use of multiple ships sailing together across the open seas. Grievous losses during World War I on the merchant fleet by German U-boats during World War I forced the Navy to better protect their supply system. In response, Vice Admiral William S. Sims suggested ordering the formation of larger Allied convoys in 1917 alongside US destroyers and other anti-submarine vessels in the convoy system, rather than the individual ships or small groups that had been making the trans-Atlantic crossings to that point.
doughboy- A popular nickname during World War I for American soldiers. The many supposed origins of the term are said to derive from the Mexican War in the 1840s. It supposedly references how the soldiers cooked their flour-based food around their bayonets, resembling a doughnut; the clay used to polish buttons on Army uniforms made the buttons resemble clay when wet; or the Mexican dust on soldiers’ uniforms made them look similar to adobe buildings, a word sounding phonetically similar to “doughboy.”
Josephus Daniels- (1862-1948), Secretary of the Navy and reformer of the institution. A southern political supporter of Woodrow Wilson, the president appointed Daniels to head the Navy in 1913. Understanding the threat of German U-boats, he de-emphasized the construction of new battleships in favor of more destroyers and anti-submarine vessels.
George Dewey- (1837-1917), A hero of the Spanish-American War, Admiral Dewey was the first president of the General Board of the Navy in 1900, the major policy-making organization for the service. Through his reforms the Navy slowly centralized its many bureaus – such as Ordnance, Navigation, Steam Engineering, Construction and Repair – and forced new and innovative thinking among its leaders.
Ferdinand Foch- (1851-1929), Marshal of France during World War I and supreme commander of all Allied armies. His desire to see American troops quickly blended into the Franco-British line caused discord between himself and American Expeditionary Forces leader General John J. Pershing, leading to the Amalgamation Controversy.
Gallipoli Campaign- The April 1915 assault on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli by an Allied coalition of Australian, New Zealand, and British troops. In an attempt to take the capital city of Istanbul by way of the landing at Gallipoli, the operations became a disaster when superior Turkish artillery positions overlooking the landing beaches kept the Allied pinned down, eventually into a stalemate. A lack of proper combined arms capabilities made repeated attempts end in failure.
General Staff Act- Designed by Secretary of War Elihu Root and passed by Congress in 1903, it effectively helped to modernize and professionalize the US Army. The act created a General Staff of forty-five officers assigned to the War Department and replaced the Army’s commanding general with a chief of staff. It also mandated that the chief of staff could serve no more than four years and that all officers rotate between staff and line billets lasting at most four years.
George W. Goethals- (1858-1928), an Army Corps of Engineer colonel ordered by President Theodore Roosevelt to finish the Panama Canal. A man of considerable managerial experience, with his leadership the project was completed in 1914, two years ahead of schedule. Goethals later headed the Division of Purchase, Storage and Traffic for the US Army during WWI.
John D. Long- (1838-1915), Secretary of the Navy from 1897 to 1902, Long helped make the US Navy the fourth most powerful naval force in the world. A reformer, he centralized the Navy’s administrative power by creating the General Board of the Navy in 1900, and with the help of Admiral George Dewey he reigned in the traditional autonomy of separate bureaus.
Mexican Punitive Expedition- The U.S. Army operation to capture Francisco “Pancho” Villa, a revolutionary leader in Mexico who crossed into New Mexico with a band of followers in March 1916 and killed 18 Americans. Led by General John J. Pershing, the Expedition failed to capture Villa. Fearing war with Mexico, President Woodrow Wilson ended it in February 1917.
Militia Act of 1903- Also known as the Dick Act, stipulated that the federal government would pay for equipping, arming, and training the National Guard, and that Regular Army officers would guarantee their readiness and standardization by conducting routine inspections of National Guard units.
John J. Pershing- (1860-1948), As a Brigadier General Pershing led the 1916 Mexican Punitive Expedition. Beginning in 1917, with the American entrance into World War I, he commanded the American Expeditionary Forces as a general. He became embroiled in the Amalgamation Controversy, wherein he refused to allow the British and French to command US units. He espoused a tactical doctrine of “open warfare” that favored masses of fast-moving troops over open ground. Pershing’s outdated concept did not account for technology.
logistics- The procurement, supply, and maintenance of military material. As a result of the failure of the logistics system in the Spanish-American War Secretary of War Elihu Root’s reforms sought to solve the Army’s wartime problems. Major General George W. Goethals also attempted to streamline the US logistics system during WWI, but met resistance from the entrenched system of bureau chiefs who opposed centralized control that threatened their power.
Lost Battalion – The nickname for the 554 American soldiers of the 77th Division that were surrounded and repeatedly attacked by German forces during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in October 1918. The Americans survived the ordeals but suffered terrible casualties.
RMS Lusitania- A British luxury liner sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915. Of the nearly 1,200 killed, 128 were Americans, enraging the still-neutral US nation. The resultant uproar caused President Woodrow Wilson to issue an ultimatum in July 1915 that pressured the Germans to restrict submarine warfare until 1917.
machine gun- A magazine, drum, or belt-fed weapon capable of high rates of fire. Their wide usage by all belligerents in World War I caused high numbers of casualties – upwards of thirty to fifty percent of an assaulting force’s manpower – not seen in pre-industrial war.
Second Battle of the Marne- The last German effort to break through Allied lines on the Western Front. Fighting lasted from July 15 to August 6, 1918 with Allied and German forces suffering high casualties. A turning point, for the rest of the war the Allies remained on the offensive.
medicine- Substances or methods used in curing physical or mental ailments. Following the high number of non-combat deaths in the Spanish-American War, the U.S. Army and the War Department made improvements in medicine that allowed the Army’s Medical Corps to provide more adequate medical care in the Latin America interventions and WWI.
Meuse-Argonne Offensive- Fought between September 26 and November 11, 1918, a Franco-American offensive that forced Germany to the negotiating table, leading to an armistice on November 11, 1918.
National Defense Act of 1916- Enlarged the U.S. Army and National Guard peacetime numbers, combined the National Guard, Army Reserve, and Regular Army into the Army of the United States during wartime, and created the Reserved Officer Training Corps.
nationalism- An ideological devotion to one’s nation, often emphasizing shared history, ethnic background, worldview, or common interests. Nationalism amongst many Europeans at the start of WWI inspired visions of battlefield glories, territorial expansion, or political independence, partially leading to a rush to war.
Naval Act of 1916 - Enlarged and modernized the US Navy. Allowed for the creation of the world’s most powerful fleet, calling for the construction of four battleships and four battle cruisers over a three year period, representing the largest expansion program to date for the navy.
neutrality- The non-participation during war in either open fighting or declared alliances, such as America’s position during World War I until their entrance into the war in April 1917.
“no man’s land”- The hellish landscape between opposing trench lines during World War I, often marked by artillery craters, barbed wire, devoid of vegetation, and inherently dangerous due to pre-registered artillery and prepared lanes of machine gun fire.
open warfare- American General John Pershing’s tactical doctrine that favored masses of fast-moving troops over open ground, based upon the belief that aggressiveness and marksmanship could win the day. Eschewing trench warfare that allowed for limited mobile operations, Pershing’s outdated open warfare concept did not account for technological developments that made such actions costly in the face of massed artillery and machine gun fire.
“over the top”- The act of assaulting soldiers during World War I of attacking across no man’s land. Climbing out of protective trenches required going “over the top” of the parapets to attack the enemy trench network.
Paris Peace Conference- The 1919 conference where the Treaty of Versailles was decided upon that decided the settlement of WWI.
Plattsburgh Movement- Begun in Plattsburgh, New York, from 1915 to 1917 more than 20,000 American citizens received officer training in camps across the United States to increase the level of preparedness for war.
Progressivism- A movement beginning in the late nineteenth and into the twentieth century by people who wished to impose order and bring efficiency to business, education, politics, and other areas of modern life. Elihu Root launched progressive reforms to modernize and build a more efficient U.S. military, and presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson exhibited progressive paternalism in their Latin America policies.
racism and race relations- A prevalent in late-19th and early-20th century society, institutionalized racism relegated many African Americans to support positions in the military.
Root Reforms- Progressive reforms by Secretary of War Elihu Root beginning in 1899 to prepare the military better for war following problems in the Spanish-American War. Root battled the entrenched decentralized authority of the U.S. military through three key improvements: creating a General Staff and Chief of Staff, establishing new education programs, and forming a working relationship between the regular army and the National Guard.
Theodore Roosevelt- (1858-1919), Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1987-1898), hero of the Spanish-American War, two-term American president (1901-1909). Believing in America’s greatness, Roosevelt helped to expand the Navy, believing that a strong fleet gave him the “big stick” he believed necessary to reinforce American power in the world.
Roosevelt Corollary- An update of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. It threatened American military action in response to any European military expansion or political interference in the western hemisphere, with an emphasis on the Caribbean. Roosevelt espoused a progressive belief that American prosperity and democracy could be exported to other regions, leading to American interest in Latin America.
Battle of St. Mihiel- Beginning on September 12, 1918 and lasting a week, the battle pitted US and French forces against Germans, constituting a victory for the Allies. The first use of combined arms for the American Expeditionary Forces, the Americans took relatively light casualties while the Germans suffered 16,000 captured. The somewhat easy victory owed mostly to a German withdrawal already underway.
William S. Sims- (1858-1936), An American Vice Admiral who in 1917 suggested the formation of larger Allied convoys when crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The WWI merchant fleet’s grievous losses caused by German U-boats led to Sims’s system of US destroyers and other anti-submarine vessels sailing alongside supply ships organized for mutual protection.
Selective Service Act- Passed by Congress on May 18, 1917, a program of universal conscription during World War I. By the armistice in 1918, nearly 3 million had been conscripted into the U.S. military.
Battle of Somme- Lasting from July 1 to November 18, 1916, this battle along the Somme River in northern France. Shockingly high numbers of casualties among all involved – 500,000 Germans to the Allies’ 620,000 – made the Somme one of the most symbolic battles of World War I, illustrating modern war’s capacity for destruction while making little headway to victory or peace for either side.
strategic bombing- Dropping bombs from aircraft in order to attain strategic objectives. Targets could include factories, railroad, shipyards, and other logistic or war production facilities of strategic value. With its infancy in World War I, the relatively limited range and weight capacity of bombers constrained their impact on the war.
tanks- Armored vehicles that make use of tractor crawler-type undercarriage, first debuting in 1916 during World War I.
Treaty of Versailles- The negotiated peace settlement that ended World War I, taking effect in 1920. The most significant component was the formation of the League of Nations, yet the United States never passed the treaty and thus never joined the League.
trench warfare- The use of excavated defensive lines, oftentimes with complicated networks of front-line trenches, support trenches, dug outs, machine gun emplacements, sniper hides, anti-personnel obstacles, and supporting artillery. World War I quickly broke down into a stalemate of trench warfare beginning in 1914 and persisting throughout much of the war.
unrestricted submarine warfare- The use of submarines to target all vessels seen as a threat, including ones flying the flags of neutral nations. The Germans undertook the method in February 1917 in order to blockade the French and British home fronts by disrupting the neutral American shipping that was supplying the two nations. Doing so angered the American public and leadership and helped lead to the United States entering World War I.
Unterseeboot (U-boat)- Literally “undersea boat,” U-boats were German submarines used extensively during World War I and II. Responsible for sinking hundreds of British, French, and American vessels with torpedoes, they harassed the vital supply link between the United States and its allies during both world wars.
Pancho Villa- (1878-1923), Francisco “Pancho” Villa, a revolutionary leader in Mexico who crossed into New Mexico with a band of followers in March 1916 and killed 18 Americans. Led by General John J. Pershing, the Mexican Punitive Expedition failed to capture Villa. Fearing war with Mexico, President Woodrow Wilson ended it in February 1917.
Battle of Verdun- February 21 to December 18, 1916, it was an attempt by the Germans to win a decisive victory, smashing French forces in northeast France, forcing them to exhaust themselves, and cutting Britain off from the continent. The Germans never controlled all of Verdun, however, and by battle’s end combined casualties totaled over one million.
War Industries Board- Started by President Woodrow Wilson shortly after the United States entered World War I in April 1917. The board extended the federal government’s influence over all parts of American social and economic life by centralizing control of wartime manufacturing into the hands of a government committee. It became the basis for government management during the New Deal and war mobilization for World War II.
Western Front- The theater of operations during World War I that included much of France and Belgium, distinct from the southern and eastern theaters.
Woodrow Wilson- (1856-1924), Two term US president (1913-1921), in office during WWI. His progressivism influenced interventions in Latin America, wartime expansion of government, and a peacetime vision that included a failed attempt to join the League of Nations.
Flashcards
Annotated Bibliography
Beaver, Daniel R. Modernizing the American War Department: Change and Continuity in a Turbulent Era, 1885-1920. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2006.
This book examines the progressive reforms by Elihu Root and others that accompanied the transformation the War Department and the Army from patrolling the frontier and fighting Native Americans into force projection across the globe.
Benbow, Mark. Woodrow Wilson: The Making of America’s First Modern Commander-in-Chief. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2022.
This book examines evolution of Woodrow Wilson’s decisions and policies during the First World War, as well as during several American military interventions in Latin America. Wilson expanded the powers and duties of his office. He took an active role in foreign policy but less so in military strategy, planning, and preparation.
Cobbs, Elizabeth. The Hello Girls: America’s First Women Soldiers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2017.
This book breaks new ground in examining the experiences and contributions of 300 “Hello Girls” who operated the American communication network during the World War I. Cobb points out that these women did not receive the recognition for their service after the conflict ended.
Coffman, Edward M. The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968.
This classic history of the United States in the First World War has stood the test of time. Coffman explores American involvement in the First World War on the home front, in the trenches, in the air, and at sea. He also balances the perspective of great leaders and individual people.
Feuer, A. B. The U.S. Navy in World War I: Combat at Sea and in the Air. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999.
Feuer’s work is a short but sweeping survey of the U.S. Navy in the First World War. Apart from the Navy’s surface fleet, the U.S. Merchant Marine, and Naval Air Service, he deals with the contributions of American industrialists and the technological innovations during the conflict.
Frandsen, Bert. Hat in the Ring: The Birth of American Air Power in the Great War. Washington: Smithsonian, 2003.
This book explores the early days of the U.S. 1st Pursuit Group in Europe. Those first American pilots needed to learn aerial combat tactics from the French and British, so that they could be effective against the Germans in the skies over France. Frandsen uses pilots like Eddie Rickenbacker and Billy Mitchell to tell the story of how the American pilots evolved and improved during the conflict.
Grotelueschen, Mark E. The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
This book analyzes the evolution of combat doctrine and battle tactics of four American Expeditionary Force infantry divisions in the First World War. It is the story of pre-combat assumptions that proved to be faulty and deadly, and of the various adjustments that helped make the AEF more effective by conflict’s end.
Hendrix, Henry J. Theodore Roosevelt’s Naval Diplomacy: The U.S. Navy and the Birth of the American Century. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2009.
This study of Roosevelt and the U.S. Navy explores how and why the president utilized the Navy as a vehicle for his foreign policy and for spreading the nation’s influence across the globe.
Kennedy, David M. Over Here: The First World War and American Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980.
This book examines the American home front, including society, politics, and economics. It delves into the First World War’s short-term effects and long-term ramifications for the United States. It is the starting point for understanding how the conflict affected Americans of all races and both genders.
Lengel, Edward G. Thunder and Flames: Americans in the Crucible of Combat 1917–1918. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2015.
An award-winning study of the U.S. Army in combat operations in France during the First World War. Lengel reveals how resilient and adaptive the American soldiers were, despite suffering grievous casualties.
Mikolashek, Jon B. Blood, Guts, and Grease: George S. Patton in World War I. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2019.
This book delves into Patton’s first experiences of war and combat during World War I. The author traces the evolution of Patton’s career and of the tank from establishments of the Tank Corps to his tactical leadership in several battles. These experiences formed the foundation for his latter successes as a senior commander in World War II.
Neiberg, Michael S. The Making of Citizen-Soldiers: ROTC and the Ideology of American Military Service. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000.
Neiberg places the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in historical context as he traces the institution’s history from his inception in 1916 through the rest of the twentieth century. He finds a uniquely American program for producing new officers in the U.S. Army as they attend civilian universities. These citizen-officers account for the majority of officers in the Army.
Neiberg, Michael S. The Treaty of Versailles: A Concise History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
This book is a brief historical survey of the Treaty of Versailles signed by the United States and other nations. This Treaty grew out of the Paris Peace Conference the last more than a year before the Treaty was signed in 1919. Although hope to set a course for peace and avoid future conflict, the Treaty contained some fatal flaws that set conditions for the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany and the onset of World War II two decades later.
Sammons, Jeffrey T., and John H. Morrow, Jr. Harlem’s Rattlers and the Great War: The Undaunted 369th Regiment and the African American Quest for Equality. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2014.
The co-authors trace the experiences of this famous regiment from training to the trenches. All the while, the African American soldiers of the 369th faced institutionalized and personal racism in the U.S. military establishment.
Smyth, Donald. Pershing General of the Armies. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986.
A classic biography of Pershing, this book presents the American general at his best in terms of guaranteeing the AEF’s independent command, and his worst in slowly learning how to fight in the trenches.
Williams, Chad L. Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers and World War I. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
This book treats the First World War as a crucible for African Americans in the U.S. military and on the home front. Williams analyzes government and military policies toward African Americans, and he also looks at African American motivations and reactions to those policies.
Wintermute, Bobby A. Great War, Religious Dimensions. New York: Cambridge, 2020.
In this short book, Wintermute dissects the roles of religion in the causes, conduct, and consequences of the First World War. He reveals how religious beliefs were marshalled to help recruit soldiers to fight and to help maintain support of the home front.
Wintermute, Bobby A. Public Health and the U.S. Military: A History of the Army Medical Department, 1818-1917. New York: Routledge, 2010.
This book is a cultural history of medicine and the medical field in the U.S. Army. Not only did doctors in the U.S. Army treat soldiers, but they also helped to establish the field of public history in the civilian world. The doctors worked to modernize medicine inside and outside the United States. Meanwhile, Army doctors tried to gain credibility and status in the eyes of fellow officers serving in the Army’s dominant combat branches.
Yockelson, Mitchell. Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I. New York: Dutton Caliber, 2016.
This book examines the roles and experiences of some one million American doughboys in the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne during the First World War in 1918. The Americans entered this battle with little combat experiences, faced experience German foes, and slowly pushed them back toward Germany. The cost was high, however with 26,000 American killed in action and 100,000 wounded in action.
Expanded Bibliography
Beaver, Daniel R. Modernizing the American War Department: Change and Continuity in a Turbulent Era, 1885–1920. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2006.
Coffman, Edward M. The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1998.
Epstein, Katherine C. Torpedo: Inventing the Military-Industrial Complex in the United States and Great Britain. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2013.
Hewes, James E. From Root to McNamara: Army Organization and Administration, 1900–1963. Washington: Center for Military History, 1975.
Holler, I. B. Ideas and Weapons: Exploration of the Aerial Weapon by the United States during World War I. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.
Keene, Jennifer. Doughboys, the Great War and the Remaking of America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.
Nenninger, Timothy. The Leavenworth School and the Old Army: Education, Professionalism, and the Officer Corps of the United States Army, 1881–1918. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1978.
Owen, Peter. To the Limits of Endurance: A Battalion of Marines in the Great War. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2007.
Reardon, Carol. Soldiers and Scholars: The U.S. Army and the Uses of Military History, 1865–1920. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1990.
Sherry, Michael S. The Rise of American Air Power: The Creation of Armageddon. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987.
Spector, Ronald H. Professors of War: The Naval War College and the Development of the Naval Profession. Newport: Naval War College Press, 1977.
Smythe, Donald. Pershing: General of the Armies. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986.
Trask, David F. The AEF and Coalition Warmaking, 1917–1918. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1993.
Wintermute, Bobby. Public Health and the U.S. Military: A History of the U.S. Army Medical Department, 1818–1917. London: Routledge, 2010.
Zimmer, Phyllis A. The Neck of the Bottle: George W. Goethals and the Reorganization of the U.S. Army Supply System, 1917–1918. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1992.
Annotated Weblinks
Site: War and Military Affairs, Theodore Roosevelt Center
URL: https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Learn-About-TR/TR-Encyclopedia/War-and-Military-Affairs
Description: Dickinson State University is home to the Theodore Roosevelt Center with contains significant archival and photographic holdings on Roosevelt.
Site: Elihu Root, Internet Archive:
URL: https://archive.org/search?query=%28%28subject%3A%22Root%2C%20Elihu%22%20OR%20subject%3A%22Elihu%20Root%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Root%2C%20Elihu%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Elihu%20Root%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Root%2C%20E%2E%22%20OR%20title%3A%22Elihu%20Root%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Root%2C%20Elihu%22%20OR%20description%3A%22Elihu%20Root%22%29%20OR%20%28%221845-1937%22%20AND%20Root%29%29%20AND%20%28-mediatype:software%29
Description: This web page contains publications by and about Elihu Root, who served as Secretary of War from 1899 to 1904. He spearheaded some key institutional and Policy reforms in the U.S. Army following the Spanish-American War.
Site: firstworldwar.com: A Multimedia History of World War One
URL: http://www.firstworldwar.com/index.htm
Description: A website meant to provide a summary overview of the First World War, this site is for a general audience. It offers not only a detailed narrative of the war but also an impressive and helpful amount of multimedia: maps, photos, period audio and video, writings, etc. The strength of firstworldwar.com is the cache of resources that can be used in the preparation of projects. Be sure to visit the “memoirs and diaries” portion of the website for a large number of soldiers’ journal entries.
Site: The World War I Document Archive
URL: http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/
Description: The Wiki World War I Document Archive, hosted on the Brigham Young University server, will provide you with an incredible number of primary source documents from World War I. If in need of the text for treaties, battle reports, or diaries, start here. Be sure to click on the World War I Documents Archive’s links tab to discover an extensive number of websites dedicated to the Great War.
Site: Air Warfare, International Encyclopedia of the First World War
URL: https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/air-warfare/
Description: The airplane and air power were in their infancies during the First World War. Slowly, however, the airplane expanded from reconnaissance and artillery missions to strategic missions and maritime and naval missions.
Site: Tank Warfare in World War One
URL: https://wwvets.org/home/tank-warfare-in-ww1/
Description: This web page provides a brief overview of the development of tanks during World War I, including several photographs of tanks and excerpted memoirs of solders serving with tank units.
Site: PBS’s The Great War and the Shaping of the Twentieth Century
URL: http://www.worldwar1.com/sfpbs.htm
Description: PBS has created a very useful website to augment their eight-part The Great War series. This link will take you to a compilation of twenty-one well-known historians’ analysis on wide-ranging topics, from women and voting in Britain to how World War I shaped the twentieth century. Follow the tabs on this website to find useful maps and a timeline.
Site: The Doughboy Center
URL: http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/
Description: A website intended to educate its visitors about all aspects of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, the Doughboy Center compiles articles on unit histories, weapons, the experience of combat, and all other aspects of the war from the perspective of the soldier.
Site: Library of Congress, American Leaders Speak Project
URL: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/nfhtml/nfgal1.html
Description: The American Leaders Speak: Recordings from World War I and the 1920 Election is a Library of Congress project with fifty-nine sound recordings of speeches made by American leaders between 1918 and 1920. Ranging from one to five minutes, the speeches are from such figures as Leonard Wood, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Newton Baker.
Site: Library of Congress, The Stars and Stripes: The American Soldiers’ Newspaper of World War, 1918-1919
URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sgphtml/sashtml/
Description: Created during the Civil War, the newspaper Stars and Stripes still reports today on American Armed Forces issues. By order of General John J. Pershing, Stars and Stripes picked up where their Civil War forbearers left off and began publishing the newspaper for American service personnel in France. This website will take you to a Library of Congress project that has compiled every issue printed during World War I, from 8 February 1918 to 13 June 1919.
Site: North Carolinians and the Great War
URL: http://docsouth.unc.edu/wwi/index.html
Description: A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill project, North Carolinians and the Great War examines how World War I shaped the lives of Tar Heels, both on the battlefield and on the home front. You can search the collection alphabetically, topically, or by subject.
Site: On Point: The Journal of Army History article, “Fighting for Respect: African-American Soldiers in World War One”
URL: https://armyhistory.org/fighting-for-respect-african-american-soldiers-in-wwi/
Description: On Point: The Journal of Army History is the Army Historical Foundation’s quarterly journal, and a useful resource for articles on various topics with regards to the U.S. Army. Follow this link to read about African-American soldiers in World War I, written by Jami L. Bryan.
Site: Photos of the Great War: World War I Image Archive
URL: http://www.gwpda.org/photos/greatwar.htm
Description: Photos of the Great War is an image database dedicated to the study of World War I. Go here if you are looking for an easily-navigable website that is organized topically.
Site: The First Division Museum at Cantigny
URL: http://www.firstdivisionmuseum.org/
Description: One of the best unit museums in the United States, the First Division Museum at Cantigny is located in Wheaton, Illinois and highlights the history of the U.S. Army’s 1st Infantry Division, from World War I to present day. The museum is the product of Colonel Robert McCormick, who was the editor and publisher of The Chicago Tribune and served in the 1st Infantry Division during World War I. On the website, you will find information about the Museum’s collections and exhibits as well as helpful links. If researching the 1st Infantry Division in any time period, be sure to contact the Museum’s helpful library staff.
Site: National World War I Museum
URL: https://www.theworldwar.org/
Description: The nation’s official museum of the Great War, the National World War I Museum is located in Kansas City, Missouri. Visit this website to discover the museum’s collections and exhibits or to plan your visit.