A century ago, the great powers of Europe became engulfed in what was then called the Great War. The modern U.S. Army, capable of conducting industrialized warfare on a global scale, can trace its roots to the World War. Although the war's outbreak in August 1914 shocked most Americans, they preferred to keep the conflict at arm's length. In April 1917, the president, out of diplomatic options, asked Congress to declare war on Germany. The president ordered nearly 400,000 National Guardsmen into federal service, and more than twenty-four million men eventually registered for the Selective Service, America's first conscription since the Civil War. By the end of 1918, the Army had grown to four million men and had trained 200,000 new officers to lead them. The United States will never forget the American soldiers who fought and died in the World War. To this day, memorials to their sacrifice can be found across America, and the date of the armistice has become a national holiday honoring all those who serve in defense of the nation.
Contents:
The U.S. Army in the World War I Era
The Prewar Army, 1899–1917
At War
After the Armistice
The American Army and the Great War
Joining the Great War April 1917– April 1918
Strategic Setting
The U.S. Army Before the War
American Military and Civilian Leadership
The Amalgamation Debate
Mobilization of Manpower
Building the AEF, 1917
American Soldiers Begin Arriving
Training the AEF
Men and Materiel in the AEF
The War Department: Challenges and Reform
Strategic Crisis on the Western Front
The AEF Joins the Fight
Joining the World War I
Strategic Setting
The U.S. Army Before the War
American Military and Civilian Leadership
The Amalgamation Debate
American Soldiers Begin Arriving
Men and Materiel in the AEF
The War Department: Challenges and Reform
Strategic Crisis on the Western Front
The AEF Joins the Fight
Official Documents of the U.S. Government from the World War I