The Battleground Series has set new standards for WWI Battlefield Guides. The US Expeditionary Force was formed quickly on America’s entry into WWI but it had only a short window to prove itself. – Highly Recommended
NAME: The American Expeditionary Forces In The Great War, Meuse-Argonne, Montfaucon, Battleground, The Americans 1918 FILE: R2772 AUTHOR: Maarten Otte PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword BINDING: soft back PAGES: 259 PRICE: £14.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWI, The Great War, World War I, World War 1, First World War, battlefield guides, French Belgian border, Montfaucon, US Expeditionary Force, Western Front, trench warfare
ISBN: 1-52673-491-5
IMAGE: B2772.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/y7xooh4l LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The Battleground Series has set new standards for WWI Battlefield Guides. The US Expeditionary Force was formed quickly on America's entry into WWI but it had only a short window to prove itself. - Highly Recommended These battleground guides provide a good historical review of a battle, engagement or campaign against the context of what is still there to see. They also provide an excellent addition to a military history library because they are designed to be a ready reference work with a high image content in the form of maps and photographs running throughout the body of the text. The arrival of US troops in France was well timed because the Russian revolution had seen the collapse of the Russia fighting in the East and released those German Armies to augment their Western Front forces. If nothing else had changed, this would have given the Germans an advantage. Historians will argue whether the change would have given the Germans victory because the start of strategic bombing by the British was showing a new air front and the tight naval blockade was choking the German industrial complex and starving the population. However, the arrival of the Americans did much to even the odds and was a very useful morale boost particularly for the British. Initially, the Americans did not do much. Their commanders were reluctant to commit to battle until after an extended period of training and issue of British and French equipment, particularly tanks and aircraft. Where the British and French had been fighting continuously since 1914, the Americans had no real experience of a modern industrial war in general and the terribly costly trench warfare in particular. They also needed equipment and even clothing from British and French resources to provide material that was proven in the battles they would fight. In fairness to the commanders, that did require a lot of training and familiarization. This book very ably provides a solid introduction to this critical US battle and also provides the information that more extensive academic works do not include. Even if the reader never intends to visit the battlefield, this will provide a reliable reference work that is easy to thumb through and it will provide a first rate introduction to the battle.