American+Expeditionary+Force


 * The American Expeditionary Force **



Overview
They were to be separated as independent units according to Pershing, and he would not stand for them to reinforce the Allied armies as a single force. This decision distinctly reflects American isolationism, which was the United States foreign policy at this point of WW1. The divisions of the AEF, to name a few, included the First Infantry Division, the 42nd Infantry Division and the 69th Infantry Regiment. The American Expeditionary Force drove the Germans from Chateau Thierry and Belleau Wood during the June of 1918, where the German threat came only 50 miles from Paris and only about 27,500 Americans had opportunity to defend the front. In mid-July of the same year, the Germans made a second attempt at advancement where they were met by a line of 85,000 from the AEF. The charge was withstood and the German threat was repelled until a counterattack at the turning point of the war.270,000 Americans participated this time and it became known as the Second Battle of the Marne. Another battle took place in late August against the Saint-Mihiel salient, and on September 12 this army, 500,000 strong and reinforced by it’s French allies wiped out the salient in two days. The greatest American engagement in the war took place in September in the Argonne Forest in France, where no fewer than 1.2 million doughboys participated in the infiltration of the Hindenburg line and British and French armies too fell victim to similar drives. Just the AEF alone suffered 120,000 casualties from this brutal attack. This became known as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which lasted from September 26 to November 11, 1918. It wasn’t until November 11, where Allied armies cornered German forces on all fronts that the Germans signed an armistice and preparations and World War 1 came to an end. The AEF sustained about 320,000 casualties; 53,402 battle deaths, 63,114 non combat deaths and 204,000 wounded. // Left: Recruitment poster for African American soldiers in WW1. Caption Reads: "COLORED MEN: The First Americans Who Planted Our Flag on the Firing Line"/"Liberty And Freedom Shall Not Perish" //  An African American regiment arriving home from France. New York's famous 369th (old 15th) Infantry [African American] troops arrive at Hoboken, New Jersey. They are the only regiment which never had one of their men captured or trenches captured, also the only unit in the American Expeditionary Force that bore a state name and carried a state flag.
 * P ****r**esident Woodrow Wilson appointed General John J. Pershing to command The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in 1917, and American troops were dispatched in Europe during World War 1 to occupy fronts in Paris. The soldiers, often referred to as “doughboys”, raised French and British troop morale and fought alongside their allies versus imperial German forces.

"Doughboys"
The most accepted origin for the term "doughboy" originates from the time of the American-Mexican War. U.S. I forces were constantly covered with chalky dust from marching through the dry terrain of northern Mexico, giving the men the appearance of unbaked dough. another explanation involves pipe clay, a substance with the appearance of dough used by pre-Civil War soldiers to clean their white garrison belts.

A standard Dough Boy uniform in the American Expeditionary Force of WW1 Consisted of:

 Campaign Hat Bayonet Meat Can Pouch Entrenching Tool Tunic Cartridge Belt First Aid Pouch Shelter Tent/Blanket Roll Water Canteen Breeches Rifle Leggings Service Shoes

Important Battles
//Significant Death: Matthew B. Juan, a Native American war hero// 
 * [[image:http://neveryetmelted.com/wp-images/BelleauWood2..jpg width="251" height="254" align="right"]] Battle of Cantigny: ** May 28th 1918, First American offensive battle of WW1. Was the 29th Infantry Regiment, led by Robert Lee Bullard, vs. the German 18th Army led by von Hutier. American forces captured the village of Cantigny. Aiding the capture, French allies provided air cover, 368 heavy guns, trench mortars and flamethrowers. The 28th Infantry took the village in 45 minutes. German fighting continued for 3 days until the 26th Infantry joined to aid the 28th. The U.S. forces held their position with the loss of 1,067 casualties; they captured 100 German prisoners.

// Major Quote: Captain Lloyd W. Williams, “Retreat? Hell, we just got here.” //
 * Battle **** of Belleau Wood: ** June 1st, 1918- June 26th, 1918, German forces penetrated French lines left of the Marines' position. The U.S. reserve, consisting of the 23rd Infantry regiment, the 1st Battalian, 5th Marines (with some help from the 6th Machine Gun Battalion) marched over 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) to assist in combat. By the night of June 2nd, the U.S. forces held a 12 miles (19 km) front line north of the Paris-Metz Highway running through grain fields and scattered woods, from Triangle Farm west to Lucy and then north to Hill 142. The German line opposite ran from Vaux to Bouresche to Belleau. Having suffered heavy casualties, the Germans dug in along a defensive line from Hill 204, just east of Vaux, to Le Thiolet on the Paris-Metz Highway and northward through Belleau Wood to Torcy. U.S. Forces suffered a total of 9,777 inj uries, 1,811 of them fatal 1,600 German troops were taken prisoner.

**2nd Battle of the Marne, AKA** // **2e Bataille de la Marne** // **:** July 15th 1918-August 1918. Was a German offensive. German divisions of the First and Third armies, led by Bruno von Mudra and Karl von Einem vs. French Fourth Army, led by Henri Gouraud. Under cover of the drumfire, stormtroopers advanced across the river in every sort in 30 man canvas boats. The Germans failed to penetrate and Ferdinand Foch, the Allied Supreme Commander, planned a major counter-offensive on July 18th. 24 French divisions, including the Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd and 93rd Divisions of the United States under French command, joined by other Allied troops including 8 large US divisions under US command, and 350 tanks attacked on the recently formed German salient. The Allies took 29,367 prisoners, 793 guns and 3,000 MGs. The Western Front had been shortened by 28 miles,