On June 5 th the ship began to zigzag as they entered the zone threatened by U-boats. Army staff was ordered to don civilian clothes. If attacked and sunk, German sailors would notice life boats full of uniformed men. The next day two American destroyers from Queenstown, Ireland began escorting the ship.
On the 8 th Pershing and ranking officers landed with ceremony in Liverpool , marking the first ever official welcome of American soldiers in Britain. Pershing and George discussed the German submarine threat to arriving American troops and supply ships as reported by U. Navy Admiral William Sims. Pershing noted that, though little noticed by the public, they received a warm reception from military and political leaders.
The visit gave Pershing a positive sense of British resolve and their relief at U. After discussions in London, he became deeply concerned the submarine threat could starve Britain and prevent the arrival and supply of the AEF. They were met by ranking French and British military officers from the front and an honor guard of battle veterans.
Mihiel operation, the First US Army divisions soon became enmeshed in a grinding series of assaults against strong German defenses-in-depth. Instead, Pershing transferred one of his best division commanders to reorganize the Service of Supply SOS , while manpower shortages in the rear were temporarily solved by converting combat units into depot detachments.
While his battered divisions were rotated, and the logisticians given time to move supplies forward, Pershing relinquished command of the First Army to Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett , and activated a Second Army headquarters in a bid to improve command and control within the AEF.
From its modest beginnings, the AEF grew to a field army of 2 million men, of which some 1. The entry of the AEF into the war boosted the morale of the hard-pressed Allies, and convinced many German leaders that military victory was no longer possible after the failed Spring Offensives of After the Armistice, Pershing designated the US Third Army, made mostly of Regular units, to occupy the Koblenz region of Germany, with priority given to demobilizing the draftee units as soon as possible.
On 1 September , the American Expeditionary Forces was officially deactivated with the departure of General Pershing and the last of his staff for the United States. Skinner, Harold Allen Jr. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed.
DOI : Version 1. American Expeditionary Forces. By Harold Allen Skinner Jr. Harold Allen Skinner Jr. Selected Bibliography Coffman, Edward M. Faulkner, Richard Shawn: The school of hard knocks. Grotelueschen, Mark E. Trask, David F. Army Center of Military History ed. Army Center of Military History.
Mihiel and Argonne. The objective of Gen. Pershing was to have a force that operated independently from their allies. This plan could not come to fruition without trained troops and supplies. American training schools sent the best men they have to the front and Pershing created facilities in France to train the arrivals for combat. By November 11, , the American Expeditionary Forces evolved into a combat-tested army that became recognized as one of the best armies in the world. The influenza pandemic that hit the world in caused more than 25, troops to die, while over , were struck ill.
0コメント