Preparing To Fight

When the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, the decision triggered a massive effort to organize, train, and supply U.S. forces for duty overseas.

- Russ Chamberlayne

Hearing that America had declared war, British prime minister David Lloyd George praised Americans’ resourcefulness and ability to get things done. But he was mistaken about how soon U.S. forces could help. He criticized a top German general who predicted that the United States would need a year before it arrived in Europe in force. But the general was right—it was spring 1918 before the majority of U.S. troops landed in France.

Almost immediately after declaring war, President Woodrow Wilson said a half million men would have to join the armed forces. He added that the country would ask for many more soldiers “as they may be needed and can be handled in training.”

In June 1917, General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), went to Britain and France. He advised the U.S. War Department to send over “at least 1,000,000 men by next May.” At the time, the Allies had 3.5 million men on the Western Front, more than the Germans. But they were tired and discouraged from several years of fighting.

The U.S. military, however, was just not ready. The regular army had no more than 100,000 men. Those men were not prepared for modern warfare. The conflict going on in Europe involved trenches, poison gas attacks, and shelling with high explosives. Soldiers needed to be trained to fight in a type of war that America had never before faced.

A strong effort was made to gather and train men. Recruits, consisting of National Guard and Army personnel, volunteers, and