Although the United States played an important role in securing victory for the Allies in 1918, the country did not declare war on Germany until 6 April 1917. Most Americans agreed with President Woodrow Wilson’s initial stance on neutrality, although pro-Allied sentiment grew as the war progressed.
Within the United States, some members of the population – such as Irish-Americans – were hostile to helping Britain but there was less antipathy towards the French. France was America’s oldest ally and when German forces invaded northern France in 1914, some Americans believed it was vital that the United States join the war.
A small group of Americans, including Norman Prince and Dr Edmund Gros, developed the idea of forming a volunteer unit of American pilots to fly with the relatively new Aéronautique Militaire in the French Army. Prince was an expatriate living in France who was already flying for the French while Gros was the founder of the American Hospital of Paris. They successfully lobbied the French government, who approved the idea in August 1915. The French recognised that a special unit of American fliers within Aéronautique Militaire would have excellent propaganda value to further US support for the Allies.
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Bu hikaye History of War dergisinin Issue 121 sayısından alınmıştır.
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THE OTHER OPERATION OVERLORD D-DAY'S GHOST ARMY
Historian Taylor Downing discusses the cunning use of intrigue and deception during Operation Fortitude
D-DAY LANDING CRAFT
Over 4,000 Allied landing craft took part in the Normandy Landings with a huge range of designs created for specific roles and capabilities
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Spearheading the invasion of occupied France in 1944 were a small number of Special Forces soldiers dropped deep into enemy territory. Among them was a young Londoner, fresh from training here he reveals how he survived guerrilla warfare in France and beyond as part of the fledgling Special Air Service
JIMMIE MONTEITH
In the crucible of battle at Omaha Beach on D-Day, this officer of the famed 1st Infantry Division earned his nation’s highest honour at the cost of his life
KLEINKAMPFVERBÄNDE - GERMANY'S COUNTER-ATTACKS
As Allied forces crossed the Channel and stormed into Normandy, Hitler's navy fought back using a deadly new breed of maritime weaponry
STORMING GOLD BEACH
War veteran Ron Peet helped assault Gold Beach on D-Day Here he shares his experiences
UNDERGROUND WREN
Deep in the bowels of Fort Southwick, radio operator Marie Scott was one of the first to hear reports as Operation Overlord got underway, passing critical communications between the men on the beaches and high command
MINESWEEPER OFF NORMANDY
After helping clear the path to France, Royal Navy veteran Claude Sealey and his crewmates experienced a deadly encounter with their own countrymen
THE RECCE RIDER OF RANVILLE
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SWORD BEACH
The easternmost sector of the 6 June Normandy Landings was a mostly British affair, and Saw some of the biggest territorial gains of the first day of the Allied invasion