This is a definitive history of the American army's role and performance during the First World War. Drawing from a rich pool of archival sources, David Woodward sheds new light on key themes such as the mobilisation of US forces, the interdependence of military diplomacy, coalition war-making, the combat effectiveness of the AEF and the leadership of its commander John J. Pershing. He shows us how, in spite of a flawed combat doctrine, logistical breakdowns and American industry's failure to provide modern weaponry, the Doughboys were nonetheless able to wage a costly battle at Meuse-Argonne and play a decisive role in ending the war. The book gives voice to the common soldier through firsthand war diaries, letters, and memoirs, allowing us to reimagine their first encounters with regimented military life, their transport across the sub-infested Atlantic to Europe, and their experiences both in and behind the trenches.

David R. Woodward is Emeritus Professor of History at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia.

Introduction; 1. Birth of a modern army; 2. World war and American preparedness; 3. Coercive power and Wilsonian diplomacy; 4. You're in the army now; 5. US Army doctrine and industrialized trench warfare; 6. Over where?; 7. AEF organization, overseas training and deployment; 8. Will the Americans arrive in time?; 9. Failed expectations: 'the military establishment of the US has fallen down'; 10. Atlantic ferry; 11. Neck of the bottle; 12. Uncertain times; 13. Cantigny; 14. Into the breach; 15. American soldiers in North Russia and Siberia; 16. The beginning of the end; 17. Establishment of the American First Army and St Mihiel; 18. Meuse-Argonne: September 26-October 31; 19. Breakout, November 1-11; 20. Epilogue; Bibliography.