Company of heroes europe at war campaign

Pershing wanted an American force that could operate independently of the other Allies, but his vision could not be realized until adequately trained troops with sufficient supplies reached Europe. The mobilization effort taxed the limits of the American military and required new organizational strategies and command structures to transport great numbers of troops and supplies quickly and efficiently.ДЄlthough the first American troops arrived in Europe in June 1917, the AEF did not fully participate at the front until October, when the First Division, one of the best-trained divisions of the AEF, entered the trenches at Nancy, France. Since even the transport ships needed to bring American troops to Europe were scarce, the army pressed into service cruise ships, seized German ships, and borrowed Allied ships to transport American soldiers from New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. Pershing and his staff soon realized how ill-prepared the United States was to transport large numbers of soldiers and necessary equipment to the front, where supplies, rations, equipment, and trained soldiers were all in short supply. In May 1917, General John Joseph 'Black Jack' Pershing was designated the supreme commander of the American army in France, and the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) were created. The fatigued British and French troops, who had been fighting since August 1914, sorely needed the relief offered by the American forces. Once war was declared, the army attempted to mobilize the troops very quickly. By the end of the war, four million men had served in the United States Army, with an additional 800,000 in other military service branches. On April 6, 1917, when the United States declared war against Germany, the nation had a standing army of 127,500 officers and soldiers.

World War I was the first time in American history that the United States sent soldiers abroad to defend foreign soil.

Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Listen to this page The American Expeditionary Forces.

Company of heroes europe at war campaign