Report Card: The AEF's Performance at Cantigny and Château-Thierry

Doughboys of the 1st Division at Cantigny with a French Schneider Tank

By  Mark E. Grotelueschen

When General Ludendorff launched Operation MICHAEL in mid-March 1918, only four full American divisions were in the front lines of the Western Front, and of those four only one was completely trained and in full command of its own sector. Americans were occupying just 27 of the Western Front’s roughly 750 kilometers of trenches. By the end of June, AEF divisions were occupying more than 95 kilometers of frontage, a clear indication of America’s growing contribution to the Allied war effort. In May and June, more than 460,000 American troops arrived in France, assuring both the Allies and the Germans that the American presence would grow dramatically in the coming months. More important, in specific locations along the increasingly active Western Front in the spring of 1918—at Cantigny, Château-Thierry, Lucy-le-Bocage, Belleau Wood, and Vaux—a growing number of American units demonstrated that they were willing and able to fight with the grit and determination necessary to achieve an Allied victory.

Wounded Doughboy at Cantigny

The American divisions employed in these early operations—the 1st, 2d, and 3d—showed all the signs of inexperienced units in their first engagements. The Allies that fought with them, the Germans that fought against them, and even the American officers and men within the divisions and at AEF GHQ all were aware of this fact. Yet these three divisions, and those that came after them, were fighting in extraordinarily difficult tactical, operational, and strategic situations. All but one went into combat without having completed a full training program. At times, they arrived on a battlefield and went into action without sufficient maps or enough time to examine the terrain and establish liaison with the units alongside them. In light of these challenges, it is not surprising that these untried officers and men made mistakes and suffered more casualties than hindsight suggests they should have. 

3rd Division Machine Gunners on the South Bank of the Marne

Yet for all their inexperience, they occasionally demonstrated sufficient skill to competently plan and execute attacks against a more capable and experienced foe and showed the tenacity and courage to fight their battles through to victory even in the face of the initial problems, mistakes, and terrible losses that were almost unavoidable characteristics of any Great War battle.

Marines after Securing Belleau Wood

The Americans displayed these strengths and weaknesses in May and June 1918, when these AEF divisions helped stop and then turn back a desperate German Army. These same divisions, as well as a number of others, would show them again in mid-July during the true turning point of the war—the Second Battle of the Marne.

Excerpted from Into the Fight April–June 1918; U.S. Army Campaigns of World War I Commemorative Series