Evaluating the Early Performance of the AEF

U.S. Officer Observing Artillery Fire at Cantigny
(1st Division Operation)

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. 

By the beginning of July, after brutal fighting at Cantigny, Château-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Vaux, the bloodied American units had proved that even though they were inexperienced, they were willing to fight hard and learn fast. . . 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.  

Marne River at Château-Thierry Where the
German Offensive Was Halted
(3rd Division Operation)

[These] bloodied American units had proved that even though they were inexperienced, they were willing to fight hard and learn fast. Those characteristics, in conjunction with the flood of American reinforcements arriving in France by the thousands each day, suggested that the tide was beginning to turn against the Central Powers. The Americans were not only in the war; they were joining the fight.

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. 

Section of Belleau Wood Captured by Marines
(2nd Division Operation)

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. 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.

Selection from Into the Fight, April-June 2018, U.S. Army Center of Military History