This is the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front order of battle. The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) consisted of the United States Armed Forces (mostly the United States Army) that were sent to Europe in World War I to support the Allied cause against the Central Powers. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside French and British allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces. Some of the troops fought alongside Italian forces in that same year, against Austro-Hungarian forces. Late in the war American units also fought in Siberia and North Russia. [1]
President Woodrow Wilson created the AEF in May 1917, originally appointing Major General John J. Pershing, who was later promoted to general, as commander. Barely any American troops were sent to Europe in 1917, since Pershing ordered all AEF forces to be well-trained before going overseas. [2]
The troop ships used to transport the AEF were, at first, any ships that were available. Cruisers, German ships seized by the Navy, ships borrowed from the Allies, and many other ships were used to ship troops to Europe from ports in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. [2] By June 1917, only 14,000 soldiers had made it to the front lines, but by May 1918 over two million American troops had reached Europe, with around half of them on the front lines. [3]
The AEF helped the French Army on the Western Front during the Aisne Offensive (at Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood) in June 1918, and fought its major actions in the Saint-Mihiel and Meuse–Argonne Offensives in late 1918. [4] Organized into two field armies (a third was forming as the war ended), it had a total strength of about two million men in Europe by the time of the Armistice. [5] Planned to eventually consist of nine corps, [6] a total of five AEF corps and two unassigned divisions were in the field by September 1918. [7] [N 1] It was subsequently involved in the Occupation of the Rhineland. [10]
The First Army was officially organized and activated by General John J. Pershing on 4 July 1918, although it was technically formed when the United States entered the World War in 1917. It served in the Saint-Mihiel offensive, Lorraine offensive, Champagne offensive, and the Meuse–Argonne Offensive. It was finally demobilized and moved back to the United States on 30 April 1919. [11]
First Army (structure as of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel)(30 August to 16 September 1918) General John J. Pershing (10 August 1918 – 16 October 1918) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Notes | ||||||||
I Corps | Formed 15–20 January 1918 | |||||||||
IV Corps |
| Formed on 20 June 1918 | ||||||||
V Corps |
| Formed on 7–12 July 1918 | ||||||||
French II Colonial Corps |
| Formed in June 1915 | ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Army War College Historical Section (1988a) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, Separate Forces (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. I. CMH Pub 23-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015. |
The Second Army was activated on 9 September and was organized by Colonel Stuart Heintzelman. On 12 October 1918, General Robert Lee Bullard took command of the Second Army and Heintzelman became his chief of staff. The formation was committed to the Lorraine offensive on 26 October. It attacked in the Lorraine area, and also around Saint-Mihiel, before later recapturing and liberating the Duchy of Luxemburg. It was demobilized on 15 April 1919, after the war had ended. [12]
Second Army (structure as of the period from 16 October 1918 to 11 November 1918) Lieutenant General Robert Lee Bullard (12 October 1918 – 15 April 1919) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Notes | ||||||||
IV Corps |
| Formed on 20 June 1918 | ||||||||
VI Corps |
| Formed on 1 August 1918 | ||||||||
VII Corps |
| Formed on 19 August 1918 | ||||||||
French II Colonial Corps |
| Formed in June 1915 | ||||||||
XVII Corps (France) |
| Part of the peacetime French Army in 1914 | ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Army War College Historical Section (1988a) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, Separate Forces (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. I. CMH Pub 23-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015. |
Following the defeat of Germany, Allied forces occupied the Rhineland under the terms of the Armistice. The United States provided around 240,000 men in nine veteran divisions, nearly a third of the total occupying force, for this task. These troops were organized into the Third Army, which was established by Pershing specifically for the purpose, under the command of Major General Joseph Dickman. [10]
Third Army (structure as of the period from 17 to 22 November 1918) Major General Joseph T. Dickman (15 November 1918 – 29 April 1919) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Notes | ||||||||
III Corps |
| Formed on 16 May 1918 | ||||||||
IV Corps |
| Formed on 20 June 1918 | ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Army War College Historical Section (1988a) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, Separate Forces (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. I. CMH Pub 23-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015. |
Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett took command of I Corps when it was created, almost one year after the Americans entered the war. It served through most of the battles that the American Expeditionary Forces fought on the Western Front. [13]
Assisted by the French XXXII Corps, I Corps was organized and activated on 15–20 January 1918. I Corps saw its first major action at the Battle of Chateau-Thierry, while seeing its first offensive action several days later at the Second Battle of the Marne. After serving briefly in the defensive sectors of Lorraine and Champagne, I Corps later served in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse–Argonne Offensive. [14] It was finally demobilized on 25 March 1919. [15]
I Corps (structure as of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel)(10 August to 17 September 1918) Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | Notes | |||||||
1st Infantry Division |
| |||||||||
2nd Infantry Division |
|
| Division included troops of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) [17] | |||||||
26th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
32nd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
41st Infantry Division [18] |
|
| ||||||||
42nd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714. |
II Corps was organized in January 1918 with its headquarters being located in Montreuil, France. It moved to the Western Front in February 1918, and served in the Second Battle of the Somme and the Third Battle of Albert. It mostly served alongside the New Zealand Division and the Australian Corps. [19] After the Armistice, II Corps was reassigned to the Third Army's control, before being demobilized on 1 February 1919. [20]
II Corps (structure as of Post-Armistice activities)(19 November 1918 to 31 January 1919) Lieutenant General Robert Lee Bullard [18] | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | ||||||||
27th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
28th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
30th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
35th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
77th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
82nd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714. |
III Corps was first organized on 16 May 1918 in Mussy-Ser-Seine, France. [23] It was the third of four newly activated corps of the American Expeditionary Forces, which at that time numbered over 1,000,000 men across 23 divisions. The corps took command of US forces training with the French Seventh Army at the same time that IV Corps took command of US forces training with the French Eighth Army. [24]
It served during the Third Battle of the Aisne, the Aisne-Oise Offensive, the Aisne-Marne offensive, [25] the Meuse–Argonne Offensive, and undertook a short time in the defensive sectors of Lorraine and Champagne. [26] It then marched into Germany from 17 November 1918 to 2 July 1919. It was officially demobilized on 1 July 1919. [25]
III Corps (structure as of Vesle operations)(7 to 17 August 1918) Lieutenant General William M. Wright | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | ||||||||
3rd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
5th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
4th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
33rd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
78th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
80th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714. |
IV Corps was first organized on 10 June 1918, during World War I as part of American Expeditionary Forces at Western Front, as Headquarters IV Army Corps, with its headquarters located in Neufchateau, France, which also was the headquarters of I Corps. Later, on 21 June, IV Corps was ordered to replace I Corps in the French VIII Corps area. [28]
It participated in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and in the defensive sector in Lorraine from 20 August 1918 to 11 September 1918. It moved into Germany from 17 November to 17 December 1918, before being demobilized in the Weimar Republic on 11 May 1919. [29]
IV Corps (structure as of the period from 17 September 1918 to 11 November 1918) Lieutenant General George Windle Read | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | ||||||||
29th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
37th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
83rd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
89th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
90th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
92nd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714. |
V Corps was organized over the period 7–12 July 1918 in France as a Regular Army formation within the American Expeditionary Forces. By the end of World War I, the corps had fought in three named campaigns: the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, the Meuse–Argonne Offensive, and the Lorraine Campaign. [18]
Activated and organized by Lieutenant General William M. Wright under orders by Pershing, its headquarters was formed in Remiremont, France. It was assigned to the First Army when it was created on 15 August 1918. It held command of the French 15th Colonial Infantry Division for a short period of time in 1918. [30] It was later demobilized on 2 May 1919 in Camp Funston, Kansas. [31]
V Corps (structure as of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel)(29 August to 16 September 1918) Lieutenant General William M. Wright | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | ||||||||
6th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
36th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
76th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
79th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
85th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
91st Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714. |
VI Corps was activated and organized by Omar Bundy on 26 July 1918. Charles C. Ballou, Charles T. Menoher, and George Bell Jr. all assumed command at some time before the armistice. VI Corps served with the First United States Army in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse–Argonne Offensive. VI Corps was then stationed in Belgium and Luxemburg from 19 December 1918 to 11 April 1919, when it was finally demobilized. [32]
VI Corps (structure as of the Lorraine Offensive) (23 October to 13 November 1918) Lieutenant General Charles T. Menoher | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | ||||||||
7th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
88th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
92nd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
On 16 August 1918, Major General William M. Wright was designated as VII Corps' temporary commander. Three days later, the formation was designated an administrative organization and tasked with commanding training efforts in the French XXXIII Corps and the French XL Corps areas, relieving V Corps of the command. It saw no combat action in World War I. It marched into Germany from 22 November to 12 December 1918. It was finally demobilized on 11 May 1919, with its remnants becoming part of the Third Army. [35]
VII Corps (structure as of the period from 19 to 27 August 1918) Major General William M. Wright | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | ||||||||
5th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
29th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
35th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
92nd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Army War College Historical Section (1988a) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, Separate Forces (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. I. CMH Pub 23-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015. |
Activated and organized by Major General Henry T. Allen on 18 November 1918, VIII Corps was ordered to train and supervise troops of the First Army that were withdrawing from the Meuse-Argonne theater to American training areas in France. It saw no combat during World War I, as it was formed after the Armistice. It was demobilized on 20 April 1919. [43]
VIII Corps (structure as of the period from 26 to 30 November 1918) Major General Henry T. Allen | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | ||||||||
6th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
77th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
81st Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Army War College Historical Section (1988a) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, Separate Forces (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. I. CMH Pub 23-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015. |
IX Corps was organized and activated by Brigadier General William K. Naylor on 16 November 1918, although Major General Adelbert Cronkhite assumed command on 18 November, after which Naylor became his chief of staff. It constituted the left flank of the Second Army on the front between Jonville and Fresnes-en-Woevre. It supervised the activities of formations (such as police duties), due to the armistice, when it was in the area. It was finally demobilized on 5 May 1919. [49]
IX Corps (structure as of the period from 26 November to 5 December) Major General Adelbert Cronkhite | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | ||||||||
33rd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
35th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Army War College Historical Section (1988a) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, Separate Forces (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. I. CMH Pub 23-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015. |
These divisions were unassigned to any corps in the AEF during World War I at the time of the Armistice. [18] [52]
Unassigned divisions | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Commander | Units | ||||||||
81st Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
93rd Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
39th Infantry Division |
|
| ||||||||
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714. |
The Meuse–Argonne offensive was a major part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice of November 11, 1918, a total of 47 days. The Meuse–Argonne offensive was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million French, Siamese, and American soldiers. It is also the deadliest campaign in the history of the United States Army, resulting in over 350,000 casualties, including 28,000 German lives, 26,277 American lives and an unknown number of French lives. American losses were worsened by the inexperience of many of the troops, the tactics used during the early phases of the operation and the widespread onset of the global influenza outbreak called the "Spanish flu."
The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the U.S. Army. The AEF was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of then-Major General John J. Pershing. It fought alongside French Army, British Army, Canadian Army, British Indian Army, New Zealand Army and Australian Army units against the Imperial German Army. A small number of AEF troops also fought alongside Italian Army units in 1918 against the Austro-Hungarian Army. The AEF helped the French Army on the Western Front during the Aisne Offensive in the summer of 1918, and fought its major actions in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in the latter part of 1918.
First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korean War and the Vietnam War under some of the most famous and distinguished officers of the U.S. Army. It now serves as a mobilization, readiness and training command.
The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12–15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States against German positions. The U.S. Army Air Service played a significant role in this action.
Hunter Liggett was a senior United States Army officer. His 42 years of military service spanned the period from the Indian campaigns to the trench warfare of World War I. Additionally, he also identified possible invasion sites in Luzon, particularly Lingayen Gulf, which were used during World War II in 1941 by the Japanese and in 1945 by the United States.
The United States campaigns in World War I began after American entry in the war in early April 1917. The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) served on the Western Front, under General John J. Pershing, and engaged in 13 official military campaigns between 1917 and 1918, for which campaign streamers were designated. The streamer uses the colors of the World War I Victory Medal ribbon which had a red center with a rainbow on each side of the center stripe and a purple edge. The double rainbow symbolizes the dawn of a new era and the calm which follows the storm.
The 314th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the U.S. Army first organized in 1917.
Major General George Brand Duncan was a United States Army officer who served in numerous conflicts, most notably World War I, where he commanded the 82nd Division, now the 82nd Airborne Division.
The 13th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The 99th Aero Squadron was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces was the mechanized unit that engaged in tank warfare for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front during World War I.
The 88th Aero Squadron was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The 24th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The 139th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
The III Corps Observation Group was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I as part of the Air Service, First United States Army. It was demobilized on 12 May 1919. There is no modern United States Air Force unit that shares its lineage and history.
The V Corps Observation Group was an Air Service, United States Army unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I as part of the Air Service, First United States Army. It was demobilized in France on 15 February 1919. There is no modern United States Air Force unit that shares its lineage and history.
The 5th Army was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It was formed on mobilization in August 1914 seemingly from the VII Army Inspection. The army was disbanded in 1919 during demobilization after the war.
Sereno Elmer Brett was a highly decorated brigadier general in the United States Army who fought in both World War I and World War II and played a key, if little recognized today, role in the development of armored warfare along with the creation of the U.S. Interstate Highway. He was also a lifelong friend of U.S. President, and former army colleague, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The 213th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.
Grace D. Banker was a telephone operator who served during World War I (1917–1918) as chief operator of mobile for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. She led thirty-three women telephone operators known popularly as Hello Girls. They were assigned in New York to travel to France to operate telephone switch boards at the war front in Paris, and at Chaumont, Haute-Marne. They also operated the telephone switch boards at First Army headquarters at Ligny-en-Barrois, about 5 miles (8.0 km) to the south of Saint-Mihiel, and later during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. After her return to civilian life, Banker and her team members were treated as citizen volunteers and initially not given recognition as members of the military. In 1919, Banker was honoured with the Distinguished Service Medal for her services with the First Army headquarters during the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives, with a commendation.