Yanks: The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I

By John S. D. Eisenhower with Joanne Thompson Eisenhower. New York: The Free Press, 2001. 353 pages. $35.00.

This latest offering by acclaimed historian John S. D. Eisenhower, with his wife Joanne Thompson Eisenhower, is a notable contribution to the increasing interest in World War I. Although World War I has had literally thousands of books written about it, relatively few are available at the present time, even in libraries, and even fewer have been read by present generations. This book provides readers and historians with a wealth of information logically presented with scholarship and integrity.

The purpose of the book, in the words of the author, "is to strike a balance, to examine how the American Expeditionary Force came about; to describe the gargantuan efforts needed to create it, supply it, train it, and fight it; and in so doing to show how the modern Army was born."

The book is divided into three main parts. Book One is entitled "Creating the AEF." It develops the international scene that found a small US Army on the Mexican border pursuing Pancho Villa, augmented by a militia force. The Army that fought on the border was woefully unprepared for participation in a struggle as colossal as the one ongoing in Europe. The story of how America entered World War I is succinctly presented. Of particular interest is the genesis both here and in France of the American Expeditionary Force.

The selection of General Pershing and the Army politics of the time make for a fascinating story. The trials and tribulations experienced by General Pershing in creating an Army, as well as his problems in relationships with the Allied commanders at home and in Europe, provide lessons for any officer aspiring to high command and staff. Joint and combined operations, coalitions, politics, and statesmanship were but a few of the challenges presented to a comparatively innocent American high command. Of particular interest were Pershing's efforts to establish a logistical base and a training command that would mold the amateur American force into an efficient and sustained fighting machine.

Book Two, entitled "Apprenticeship: The Opening Battles," is a story that closely parallels the problems faced by the Army at the start of World War II and Korea. One cannot help but be reminded that history repeats itself. This book is a primer on the responsibilities and the relationships between the Army Secretariat, the Army Staff, and the forces in the field.

The first fights at Cantigny and Belleau Wood baptized the AEF in the brutal combat of World War I. These experiences translated into the fight for the reduction of the Soissons salient in July and August of 1918, followed by the battles of St. Mihiel in September and the Meuse-Argonne in October and November of that year. Book Three describes these battles in great detail, including the personalities of the leaders who participated. Although the tactics and techniques of combat in those days are not necessarily similar to those of today, they do provide valuable leadership lessons. The employment of combined arms, the tenets of leadership, and the indomitable courage of American soldiers are portrayed in a manner that would be of great benefit to any serious student of the military profession.

The maps in this book are probably the best maps of the battles and campaigns at the operational level that this reviewer has seen. They provide an especially clear understanding of the campaigns and their development during the war.

The American soldier of today, who experienced the wars in Vietnam, Panama, and the Gulf, may find it difficult to understand that the battle tactics and techniques of World War I were patterned on those of our own Civil War that occurred a half century before. Even more revealing is the realization that we started World War II with basically the same arms and equipment that we acquired in World War I.

The gigantic logistics organization that supported American forces during the Cold War also had its genesis in World War I. The Army school system set up by General Pershing in France to serve the leaders of the AEF was moved to the United States after World War I, and was instrumental in our winning World War II and the Cold War. And the system, with few exceptions, still provides the backbone of professional education and development within the Army.

This book provides the basis for an understanding of where our Army has been, where it currently is, and what it will take to influence the Army of tomorrow. The professional development of the officers and NCOs in today's Army is the legacy of the American Expeditionary Force of 1917 and 1918. This heritage has served us well in the past and has every indication of preserving us in the future. The Eisenhowers have provided a service, particularly for the soldiers of today, by writing an understandable exposition of how the United States became a military power on the world stage.

Lieutenant General Richard G. Trefry, USA Ret., Inspector General of the Army, 1978-83, and Military Assistant to the President, 1989-92.

COPYRIGHT 2002 U.S. Army War College
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group