Borrowed Soldiers

Borrowed Soldiers
Author: Mitchell A. Yockelson
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2016-01-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 0806155604

The combined British Expeditionary Force and American II Corps successfully pierced the Hindenburg Line during the Hundred Days Campaign of World War I, an offensive that hastened the war’s end. Yet despite the importance of this effort, the training and operation of II Corps has received scant attention from historians. Mitchell A. Yockelson delivers a comprehensive study of the first time American and British soldiers fought together as a coalition force—more than twenty years before D-Day. He follows the two divisions that constituted II Corps, the 27th and 30th, from the training camps of South Carolina to the bloody battlefields of Europe. Despite cultural differences, General Pershing’s misgivings, and the contrast between American eagerness and British exhaustion, the untested Yanks benefited from the experience of battle-toughened Tommies. Their combined forces contributed much to the Allied victory. Yockelson plumbs new archival sources, including letters and diaries of American, Australian, and British soldiers to examine how two forces of differing organization and attitude merged command relationships and operations. Emphasizing tactical cooperation and training, he details II Corps’ performance in Flanders during the Ypres-Lys offensive, the assault on the Hindenburg Line, and the decisive battle of the Selle. Featuring thirty-nine evocative photographs and nine maps, this account shows how the British and American military relationship evolved both strategically and politically. A case study of coalition warfare, Borrowed Soldiers adds significantly to our understanding of the Great War.

U.S. Army on the Mexican Border: A Historical Perspective

U.S. Army on the Mexican Border: A Historical Perspective
Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2007
Genre:
ISBN: 1437923038

This occasional paper is a concise overview of the history of the US Army's involvement along the Mexican border and offers a fundamental understanding of problems associated with such a mission. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the historic themes addressed disapproving public reaction, Mexican governmental instability, and insufficient US military personnel to effectively secure the expansive boundary are still prevalent today.

How America Won World War I

How America Won World War I
Author: Alan Axelrod
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2018-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1493031937

Immediately after the armistice was signed in November, 1918, an American journalist asked Paul von Hindenburg who won the war against Germany. He was the chief of the German General Staff, co-architect with Erich Ludendorff of Germany’s Eastern Front victories and its nearly war-winning Western Front offensives, and he did not hesitate in his answer. “The American infantry,” he said. He made it even more specific, telling the reporter that the final death blow for Germany was delivered by “the American infantry in the Argonne.” The British and the French often denigrated the American contribution to the war, but they had begged for US entry into the conflict, and their stake in America’s victory was, if anything, even greater than that of the United States itself. But How America Won WWI will not litigate the points of view of Britain and France. The book will accepts as gospel the assessment of the top German leader whose job it had been to oppose the Americans directly - that the American infantry won the war - and this book will tell how the American infantry did it.

The History of the South Wales Borderers 1914- 1918

The History of the South Wales Borderers 1914- 1918
Author: C. T. Late Atkinson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 630
Release: 2014-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781783310777

In August 1914 the SWB consisted of two regular battalions, the 1st in Bordon with 3rd Brigade 1st Division, the 2nd in Tientsin; the 3rd Special Reserve Battalion in Brecon; and one Territorial battalion, the Brecknockshire Battalion, also in Brecon. By the end of the war a further 17 battalions had been raised eight of which went on active service and all of them feature in this excellent history, even if only briefly in the case of those that did not leave the UK. Total dead numbered some 5,500, 64 Battle Honours were awarded and six VCs were won. There is a list of Honours and Awards, including Mention in Despatches and foreign awards, and also the Roll of Honour in which officers are listed alphabetically, other ranks alphabetically by battalions; place and date of death are not given. Battalions of the regiment served on the Western Front, at Gallipoli (2nd and 4th), in Macedonia (7th and 8th) and Mesopotamia (4th). Two of the active service battalions, 11th and 12th, were disbanded in France in Feb 1918 when divisions in the BEF were reduced from twelve to nine battalions. The 1st Battalion landed in France on 13 August 1914 with 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, and stayed with them for the rest of the war, fighting on the Western Front. The 2nd Battalion was in China when war broke out, and its first operation was the capture of the German naval base of Tsingtao, in cooperation with the Japanese, and with this accomplished in November 1914 the battalion returned to the UK where it arrived in January 1915. Back home, it was allocated to the newly formed 'incomparable' 29th Division, the last of the regular divisions to be formed (apart from the Guards Division) and with which it landed on Gallipoli in April that year. After Gallipoli it went to France with the division, arriving in March 1916, and there it stayed to the end. The Brecknocks served throughout the war in Aden and India, the 4th went to Gallipoli with 13th (Western) Division and from there to Mesopotamia where it won two of regiment's six VCs. The 5th and 6th Battalions were Pioneers and fought in France as divisional pioneer battalions while the 7th and 8th, both in 22nd Division, after only a month in France went with the division to Macedonia in November 1915 where they saw out the rest of the war. The 10th and 11th Battalions served with 38th (Welsh) Division in France from the end of 1915, and finally the 12th (Bantam) Battalion crossed to France in June 1916 with 119th Brigade 40th Division in which it served till disbanded in Feb 1918.

American Lions

American Lions
Author: Robert J. Dalessandro
Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780764335181

Told here is the riveting story of the 332nd U.S. Infantry Regiment in the Army in World War I. As Pershings Propaganda Regiment they were the only American regiment assigned to Italy, where they formed a phantom army that helped defeat the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The 332nd fought in the Vittorio-Veneto Campaign and following the armistice, served in the occupation of Austria, Dalmatia, and Montenegro. Includes the uniforms, insignia, and ephemera, of the 332nd; lavishly illustrated with over 300 rare and previously unpublished color and sepia photographs, which are drawn from public and private collections. This detailed work illuminates the compelling story of the courageous Lions of St. Mark.

Diary of 2/4th Battalion the Border Regiment, 1914-19

Diary of 2/4th Battalion the Border Regiment, 1914-19
Author: Anonymous
Publisher: Legare Street Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-07-18
Genre:
ISBN: 9781021259356

This diary offers a unique and compelling firsthand account of the experiences of a British battalion during World War I. The soldiers' vivid depictions of life at the front lines are both harrowing and poignant, offering a glimpse into the realities of warfare and the struggles of ordinary men caught up in a global conflict. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.