The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I

Description

This 2007 book provides the most comprehensive examination of American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) combat doctrine and methods ever published. It shows how AEF combat units actually fought on the Western Front in World War I. It describes how four AEF divisions (the 1st, 2nd, 26th, and 77th) planned and conducted their battles and how they adapted their doctrine, tactics, and other operational methods during the war. General John Pershing and other AEF leaders promulgated an inadequate prewar doctrine, with only minor modification, as the official doctrine of the AEF. Many early American attacks suffered from these unrealistic ideas that retained too much faith in the infantry rifleman on the modern battlefield. However, many AEF divisions adjusted their doctrine and operational methods as they fought, preparing more comprehensive attack plans, employing flexible infantry formations, and maximizing firepower to seize limited objectives.

Major Mark E. Grotelueschen is an active duty officer in the United States Air Force and an Assistant Professor at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He is the author of Doctrine Under Trial: American Artillery Employment in World War I (2001). He holds degrees from the United States Air Force Academy (BS with Academic Distinction, 1991), the University of Calgary (MA, 1998), and Texas A&M University (PhD, 2003).

"Mark Grotelueschen has written one of the most important works on the AEF, and indeed on the history of the modern US Army, to appear in the last twenty years." -Dennis Showalter, Professor of History, Colorado College "I find this to be an invaluable work..." -Douglas V. Johnson, The Journal of Military History "The book dutifullly raises the age-old question of how an army must go about evaluating and validating its doctrine." -Dr. Douglas V. Johnson II, Parameters "This is a compelling and important book. [Grotelueschen's] research is deep, his writing is lucid and presentation sound, and his main points are intriguing and relevant..." -William Thomas Allison, Reviews in American History "Grotelueschen's book goes beyond the well known stories of Belleau Wood and the Argonne Forest to describe how the AEF adapted to combact in France...With the final veterans of the "Great War" passing away, Grotelueschen provides a distinguished critique of their battlefield success. His book is a must for anyone interested in World War I and the development of US Army doctrine." -Maj. Jeffrey P. Joyce, Air Power History "Grotlueschen does an excellent job of describing the problems that soldiers in this conflict had to face." -Stephen A. Bourque, H-War