Date of publication: 22/06/2013
Professor Christopher Capozzola (Associate Professor of History at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) writes for the Oxford University Press blog about the American Expeditionary Force’s (doughboys) arrival in France in on the 26th June 1917 during the First World War.
Professor Capozzola describes the American Expeditionary Force’s landing at St. Nazaire, France and the military and psychological impact their arrival had on Allied – particularly French – morale.
The blog post considers a variety of aspects about the arrival of the American Expeditionary Force in France, including: “who were the first doughboys?”; attempts to maintain America “as an “associated” power rather than an ally, lest the doughboys become cannon fodder for French or British generals”; and the role of black soldiers in the AEF.
To read the full blog post, visit the Oxford University Press website here.
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News