Commitment To Ww1

The award-winning novel by Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, discusses one of the greatest examples of mission command in the form of 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters and his role in the Brecourt Manor Assault. This battle is a textbook example of how to fight against a superior enemy force that outnumbered the unit by four times as much. Facing overwhelming odds with just 16 paratroopers against over 60 German Soldiers, 1LT Winters nevertheless prevails and succeeds in achieving his objective while minimizing casualties to just three Soldiers lost. Looking back further into the American Revolution, the Battle of Bunker Hill on the American side is one of

General John J. Pershing was a general during the Spanish-American War. Before he was a general, he went to West Point(a military prep academy) where he went on to be the highest rank you could be as a cadet. Afterwards, he went on to be an instructor at the academy. General was praised for being one of the most calm, brave men when under fire. During the Spanish-American War he was made commander and sent on the journey to Mexico to capture Pancho Villa. Even though his mission was unsuccessful, he was still recognized as a great public figure. He rose to general because after the Philippine–American war President Roosevelt ordered him home, and put in a petition that he be promoted to colonel. This brought about much difficulty because at

This paper will review the actions of American forces during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Upon the arrival of American forces to France in June 1917, an inexperienced combat force quickly transformed in just 15 months and abruptly ended the war after a 47 day campaign. They were led by General John J. Pershing, fighting against an experienced German foe who had been in battle for over three years prior to their arrival. The American forces involved consisted of the U.S. 1st Army, which was centered in the offensive and part of the overall Allied Expeditionary Force. French forces took part in the offensive to the west, British forces fought to the east. The offensive was named after the very thick Argonne Forest was to the west and

Richard Overy’s book “Why the Allies Won” is a great read for those who are intrigued by World War II alternate histories. Overy gives unique insights on the large scaled picture regarding how the war went throughout each of his chapters. The book identifies that the resulting Allied victory was not inevitable, and then it points out the factors that contributed to making the Allied victory possible.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s responses to the discussion question. While it’s clear that we have all taken reasonably different arguments, I think our responses have relatively coinciding ideas. The single greatest factor that led to Allied victory in World War II needs some deliberation, when considering all the possible factors of Allied victory.

* Analysis of the role played by American troops in the Second Battle of the Marne and subsequent engagements with the Germans

Allied victory in 1945 was not always inevitable. Richard Overy comments in Why the Allies Won that ‘no rational man in early 1942 would have guessed at the eventual outcome of the war’ . The key aspect for the Allies in winning the war was the defeat of Hitler’s Germany. Despite evidence suggesting allied victory was achieved through military might alone, this essay will argue that victory in 1945 was down to a multitude of factors and cannot be solely attributed to the use of military. Therefore, other important influences with changed a possible German victory into an inevitable Allied victory which will be discussed include the entry of the USA into the war with its huge population and industrial capacity. In addition, the failure of

At first they were not under heavy fire, but eventually machine guns rained down a storm of bullets on them. 1,200 Canadian lives were lost. (Britannica) Beaches Omaha and Utah were the focus of the United States. These beaches were stronger in both defenses and man power. Despite Utah having many bunkers and trenches with machine guns in them less than 300 men died.

Throughout the years we have heard stories of the Meuse Argonne Offense and all the casualties it created, but it has never been specific facts of the events that happen. There were approximate 600,000 troops for the offense. That is without counting the artillery part which it was an extra 3,980 personnel. This was part of the movement towards the offense that was implemented by General Pershing. Meanwhile they were in route and arrive to the offense General Pershing was not counting in the weather, which it started raining and the soldiers walked the route implemented which it was about 60 miles of mud that did not help the movement to Meuse Argonne and made them an easier target because of their limited mobility and their lack of

The terrain of the Argonne forest presented a number of problems to the U.S. forces; Overgrown, bushy, and difficult to navigate. There were no roads in the forest for tanks to travel, also making troop movement difficult. The Americans also had a tactical disadvantage since the Germans had been in control of the area for the past four years, fortifying it. The Germans had zeroed in on the forest with artillery, emplaced fixed machine gun fighting positions along the ridgelines, and had the advantage of being the defenders. Another problem with the offensive was logistical. Trying to move a massive quantity of men

He was known to stress the importance of learning all details about the enemy. He accepted a four year assignment as the professor of military science at the University of Nebraska, where he took classes to earn the law degree he had dreamed of as a youth in 1893 (3). At the University of Nebraska, he was said to have taken a group of undisciplined Cadets and transform them into “the best Cadet corps outside of West Point.” In the first year of Pershing being assigned as commandant of Cadets, his Cadets won the national drill competition in Omaha, Nebraska. His team of Cadets was later referred to as the Pershing Rifles (2).

A secondary source article titled “’Belleau Wood’ The Legend, The Reality, and The Myth” written by Colonel John Miller, USMC. This document was written as an explanation to the reality of the events at Belleau Wood. The article mentions that there was a built up legend to the Marines in Europe that was shown to the American public of how glorious and victorious the Marines in Europe were. The Marines were also fighting to keep their existence as the fact that they were seen as a second land army. The text also covers the myth of the battle and is meant to debunk many ideas that were stirring in the public. Marine recruiters would often sell the argument that the term “Devil Dogs” came from the Germans to describe the Marines when this was actually not said in the same way it was

Professor Freeman, in her lecture titled: “The Logic of a Campaign (or, How in the World Did We Win?)”, talks about “logistical” problems that the British Army faced. First and foremost was the simple problem of supply and demand; regarding both fighting men and basic supplies. England was an ocean away and America’s ports were not always welcoming. Second was the actual lay of the land. British forces were not accustomed to fighting over such a vastly spread out region, nor were the accustomed to guerilla style warfare (Freeman).

First of all, I think the United States did a good job of deciding to enter World War One (WW1) for the following reasons,

Leading into the Fall of 1914, tactics on both sides of the line involved the rapid mobilization, maneuver and envelopment of the opposing side.10 Pre-1914 doctrine took little into account the effects of emerging new technology and their impact on both defensive and offensive operations. This disconnect between doctrine and technology contributed to the failure of early offensive operations in the Fall of 1914 and resulted in staggering casualties.11 Both sides developed doctrine that took into effect the unique terrain and technology that had been developed prior and during World War I. However by the end of the war, a combination of flexibility, decentralized control, and counterattack at every echelon made the German defensive system the most effective.12 This “elastic defense” had three unique characteristics; dedicated counter-attack force at all levels, decentralized command and control, fluid defensive belts and integrated artillery support at the Division level. Under this new doctrine, Corps headquarters had the role sustaining subordinate units, but not directing their actions during battle.13 This defense-in-depth and the lessons learned during the Verdun battles of 1918 were so successful that British forces adopted many of the German tactics with a special emphasis on their counterattack capability.10 Utilizing the new doctrine, by August 1918, Germany had made substantial gains, however had