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"The First Division was a pretty tired outfit. It had seen eleven months of almost continuous fighting...Rumors were around that there was going to be an armistice, but few listened and none believed. We had been bunked before."

"The artillery fire increased and the machine guns rattled. You were on outpost and you fired your rifle, just fired it at nothing in particular. Everybody was doing it. The din increased until 11 o'clock, it ended with a crash that startled you. Fini la Guerre?"


America's First Shot (Various Sources, 1917 - 1937)

The three articles attached herein were printed five years apart and collectively recall three different events by three different arms of the American military, each claiming to have fired the opening salvo that served notice to Kaiser Bill and his boys that the U.S.A. meant business:

• The first article chuckles at the Army for insisting that the First Division fired the premiere shot on October 23, 1917 in the Luneville sector of the French front;

• The second article recalls the U.S. Merchant Marine freighter MONGOLIA that sank a German U-Boat on April 19, 1917 while cruising off the coast of England.

• following up with the absolute earliest date of American aggression being April 6, 1917 - the same day that Congress declared war - when Marine Corporal Michael Chockie fired his 1903 Springfield across the bow of the German merchant raider S.M.S COMORAN on the island of Guam.

The U.S. Marines Land ''Over There'' (The Spectator, 1918)

A British journalist encountered the United States Marine Corps and found them to be an impressive curiosity that spoke an odd, nautical language. One Marine in particular was singled out and, although anonymous some of you will recognize right away that he could only be one man: Sergeant Dan Daily of the Fifth Marines.

Click here to read about the high desertion rate within the U.S. Army of 1910.


The Biggest Investor In The War (The Literary Digest, 1921)

Here is an article that deals with the money aspect of the First World War. Illustrated with two tables, the journalist explains that the United States laid out far more money than any of the combatant nations. Albeit the funds extended were in the form of loans to the Entente powers rather than the creation of their own military, in the end the U.S. ended up being the one nation that invested the most in the war.


The Invalids Speak (Literary Digest, 1935)

Speaking from their hospital wards, disabled American veterans of W.W. I express their bitterness concerning their lot and the general foolishness of the young who unthinkingly dash off to war at the slightest prompting.

Click here to read about the new rules for warfare that were written as a result of the First World War - none of them pertain to the use of poison gas or submarines.

The U.S. Army Assault on November 11, 1918 (The Stars and Stripes, 1918)

This uncredited STARS and STRIPES article dwells on the same topic as the well-researched book by Joseph Persico, Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918 (2003, Random House). For those who are curious about the violent climax of the war, this two page article will help you to understand which A.E.F. units were still attacking along what front at 10:59 a.m. on November 11, 1918.

"Then a quite startling thing occurred. The skyline of the crest ahead of them grew suddenly populous with dancing soldiers... The Germans came with outstretched hands, ear-to-ear grins and souvenirs to swap for cigarettes."


The Armistice Day Offensive (The Home Sector, 1920)

"A Congressional committee of investigation has recently been treated to a scathing arraignment of the General Staff because military operations on the front of the Second Army were continued up to the hour of the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918. Members of the operations Section of the Staff, particularly the chief, Brigadier General Fox Conner, have been accused of slaughtering men on the last day of the war in order to satisfy their personal ambitions."


Night Patrol in the Toul Sector (Stars and Stripes, 1918)

"Mr. Junius B. Wood, correspondent of the CHICAGO DAILY NEWS with the A.E.F. recently spent a week in the sector held by the American Army Northwest of Toul. He lived the life of a Doughboy, slept a little and saw a lot. He spent his days in and near the front line and some of his nights in No Man's Land. Here is the second and concluding installment of his story, depicting life at the front as it actually is..."

Click here to read an article about the German veterans of W.W. I.

French Women and American Soldiers (The Spiker, 1919)

At the end of the First World War, the young women of France were asked the question:

"Who would you choose for a husband, a Frenchman or an American? And what are the qualities and faults which justify your preference?"

Some of the answers were pretty funny (especially the responses made by the irate Frenchmen returning from the Front). After all the votes were tallied, it was discovered that, regardless of their "gold teeth", "big tortoise shell glasses" and shaved faces, the Doughboys were able to charm as much as a quarter of the women asked (which was a good deal better than they thought they would do) Some women, however, were not very impressed.

Click here to read an article about social diseases within the A.E.F..

Click here if would like to read about British Women and American G.I.s during the Second World War...


World War One American Prisoners of War (The Stars and Stripes, 1919)

A brief notice reporting on the number of American Soldiers captured during the First World War. Also listed are the number of Americans who died in captivity as well as the number of prisoners taken categorized by branch of service. Interestingly, the notice states that 281 American Civilians were also taken prisoner.

Interestingly, the notice states that 116 American Civilians were also taken prisoner and we can assume that these Americans were with the Salvation Army, the Jewish Wellfare Board, the Knights of Columbus, etc.

Click here to learn what the Germans thought of American P.O.W.s...