J. Pershing but accept the final strategic authority from the Allied
Supreme Commander, Marshall Ferdinand Foch of France.
Initially, American troops were used piecemeal to plug up holes and
to drive Germans back when possible. By 1918, American troops
were fully engaged. They secured their first victory at Cantigny, just
north of Paris, in May. They suffered terrible losses in June at
Belleau Wood, but still claimed victory.
The real turning point came at the second Battle of the Marne, in
July, where the combined efforts of the French, British, Italians, and
Americans counteracted the German offensive and drove the
Germans eastward. Notably, Americans soldiers, fresh to the war
effort and not weighed down by years of fighting, provided a
decisive edge. In the fall of 1918, Pershing lost over 100,000 men as
he and the other Allied leaders continued to push the Germans
back. By October 1918, Americans were behind German lines
cutting supply lines, and in November 1918, Germany surrendered.
Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you describe the
specific role played by American troops in the Second Battle of the
Marne and in the months that followed between the battle and the
German surrender in November 1918.
Include the following points in your paper:
§ Analysis of the role played by American troops in the Second
Battle of the Marne and subsequent engagements with the Germans
§ Discussion of weaponry used by soldiers in World War I,
including but not limited to bayonets, flamethrowers, machine guns,
pistols, mustard gas, rifles, tanks and trench mortars