Alexander Barnes Livres

Baseball is the most American game. No other sporting contest so closely reflects the American psyche and culture. Its uniqueness comes from the fact that part of the game is clearly defined and unchanged since play first began, while another part of the game fluctuates and changes constantly. And if baseball is the truest American game, the Doughboys of the Great War were its most loyal proponents. By 1918, there were over four million of them: two million in France fighting in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and another two million in stateside training camps awaiting their turn to cross the Atlantic to the Western Front. Playing wherever they could find enough room to throw a ball, they brought the game with them into the front lines and then into the occupation of Germany. Sharing their military service, in combat and on the baseball diamond, were a number of famous professional ballplayers, managers, lawyers, politicians, and even an umpire.

The book delves into America's initial foray into European politics through its involvement in WWI, highlighting the occupation of the German Rhineland by the American Forces in Germany (AFG) after the war. Starting with a robust force of 250,000 soldiers in December 1918, the AFG's numbers dwindled to just 1,000 by 1923. The narrative emphasizes the significance of this period, showcasing the future leaders of the Army and Marine Corps who served, including notable figures who later became Marine Commandant and Army Chiefs of Staff, as well as an NFL Head coach.

This book covers the entire spectrum of military service during World War I. It gives examples, including many photographs, from almost every ethnic and national group in the United States during this time. Including draft registration, induction and training, stateside service, overseas service, combat, return home, and discharge, learn the history of America's foreign-born soldiers during World War I and how they adapted to military service to become part of the successful American Expeditionary Forces.