The Americans Save Paris - 1918
Belleau Wood &
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The AEF was sent to France as a distinct national force. Pershing was emphatic, his men were not there to plug the manpower shortages in the French and British ranks. Belleau Wood - the first massed attack by the US forces - was an event which was in many ways contrary to that policy.
Pershing was not inflexible. At Cantigny in May 1918 Pershing had already committed his 1st Infantry Division to take the village from the Germans and then defend it from counter-attack.
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Artillery piece commemorating the fighting in Belleau Wood.
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The Second Battle
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Victorious on the Russian front, by early 1918 Germany now had the men to smash through the French and British. It was the USA which rebalanced the fight decisively, only 40 miles from Paris at Chateau Thierry.
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