 The Story of the American Expeditionary Forces |
 42nd "Rainbow" Division |
SOME REMARKS ABOUT "AMERICAN ARMIES and BATTLEFIELDS in EUROPE," 1927, 1938, and 1992 by the AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, DCby David C. Homsher |
Cover: 1927 Edition
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American Armies and Battlefields in Europe, although still the admitted "Baedeker" of American World War I battlefield guide books, has very few errors of commission, but it has many errors of omission, plus some built in faults and prejudices. "American Armies..." is, in short, beginning to show its sixty-six years of age.
After the end of World War I, the lessons of battle were then, as now, of immediate interest. Therefore, at war's end, General John J. Pershing's headquarters began a series of battlefield tours for officers whose staff duties kept them from combat or who may have arrived in theater too late to participate. These tours acquainted them with the actual battlefields and became the basis for early pamphlets sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). In 1927 the commission published A Guide to the American Battle Fields in Europe to commemorate the tenth anniversary of America's entrance into the "war to end all wars." But research and writing on the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and its battlefields did not stop. One of the authors assigned to the commission to continue this work was Major Dwight D. Eisenhower. By 1938 the American Battle Monuments Commission had expanded its guidebook, as a public document, both to provide visitors with a detailed, documented itinerary for visits and to serve as a history of the AEF's accomplishments. Although out of print during the period from World War II until 1992, this guidebook was avidly sought after by historians, students of the Great War, and veterans and their descendants wishing to find battle sites of long ago.  Typical Pages from the Earliest EditonAmerican Armies and Battlefields in Europe is not only in compact and convenient, one-volume format, but it is little less than indispensable in visiting the American battlefields of World War I in France. It can still be used easily today. Few road changes have occurred, and though new forests or farms may require minor modifications to the itineraries or viewpoints detailed in the book, the original work still remains the most authoritative source for visitors to the AEF's battlefields. By supplementing it with either a contemporary Michelin road map or one of the topographic maps published by France's Institut Géographique National (IGN), any visitor to America's Great War battlefields can easily navigate in France. Although admittedly worth its weight in gold, American Armies and Battlefields in Europe , published in 1938 and again in 1992 by the American Battle Monuments Commission, Washington, DC, is beginning to show its age after sixty-six years, and is still sadly in need of updating. Understandable excellent for its time and audience, the book was written during and for an era when only a comparatively few wealthy Americans went to Europe, and those who did could well afford to tote this weighty tome with them in their steamer trunks. The ABMC battlefield guidebook, although very comprehensive in its coverage, is generally lacking in detailed descriptions. Perhaps one could realistically expect no less, particularly when the entire subject of the AEF battles in all of Europe together with a wealth of statistics and other generalized information is compacted into a book of 517 pages. Many who have used it as a guide to the battlegrounds complain of its lack of description, that one constantly has the desire for more information on certain battles when reading the ABMC text. For example, the vicious seesaw battle for the town of Sergy is given only five lines! Coincidentally, perhaps, it was the U.S. 42nd Division of the National Guard that was involved in this battle. The hand-to-hand battle for the little suburb of Fismes called Fismette, surely the worst five days of AEF combat in the war, is given a total of three paragraphs, one of which is devoted entirely to describing a winner of the Medal of Honor. Again, it is worthwhile to mention that it was the U.S. 28th Division of the Pennsylvania National Guard that fought for Fismette. In short, with the ABMC guidebook one sees much of the forest but few of the trees, figuratively speaking. One returns from the battlefields feeling frustrated and knowing that much was missed.  One of Many Excellent and Helpful Maps in the GuidebooksA perhaps typical example of prejudicial writing is the fact that the fighting done by the U.S. 1st Division at Cantigny is given a total of three entire pages in the ABMC book. Compare this with the short shrift given therein concerning Sergy and Fismette, both battles fought by National Guard divisions. Perhaps the Regular Army officers who wrote the text of the ABMC battlefield guidebook had good reason to be a bit miffed? The best tribute to Guardsmen came from their enemies. In a study made in post-war days, the German High Command considered eight American divisions especially effective; six of those were those of the much maligned "militia" or National Guard! When the German soldiers were asked which American combat division they most feared and respected, the reply was always, "the 42nd", and "the Rainbow." For some reason the Germans never made the distinction. |
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