ABSTRACT
The triumphant United States (US) emerged from the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War as a member of the great-power fraternity. Beyond the benefits enjoyed by the Navy in the early twentieth century, the US Marine Corps also found a new mission after the Spanish-American War. While the US military went through reforms and deployed to the Caribbean, the European nations slipped slowly toward the bloodiest conflict in history. In anticipation of a conflict, each European nation drew up intricate mobilization schedules and strategic plans for war. Once the United States entered the Great War and his Illinois Guard unit was federalized in 1917, McCormick went with his unit to France. Although facing racial discrimination, the African-American community in the United States overwhelmingly supported the American war effort. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 was an ideal conflict for American observation and analysis of combat, strategy, and technology.
