ABSTRACT
In 1914, a stalemate was reached on the western front. At first, soldiers tried to apply some of the old rules of chivalry to the new trench warfare. The politicians focus on how the fighting advanced the political goals of the war, the generals consider the overall strategic gains or losses, while soldiers remember the terrifying moments of confronting death at firsthand. This chapter explores these differing perspectives, and shows how much American soldiers contributed to the eventual Allied victory in 1918. The quality of leadership, overall strategy pursued, compromises with the Allies, and American troops’ relationships with one another all affected how the American army fought and won the war. Community leaders supported the plan to segregate ethnic soldiers to protect their dual identity as Polish- Americans or Italian- Americans. The experiences of American troops who fought in Russia during the war differed dramatically from those of soldiers in France.
