ABSTRACT
The First World War began as a global war fought by empires for empire. The European powers immediately deployed their colonial soldiers of color in combat against other Europeans. In August 1914, the U.S. Army proved to be the only American armed force that might assign African Americans to combat. The Navy had relegated black men to the mess, as stewards, and the Marine Corps had remained all-white by policy since 1798. How would the American Expeditionary Forces deploy their 380,000 black soldiers in 1917-1918?
