Pershing and His Generals: Command and Staff in the AEF

by James J. Cooke

Overview

When the United States entered the Great War in April of 1917, there were few officers with any staff training, and none had actually served on large, complex staffs in combat. This work traces the development of the staff of the AEF and describes how Pershing found the generals to command those divisions that fought on the Western Front in World War I. Many of Pershing's generals had been colonels only a few months prior to assuming command of divisions. John J. Pershing's task was to mold a diverse group of men into effective staff officers and into general officers to face the rigors of modern combat. How he accomplished this task, and how well the AEF did, is the focus of this work on the AEF's command and staff structure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275953638
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/25/1997
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

JAMES J. COOKE is Professor of History at the University of Mississippi. His most recent books are 100 Miles from Baghdad (1993), The Rainbow Division in the Great War (1994), and The U.S. Air Service in the Great War, 1917-1919 (1996), all publsihed by Praeger.

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Genesis of the AEF Staff
Someone to Command
Refining the Staff
Getting Organized
Evaluation and Classification
Into the Fight, Spring, 1918
Dennis Nolan and Intelligence in the AEF
Formation of the First U.S. Army
The Meuse—Argonne Offensive
Aftermath and Lessons Learned
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Focuses on Pershing and his command and staff: how the staff grew and became a professional organization in a short time; and how the AEF manned the growing number of combat divisions when trained Leavenworth men were in such short supply. The author refers readers elsewhere rather than rehashing the issues Pershing faced with allies in Europe and the government in Washington, or the two main battles that the AEF fought in 1918. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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