U.S. Army Campaigns of World War I - Joining the Great War April 1917 - April 1918

Joining the Great War, April 1917–April 1918, by Eric B. Setzekorn, is the next installment in the U.S. Army Campaigns of World War I series, chronicling the first year of the American involvement in World War I. It briefly summarizes the prewar U.S. Army, the initial American reaction to the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914, and the factors that led to the U.S. declaration of war in April 1917. The narrative then examines how the U.S. Army transformed itself from a small constabulary force into a mass, industrialized army capable of engaging in modern warfare. The author covers stateside mobilization and training, the formation of the American Expeditionary Forces, and the slow buildup of American forces in France and concludes with U.S. soldiers helping to blunt the first phase of the 1918 German Spring Offensive.