Sons of Freedom: The Forgotten American Soldiers Who Defeated Germany in World War I

by Geoffrey Wawro

Overview

The "stirring," definitive history of America's decisive role in winning World War I (Wall Street Journal).

The American contribution to World War I is one of the great stories of the twentieth century, and yet it has all but vanished from view. Historians have dismissed the American war effort as largely economic and symbolic. But as Geoffrey Wawro shows in Sons of Freedom, the French and British were on the verge of collapse in 1918, and would have lost the war without the Doughboys. Field Marshal Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, described the Allied victory as a "miracle" — but it was a distinctly American miracle.

In Sons of Freedom, prize-winning historian Geoffrey Wawro weaves together in thrilling detail the battles, strategic deliberations, and dreadful human cost of the American war effort. A major revision of the history of World War I, Sons of Freedom resurrects the brave heroes who saved the Allies, defeated Germany, and established the United States as the greatest of the great powers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465093915
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	09/25/2018
Pages:	640
Sales rank:	471,965
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Geoffrey Wawro is professor of history and director of the Military History Center at the University of North Texas and the author of six books, including A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire. Wawro lives in Dallas, Texas.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

List of Maps xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xvii

1 Dog Days 1

2 "Too Proud To Fight" 20

3 Sleeping Sword Of War 54

4 "Lafayette, We Are Here" 82

5 The Kaiser's Battle 112

6 "With Our Backs To The Wall" 133

7 Belleau wood 149

8 Château-Thierry 183

9 Second Marne 200

10 The Hundred Days 244

11 Saint-Mihiel 275

12 Meuse-Argonne: Montfaucon 302

13 Meuse-Argonne: Exermont 343

14 Meuse-Argonne: Romagne 374

15 Meuse-Argonne: Barricourt 424

16 Meuse-Argonne: Sedan 457

17 Peace? 482

Bibliography 511

Notes 517

Index 577

Editorial Reviews

"A stirring story and a careful work of military history."—Wall Street Journal

"Well-researched and engaging...Wawro offers intriguing reexaminations of a devastating conflict...Sons of Freedom shows how the U.S. moved itself from isolationism to world power with startling speed, mostly on the shoulders of its muddy and bloodied Doughboys."—Dallas Morning News

"As the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I approaches, a loud 'huzzah' is due Geoffrey Wawro — one of the few historians bold enough to declare that American intervention was decisive in the conflict."—Washington Times

"[A] masterpiece of military history...Sons of Freedom will change the way you look at how the World War was won."—Washington Book Review

"Masterful...Based on extensive archival and secondary research, [Sons of Freedom] belongs on bookshelves everywhere."—Choice

"Wawro's ability to do research in the French and German languages, as well as English, makes him somewhat unique among American scholars who have written about the U.S. in World War I...[Wawro] reminds us of the important role played by Americans."—ARMY Magazine

"Geoffrey Wawro has written distinguished works of military history before, but this might be his most compelling. His tale of the Doughboys is gripping, his argument about their accomplishment is persuasive, and his enthusiasm for the era and the subject is irresistible."—H.W. Brands, author of The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War

"In this bold and bracing new history, Geoffrey Wawro argues that the American intervention in WWI was decisive, and that the Allies would not have won the war without it. What is more, the critical American contribution was not, as we are usually told, financial; nor even material or technological, as was the case in World War II. Rather, it was about raw infantry manpower. Surprising the Germans, American doughboys stormed heavily fortified German positions with little more than rifles, grenades, trench mortars, and bayonets, fueled by kill-or-be-killed grit and courage under fire. With Sons of Freedom, Wawro has rewritten the history of the Allied victory in 1918, bringing the last months of the war to gory, gas-choked and blood-soaked life, along with the forgotten Americans—of all races—who fought, bled, suffered and died to win it."—Sean McMeekin, author of July 1914: Countdown to War

"Geoffrey Wawro adds to his luster as one of America's leading military historians with the meticulously researched Sons of Freedom. He upends the conventional understanding of how World War I ended, showing that the military prowess of the American Expeditionary Forces was of critical importance in the defeat of Wilhelmine Germany even if the U.S. suffered far less than the other combatants. The Doughboys finally get their long overdue credit in this important work of revisionist history. Anyone who wants to understand what really happened in World War I must read this book."—Max Boot, author of The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam

"Sons of Freedom provides a wonderful description—warts and all—of the army that the United States sent to fight in France in 1918. Wawro's depiction of the battles is truly horrifying, and his analysis of the strategy and politics on both sides wonderfully clear. It is the best book yet about the Doughboys, and one of the most important I have read about the First World War."—Sir Michael Howard, Regius Professor of Modern History (emeritus), University of Oxford

"A definitive account of American intervention in the Great War...Wawro chronicles numerous military campaigns in detail...and does a particularly good job describing the brutality of the battles and the lasting effects on the survivors. Readers will sympathize with the soldiers and gain a better understanding of the sacrifices that millions of Americans made."—Booklist

"An appropriate tribute to the Americans of the First War."—New York Journal of Books

"The typical take on American participation in the First World War...is firmly that of a supporting role...Geoffrey Wawro's explosive new book Sons of Freedom sets out in the course of 500 pages to interrogate every last detail of this standard view, and virtually nothing of it survives intact...Utterly convincing."—Open Letters Review

"Powerful...A refreshingly solid correction for the record."—Roads to the Great War

From the Publisher

2018-06-18
Wawro (History/Univ. of North Texas; A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire, 2014, etc.) takes a deeper look at the American soldiers who rescued Europe in 1918.Many historians believe that World War I wasn't really won; it was just interrupted until 1936, when it roared back to life. As forewarned in 1919, without an American presence in Europe, Germany would take over Europe's coastline and prevent another rescue. In 1918, the French, Italians, and English were running out of manpower. The French army was down to old men and teenagers, and their credit was exhausted. They were desperate for soldiers as a strategical reserve against Germany—and America could provide soldiers. When Gen. John Pershing finally brought the Doughboys to Europe, they were untrained and ignorant of modern trench warfare, and they lacked the necessary equipment. They arrived without engineers, signalers, tanks, artillery, machine guns, or planes—all to be shipped later. Pershing swore that America would not serve except under his leadership, but his army was ineffective. He did release a dozen battalions of "colored" soldiers to the French; they were fully incorporated as combat troops and highly praised. Eventually, he agreed to help the Allies, but not too much. The first American battle took place at Cantigny in May 1918, a full year after the U.S. declared war. German Gen. Erich Ludendorff knew the American army could tip the scales, and he did all in his power to finish off the Allies before their arrival. Unfortunately for the Americans, the artillery was late, and the tanks, even with George Patton in charge, were still too new and unreliable. Still, as Wawro ably demonstrates, the American reserves were crucial to the war's outcome: "The Doughboys won the war by surrounding the German army in France and Belgium and compelling its surrender."An interesting look at America's claims about World War I, the truth and folly therein, and the unfinished work they left behind after the armistice was (eventually) signed.

Kirkus Reviews

★ 09/01/2018
With the neglected and forgotten contributions of American soldiers, or "Doughboys," as its overriding theme, this new work from Wawro (director, Military History Ctr., Univ. of North Texas; A Mad Catastrophe: The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire) seeks to demonstrate how their efforts won World War I. It begins with defining the diplomatic and political situation from the war's beginning until American intervention, then proceeds to detail mobilization, training, transporting, equipping, and deploying American soldiers. Diplomatic relations with Britain and France, including arguments for amalgamation of U.S. units into British and French Army units (as opposed to fighting as independent, consolidated American forces), are recurring topics. Although inexperienced, often untrained, and poorly supported, Doughboys were aggressive and persistent, while British and French forces were spent, often deserting their posts or failing to advance to support allied forces. Captured Germans claimed they feared American soldiers above all others, and that Doughboys were excellent shock troops. VERDICT An excellent analysis of American's involvement in World War I. Recommended for anyone interested in U.S. military history.—Matthew Wayman, Pennsylvania State Univ. Lib., Schuylkill Haven

Library Journal