26 JUNE 1917 - Arrival of the first U.S. troops in France during #WWI
The U.S. Army had no permanent divisional organizations before WWI. The Regular Army had to expand the number of its own units, plus provide cadre for the National Army divisions composed mostly of draftees.
The 1st Infantry Division, the "Big Red One," is a direct descendant unit of the First Expeditionary Division. When the United Stated declared war on Germany, the Regular Army only had approximately 1000,000 troops.
Pershing selected the 16th, 18th, 26th and 28th Infantry Regiments, stationed at three camps in Texas and one in Arizona, as the basis for what was called the First Expeditionary Division, which he believed he would then command in France.
On 24 May President Woodrow Wilson told Pershing someone else would command the division, while he served as commander in chief of all forces that would become the American Expeditionary Forces, or "AEF."
@SecArmy @USArmy @TRADOC
The troops of the four regiments arrived at Hoboken, New Jersey. When their convoys reached the ports of Saint Nazaire and Brest on 26 June 1917, the first 12,000 of more than 2 million American soldiers arrived to fight in the Great War.
When they landed, crowds of French who witnessed them disembarking knew the Americans were truly on the way to help their nation and the British defeat the Germans.
#Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #VictoryStartsHere #JoinUs #ServeWithUs
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.