What America did : $b A record of achievement in the prosecution of the warKelly, Florence Finch
History
What America did : $b A record of achievement in the prosecution of the war
Kelly, Florence Finch
World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
The enemy captured 4,500 prisoners from the American forces and lost to
them almost 50,000, so that the Americans took ten for each one they
lost. The American Army captured also in the neighborhood of 1,500
guns. There were 32,800 Americans killed in action and 207,000 were
wounded, of whom over 13,500 died of their wounds, while the missing
numbered almost 3,000. The total casualties of all kinds, exclusive of
prisoners returned, for the Army amounted to 288,500, while those for
the Marine Corps totaled over 6,000 additional. The battle death rate
for the expeditionary forces was 57 per thousand.
In recognition of their exceptionally courageous and self-forgetful
deeds on the battle field nearly 10,000 members of the American
Expeditionary Forces received decorations from the French, British,
Belgian and Italian Governments. Our own rarely bestowed and much
coveted Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest recognition for valor
the Government can give, was won by 47 heroes, while Distinguished
Service Medals were awarded to several hundred individuals and to a
goodly number of fighting units.
Those of their own officers who had had a lifetime of military training
and experience marveled at the spirit of these civilian soldiers and
their feeling was voiced by one of them who said, “They have taken our
West Point tradition of implicit obedience and run away with it, as
they have with every other soldierly quality.”
Field Marshal Haig complimented the American divisions who had fought
under him upon “their gallant and efficient service,” and “the dash and
energy of their attacks,” said that their deeds “will rank with the
highest achievements of the war” and told them, “I am proud to have had
you in my command.”
Marshal Foch said that “the American soldiers are superb” and told
how, when General Pershing wished to concentrate his army in the
Meuse-Argonne sector, notwithstanding its many obstacles and forbidding
terrain, he consented, saying to the American general, “Your men have
the devil’s own punch. They will get away with all that.”
Other British and French officers on many occasions praised the
“gallantry” and “the high soldierly qualities” of these civilian
troops, their “energy, courage and determination,” their “discipline,
smartness and physique,” said they were “splendid fighters with marked
initiative,” and one French general commanding an American division
that was in battle for the first time declared that their “combative
spirit and tenacity” rivaled that of “the old and valiant French
regiments” with which they were brigaded. German documents captured
not long after our men had begun to take an important part showed that
the foe already had a good opinion of the American soldier, for they
spoke of his expertness with weapons, his courage, his determination,
his fighting qualities and--curious soldierly quality for a German to
recognize--his honor in battle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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