The American Expeditionary Forces – Don’t Forget the “S”

As the curator of the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, when I have time, I read lots of books, articles and journals about the American military involvement in World War I. The first thing I check is, when the American Expeditionary Forces are referred to, that the “s” on Forces is present. If not, I tend to take the rest of the information with some skepticism. The organization of the AEF was very specific as you will see about using the term “Forces.”

Less than two months after the United States entered the World War, General Orders No. 1, Washington, D.C., May 26, 1917 stated that “pursuant to the orders of the President, the undersigned assumes command of the American Expeditionary Forces....” That day, Major General John J. Pershing assumed his duties as Commander-in-Chief of the “American Expeditionary Forces” under instructions from Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker.

Baker’s orders stated that the “President designates you [Pershing] to command all the land forces of the United States operating in Continental Europe and in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, including any parts of the Marine Corps which may be detached for service there with the Army.” Baker continued that the “forces of the United States are a separate and distinct component of the combined forces, the identity of which must be preserved.” The use of the term “Forces” played a large role in the perception of the planners and organizers of what the American effort in the war was to be.

The Historical Report of the Chief Engineer, Including all Operations of the Engineer Department, American Expeditionary Forces (1919) relates that the “Engineer Department of the American Expeditionary Forces had its beginning May 18, 1917, when Colonel Harry Taylor reported for duty in Washington as chief engineer officer on the staff of the commanding general.” The General Organization Project, American Expeditionary Forces, Folder 748A, dated July 10, 1917 and sent from General Pershing’s headquarters in Paris to the Adjutant General in Washington, D.C. listed the “organization of forces to be sent to France.”

Another of the earliest extant documents using the official term in France, to the French Minister of War, was sent on June 17, 1917 from “Headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces.” The letter, in dealing with requests made of and by American officers, General Pershing asked that “in the future all matters relating to the organization, equipment and operation of the American Expeditionary Forces be handled directly with my headquarters.” General Ferdinand Foch wrote on June 30, 1917 to “General Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Forces in France.”

General Pershing’s final report of September 1, 1919, to the Secretary of War, related what Baker already understood that “from the American viewpoint no greater mistake could have been made than to abandon the idea of creating an independent American Army, into which all American forces would be assembled as soon as they were ready to operate. Only the thought of an American Army under its own commander and its own flag would have drawn from the American people the wholehearted support which provided our forces with the men and the materials necessary to an Allied victory.”

No better authority than General John J. Pershing wrote in his Experiences in the World War in 1931 in the very first sentence: “My primary purpose in writing this story of the American Expeditionary Forces in France....”