WWI and the AEF

[bspeer]

I will admit I am not much of a Pershing fan but after reading: To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918 by Edward G. Lengel there is no doubt in my mind that he was WAY out of date. The Brits & French had learned to avoid frontal attacks, the use or machine guns and artillery in support of an attack and how to flank positions bu 1918. Pershing refused anything but front attacks with a Doughboy's guts, rifle and bayonet. Billy Mitchel does not fare too well either, constantly reassuring folks that the Germans air force was not attacking our guys on the front, he claimed the guys were misidentifying the place and they were really American and French!

IMHO, there will 10s of thousands of unnecessary losses due to Pershing and others of his ilk, late in the war when other nations (including the Germans) had learned better. Pershing's elitist attitude towards the lowly Brits & French cost our boys their lives.