ary force of sufficient size, if the shipping situation permitted, to make American military participation an effective factor in, the prosecution of the war. Accordingly, on May 28 1917 Gen. Pershing, with a small staff, sailed for Europe and in June the 1st Div. regular army, 12,261 men, accompanied by 2,798 marines, was embarked.
Mobilization. On May 18 1917 there was passed and approved the Congressional Act known as the Selective Service law. It provided that, in addition to the regular army and the National Guard, there be raised for the emergency a national army, by selec- tive conscription of men between the ages of 21 and 30, of which army the President was empowered to summon two units of 500,000 men each at such time as he should deem wise. The same Act removed, for the period of the emergency only, all restrictions as to the numbers and location of officers of the general staff. On July 3 the President called into service the entire National Guard and 1 6 divisional camps were established for their concentration and train- ing. The first registration under the Selective Service law, June 5 1917, was carried out in the main by the voluntary efforts of citizens and gave a total of 9,587,000 registrants. The actual drafting into service was delayed by the necessity of waiting for the construction of the 16 divisional cantonments planned for the national army, and by the lack of equipment and especially of woollen clothing. The first draft, Sept. 1917, inducted into military service 296,678 men, and up to Dec. I 1917 there had been drafted from this first registra- tion 496,043 men. On Dec. 15 voluntary enlistments of men be- tween 21 and 30 were discontinued. From that date also all regis- trants were arranged in five classes according to their importance to the economic interests of the nation and the support of dependents. The men thus placed in Class I. were first rendered liable for military service, and in the sequel the four " deferred " classes were never called upon. In May 1918 Congress provided that the quotas of the various states should be apportioned according to the number of registrants in Class I. instead of according to population. The final total registered, including those coming of age during the operation of the scheme, was upwards of . 10,481,000 men. Of these there had been, on Nov. II 1918, inducted into military service by the draft 2,801,635, or about 25 per cent. In July 1918 it became evident that the then extended military programme would soon lead to the exhaustion of Class I. In order to prevent the in- dustrial disturbance and economic hardships incidental to calls on the deferred classes, Congress provided for the registration of all males betwei the ages of 18 and 45, both inclusive, and made registrants liaole to service in the navy and the Marine Corps as well as in the army. This registration, held Sept. 12 1918, yielded an additional total of 13,228,000 registrants, but owing to the close of the war these were never drawn upon. .The following table shows, in round numbers, the recruiting from month to month:
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Month.
Drafted.
Voluntary Enlistments. All Ages.
Aggregate.
1917 Sept Oct Nov Dec. ....
297,000 164,000 36,000 20,000
24,000 31,000 46,000 142,000
321,000 195,000 82,000 162,000
1918 Jan Feb
23,000 84,000
Outside Draft Ages 41,000 26,000
64,000
I IO OOO
March . April . May . June July . Aug. . Sept. . Oct
132,000 174,000 373.000 302,000 401,000 283,000 263,000 107,000
25,000 23,000 26,000 28,000 19,000
11,000
157,000 197,000 399,000 330,000 420,000 294,000 263,000 107,000
Nov
7,000
7,000
Replacements. In April 1918 there were added to the 32 training- camps already functioning in the United States nine replacement camps of various arms. These were intended to supply the necessary replacements (British "drafts") for the overseas troops, calculated at from 10 % to 25 % a month, and to obviate the necessity of draw- ing upon divisions already organized and in training.
New Officers. One of the most serious problems which confronted the War Department, in April 1917, was the securing of a sufficient number of officers. To meet this need a first series of 16 officers' training-camps was opened on May 15 1917. Officers previously commissioned in the Reserve Corps were required to attend and in addition some 30,000 selected voluntary candidates were admitted. In Aug. there were graduated from this first series 27,341 officers, a number sufficient to meet immediate needs. A second series was opened in Aug. 1917 and a third in Jan. 1918. The first two classes were essentially civilian in character and largely from the university element, and because of the need for officers of all grades commissions were granted up to the grade of colonel. The third class drew 90 % of its candidates from the enlisted ranks of the regular army and
its graduates were commissioned as second lieutenants. These first three classes had supplied, to April 1918, a total of 57,307 new officers.
War Department Organization. Gen. Pershing, who had been given the greatest latitude in the carrying-out of his mission, had very early established the general staff of the Expeditionary Force, selecting from the British and the French systems those features which seemed best adapted to the basic organization of the American army. But the War Department in Washington was in this matter dependent upon Congressional legislation. As the war progressed the system of separate and independent bureaus eventually and inevitably developed a condition of affairs which threatened to jeopardize the success of the military programme. Each bureau, absorbed in the sudden expansion of its personnel, and in its own problems of supply, concentrated its efforts on its own needs without reference in general to the requirements of other bureaus or services or of the army programme as a whole. It was not until May 20 1918 that a Congressional Act made it possible to provide for: (a) a redistribution of the functions of already existing bureaus; (6) the creation of certain new agencies and services made necessary as the result of the development and experiences of the army overseas; (c) the reorganization of the general staff into five main divisions in such a manner as to enable it to perform its proper functions of an effective central controlling agency.
The American Expeditionary Force. The original tentative programme had contemplated in a general way the placing in France by the end of 1918 of approximately 1 ,000,000 men. Between July and Oct. 1917, after consultation with the Allies and a study by Gen. Pershing and his staff of Allied organizations, a more definite programme was drawn up. In order that the services of the rear might keep pace with the arrival of the combat troops this plan was divided into six phases and contemplated the placing in France by Dec. 31 1918 of 1,372,399 troops consisting of 30 divisions, or- ganized into 5 corps of 6 divisions each (4 combat, one training, one replacement), with 2 regiments of cavalry, the necessary corps troops, army troops, service of supply troops, and replacements. It was decided that the American combat division should consist of 4 regiments of infantry (of 3,000 men each, with 3 battalions to a regiment and 4 companies of 250 men each to a battalion); one ar- tillery brigade, of 3 regiments; one machine-gun battalion; one en- gineer regiment ; one trench-mortar battery ; one signal battalion ; wagon trains; and the headquarters staffs and military police. These with the medical and other units for each division made a total of over 28,000 or practically double the size of the French or German division. With 4 divisions fully trained a corps could take over an American sector with 2 divisions in line and 2 in the reserve, with the depot and replacement divisions prepared to fill the gaps in the ranks.
In July 1918 an extension of the original programme was adopted contemplating, by July 30 1919, 80 divisions in France and 18 at home, based on a total strength of the American army of 4,850,000. A further extension, approved Sept. 3 1918, was communicated to the supply departments. It provided for an army of 4,260,000 (100 combat divisions) in France, with 1,290,000 (12 combat divisions) in the United States, a total of 5,550,000 to be reached by June 30 1920. Up to the signing of the Armistice the troops were being transported to France in accordance with the July 1918 progiamme. The needs of training in the overseas forces, and especially of first constructing the necessary facilities for the services of the rear for an independent American army', at first greatly delayed the entry into line of American troops. On Dec. 31 1917 there were in France only 176,665 American troops and but one division had appeared on the front. On Nov. n 1918, 40 American divisions had reached Fi-ance (7 regular army, 17 National Guard, 16 national army). At this date the American troops represented 31 % of the ration strength of the Allied forces in France and held 22 % of the length of the western front. Toward the later stages of the war 2 American divisions cooperated with the Australian corps; 2 divisions assisted the French IV. Corps; and 2 divisions fought with the French VI. Army in Belgium. During the Meuse-Argonne battle 29 combat divisions operated on the American front. Nov. 20 1918 Gen. Pershing, after estimating losses, reported in France 1,338,169 combatant troops. Of the 40 combat divisions which had arrived the infantry personnel of 10 had been used as replacement troops, leaving at that time in France 30 divisions organized into 3 armies of 3 corps each. Of these forces approximately 44% had been trans- ported overseas in American, 51 % in British, 3 % in Italian and 2 % in French ships.
Losses and Casualties. To Nov. 18 1918 the losses were: killed in action, 35,556; died of battle wounds, 15,130; of other wounds, 5,669; of disease, 24,786; total deaths, 81,141; wounded, 179,625; missing, 1,160; prisoners, 2,163. Total casualties, 264,089. Of the wounded about half suffered very slight injuries.
Other Fronts. In addition to its military effort in Europe the United States remained throughout the war under the necessity of maintaining its patrol organizations along the Mexican border. The bulk of its cavalry with some artillery was thus employed. In Sept. 1918 an expeditionary force of 10,000 was sent to Siberia in cooperation with other Allied troops. A small force of 5,000 men sent with the Allied expedition to Murmansk formed part of the A.E.F. organization. One U.S. regiment served in Italy.
