American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front (World War I) order of battle

American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front (World War I) order of battle
With America's first convoy. The troop ships are the Henderson, Antilles, Momus and Lenape.
Active	1917–19
Country	United States
Role	Combined arms
Size	c. 4,000,000 men (2,000,000 of which were in France by the Armistice)
Garrison/HQ	Chaumont, France
Nickname(s)	AEF
Anniversaries	November 11, 1918
Engagements	Western Front Battle of Cambrai Spring Offensive Battle of Cantigny Battle of Belleau Wood Second Battle of the Marne Battle of Château-Thierry Hundred Days Offensive Battle of Saint-Mihiel Meuse-Argonne Offensive Italian Front Battle of Vittorio Veneto
Commanders
Notable commanders	John J. Pershing

The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) consisted of the United States Armed Forces (mostly the United States Army) that were sent to Europe in World War I to support the Allied cause (due to the Central Powers' hostility to the U.S.). When it was sent to Europe, it had seven corps and two unassigned divisions. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside French and British allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces. Some of the troops fought alongside Italian forces in that same year, against Austro-Hungarian forces.

President Woodrow Wilson created the AEF in May 1917, originally appointing Major General Frederick Funston as commander. When he died, Major General John J. Pershing was promoted to general and ordered to take his place. Barely any American troops were sent to Europe in 1917, since Pershing ordered all AEF forces to be well-trained before going overseas.

The troop ships used to transport the AEF were, at first, any ships that were available. Cruisers, seized German ships, borrowed Allied ships, and many other ships were used to ship troops to Europe from ports in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. By June 1917, only 14,000 soldiers had made it to the front lines, but by May 1918 over one million American troops had reached Europe, with around half of them on the front lines.

The AEF helped the French Army on the Western Front during the Aisne Offensive (at Château-Thierry and Belleau Wood) in June 1918, and fought its major actions in the Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives in late 1918. Organized into two field armies (a third was forming as the war ended), it had a total strength of four million men, half of which had arrived in Europe by the time of the Armistice.

First Army

First Army (structure as of the St. Mihel offensive) John J. Pershing (10 August 1918 – 16 October 1918) Hunter Liggett (16 October 1918 – 20 April 1919)
Name	Commander	Notes
I Corps	Hunter Liggett	Formed from 15–20 January 1918
IV Corps	George Windle Read	Formed on 20 June 1918
V Corps	William M. Wright George H. Cameron	Formed on 7–12 July 1918
II Corps (France)	General Cadoudal General Phillipot	Formed when France entered the war (in 1914).
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Army War College Historical Section (1988) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, Separate Forces (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. Volume I. CMH Pub 23-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)

Second Army

Second Army (structure as of the period from 16 October 1918 to 11 November 1918) Robert Lee Bullard
Name	Commander	Notes
IV Corps	George Windle Read	Formed on 20 June 1918
VI Corps	Omar Bundy Charles C. Ballou Charles T. Menoher	Formed on 1 August 1918
VII Corps	unknown	Formed on 19 August 1918
II Corps (France)	General Cadoudal General Phillipot	Formed when France entered the war (in 1914)
XVII Corps (France)	unknown	Formed when France entered the war (in 1914)
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Army War College Historical Section (1988) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, Separate Forces (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. Volume I. CMH Pub 23-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)

I Corps

File:Americans in Champagne-Marne offensive.jpg

The American 28th Infantry Division in the Champagne-Marne offensive in 1918.

Major General Hunter Liggett took command of I Corps when it was created, almost one year after the Americans entered the war. It served through most of the battles that the American Expeditionary Forces fought on the Western Front.

Assisted by the French XXXII Corps, I Corps was organized and activated on 15–20 January 1918. I Corps saw its first major action at the Battle of Chateau-Thierry, while seeing its first offensive action several days later at the Second Battle of the Marne. After serving briefly in the defensive sectors of Lorraine and Champagne, I Corps later served in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

I Corps Hunter Liggett
Name	Commander	Units	Notes
1st Infantry Division	Charles P. Summerall	1st Brigade 2nd Brigade 1st Field Artillery Brigade
2nd Infantry Division	Charles A. Doyen John A. Lejeune	3rd Infantry Brigade 4th Infantry Brigade 2nd Field Artillery Brigade
26th Infantry Division	Clarence Ransom Edwards	51st Infantry Brigade 52nd Infantry Brigade 51st Field Artillery Brigade
32nd Infantry Division	James Parker William G. Haan William Lassiter	63rd Infantry Brigade 64th Infantry Brigade 57th Field Artillery Brigade
41st Infantry Division	was separated	81st Infantry Brigade 82nd Infantry Brigade 66th Field Artillery Brigade
42nd Infantry Division	William Abram Mann Charles T. Menoher Charles Dudley Rhodes Douglas MacArthur	83rd Infantry Brigade 84th Infantry Brigade 67th Field Artillery Brigade
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714.

II Corps

II Corps was organized in January 1918 with its headquarters being located in Montreuil, France. It moved to the Western Front in February 1918, and served in the Second Battle of the Somme and the Third Battle of Albert. It mostly served alongside the New Zealand Division and the Australian Corps.

II Corps Robert Lee Bullard
Name	Commander	Units	Notes
4th Infantry Division	George H. Cameron	7th Infantry Brigade 8th Infantry Brigade 4th Field Artillery Brigade
28th Infantry Division	John H. Muir	55th Infantry Brigade 56th Infantry Brigade 53rd Field Artillery Brigade
30th Infantry Division	Edward M. Lewis	59th Infantry Brigade 60th Infantry Brigade 55th Field Artillery Brigade
35th Infantry Division	Peter E. Traub	69th Infantry Brigade 70th Infantry Brigade 60th Field Artillery Brigade
77th Infantry Division	George B. Duncan	153rd Infantry Brigade 154th Infantry Brigade 152nd Field Artillery Brigade
82nd Infantry Division	William P. Burnham	163rd Infantry Brigade 164th Infantry Brigade 157th Field Artillery Brigade
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714.

III Corps

Officers of the American Expeditionary Forces and the Baker Mission, a fact-finding team sent to the Western Front prior to the commitment of US troops to study British and French warfighting techniques.

III Corps was first organized on 16 May 1918 in Mussy-Ser-Seine, France. It was designed as the third of four newly activated corps of the American Expeditionary Force, which at that time numbered over 1,000,000 men across 23 divisions. The corps took command of US forces training with the French Seventh Army at the same time that IV Corps took command of US forces training with the French Eighth Army.

It served during the Third Battle of the Aisne, the Aisne-Oise Offensive, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and undertook a short time in the defensive sectors of Lorraine and the Champagne.

III Corps William M. Wright
Name	Commander	Units	Notes
3rd Infantry Division	Joseph T. Dickman	5th Infantry Brigade 8th Infantry Brigade 3rd Field Artillery Brigade
5th Infantry Division	John E. MacMahon	9th Infantry Brigade 10th Infantry Brigade 5th Field Artillery Brigade
27th Infantry Division	John F. O'Ryan	53rd Infantry Brigade 54th Infantry Brigade 52nd Field Artillery Brigade
33rd Infantry Division	George Bell, Jr.	65th Infantry Brigade 66th Infantry Brigade 58th Field Artillery Brigade
78th Infantry Division	James A. McRae	155th Infantry Brigade 156th Infantry Brigade 153rd Field Artillery Brigade
80th Infantry Division	Adelberg Cronkhite	159th Infantry Brigade 160th Infantry Division 155th Field Artillery Brigade
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714.

IV Corps

IV Corps was first organized on 20 June 1918, during World War I as part of American Expeditionary Forces at Western Front, as Headquarters IV Army Corps, with its headquarters located in Neufchateau, France. It participated in the Battle of St. Mihiel and in the defensive sector in Lorraine, before being demobilized in the Weimar Republic on 11 May 1919.

IV Corps George Windle Read
Name	Commander	Units	Notes
29th Infantry Division	C.G. Morton	57th Infantry Brigade 58th Infantry Brigade 54th Field Artillery Brigade
37th Infantry Division	C. S. Farnsworth	73rd Infantry Brigade 74th Infantry Brigade 62nd Field Artillery Brigade
83rd Infantry Division	E. F. Glenn	165th Infantry Brigade 166th Infantry Brigade 158th Field Artillery Brigade
89th Infantry Division	Frank L. Winn	177th Infantry Brigade 178th Infantry Brigade 164th Field Artillery Brigade
90th Infantry Division	Henry T. Allen	179th Infantry Brigade 180th Infantry Brigade 165th Field Artillery Brigade
92nd Infantry Division	C. C. Ballou	183rd Infantry Brigade 184th Infantry Brigade 167th Field Artillery Brigade
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714.

V Corps

The American Expeditionary Forces marching in France.

V Corps was organized over the period 7–12 July 1918 in France as a Regular Army formation within the American Expeditionary Forces. By the end of World War I, the Corps had fought in three named campaigns: the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and the Lorraine campaign.

Activated and organized by William M. Wright under orders by General John Pershing from 7–12 July 1918, its headquarters was constructed in Remiremont, France. It was put into the First Army when the First Army was created on 15 August 1918. It held command of the French 15th Colonial Infantry Division for a short period of time in 1918.

V Corps William M. Wright (formation–October 1918) George H. Cameron (October–November 1918)
Name	Commander	Units	Notes
6th Infantry Division	James B. Erwin	11th Infantry Brigade 12th Infantry Brigade 6th Field Artillery Brigade
36th Infantry Division	W. R. Smith	71st Infantry Brigade 72nd Infantry Brigade 61st Field Artillery Brigade
76th Infantry Division	Harry F. Hodges	151st Infantry Brigade 152nd Infantry Brigade 151st Field Artillery Brigade
79th Infantry Division	Joseph E. Kuhn	157th Infantry Brigade 158th Infantry Brigade 154th Field Artillery Brigade
85th Infantry Division	C. W. Kennedy	169th Infantry Brigade 170th Infantry Brigade 160th Field Artillery Brigade
91st Infantry Division	Frederick H. Foltz	181st Infantry Brigade 182nd Infantry Brigade 166th Field Artillery Brigade
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714.

Unassigned divisions

These divisions were unassigned to corps in the AEF during World War I.

Unassigned divisions
Name	Commander	Units	Notes
81st Infantry Division	C.J. Bailey	161st Infantry Brigade 162nd Infantry Brigade 156th Field Artillery Brigade
93rd Infantry Division	(Commander not announced)	185th Infantry Brigade 186th Infantry Brigade 165th Infantry Brigade
Sources: Unless otherwise cited, the source is Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714.

References

Bibliography

• Army War College Historical Section (1988) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters, Armies, Army Corps, Services of Supply, Separate Forces (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. Volume I. CMH Pub 23-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
• Coffman, Edward M. (1998). The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I. The Standard History. ISBN 0-81317-059-1.
• Gibbons, Floyd Phillips (2014) [1918]. And They Thought We Wouldn't Fight. Chicago, IL: The Lakeside Press. OCLC 897378714.
• Grotelueschen, Mark (2007). The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139458948.
• Henry, Mark (2012). The U.S. Army of World War I. Men-at-Arms. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-78200-234-0.
• Pershing, John J. (1931). My Experiences in the World War. New York, NY: Fredrick A. Stokes Company. OCLC 394688.
• Rinaldi, Richard A. (2004). The U.S. Army in World War I – Orders of Battle. Takoma Park, MD: Tiger Lily Publications. ISBN 0-97202-964-8.
• Stewart, Richard W (2005). The United States Army in a Global Era, 1917–2003. American Military History. Vol. Volume II. CMH Pub 30–22. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 978-0-16-072541-8. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
• Votaw, John (2013). The American Expeditionary Force in World War I. Battle Orders. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-47280-201-2.
• Wilson, John B. (1999). III Corps. Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 9780160499920.
• Wilson, John B. (1999). Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades. Army Lineage Series. CMH Pub 60-7-1. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN 0-16049-992-5.

Web sources

• "III Corps history" (PDF). U.S. Army. 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
• "Military Corps patches". Vetshome.com. 2012. Retrieved 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
• "Order of Battle (Unit Structure) – American Forces – World War I". Hermitage Foundation Inc. 1998. Retrieved 1998. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
• Kirkpatrick, Charles E. (2001). "The History of V Corps" (PDF). V Corps. Retrieved November 2001. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Further reading

• Army War College Historical Section (1988) [1931]. The American Expeditionary Forces: Divisions (PDF). Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War. Vol. Volume II. CMH Pub 23-2. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 183412729. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)