Articles from 1918
As if simply having to be mindful of wind velocity and camouflage was not enough to occupy the thoughts of your average World War I German sniper, some were burdened to a further degree by having to affix this half-inch steel sniper mask to their faces…
The power of positive thinking is one of the necessary elements that has been ingrained within the psyche of every U.S. Army recruit for at least the past 100 years. Positive thought is the topic of this 1918 article about the wartime training of U.S. Army officer cadets at Camp Grant, Illinois, by Major Herman J. Koehler (1859 – 1927), who believed deeply that there is no limit to human endurance.
Read what the U.S. Army psychologists had to say about courage.
The battle of Cantigny (May 28 – 31, 1918) was America’s first division sized engagement during the First World War; George Marshall would later opine that the objective was of no strategic importance and of small tactical value. General Pershing was hellbent on eradicating from the popular memory any mention of the A.E.F.’s poor performance at Seicheprey some weeks earlier, and Cantigny was as good a battleground in which to do it as any. Assessing the battle two weeks after the Armistice, Pershing’s yes men at the STARS AND STRIPES wrote:
But at Cantigny it had been taught to the world the significant lesson that the American soldier was fully equal to the soldier of any other nation on the field of battle.
An article from THE NEW REPUBLIC recognizing that 1914 marked the end of an era.
These three articles from THE STARS AND STRIPES of W.W. I reported on the U.S. Army Campaign hat which was a well-loved uniform item and most Doughboys were pretty choked-up to see that it was going to be replaced by a piece of millinery as slovenly as the overseas cap.
In an attempt to save money, the U.S. Army issued an order that N.C.O.s were to wear chevrons on one arm only.
This U.S. Army uniform regulation announced in the September 13th, 1918 issue of THE STARS and STRIPES helped to put British, French (and later German) tailors to work on the uniforms of U.S. officers:
According to this plan, each Quartermaster depot will have a tailoring system through which the officer can buy his cloth and then be fitted and outfitted on the spot. At each depot, civilian labor will be contracted and the officer need pay for only his share of the labor cost.
Black and white illustrations showing the types of private purchase shirting available to the members of the A.E.F. who were willing to pay for such foppery.
These particular items were British made and the ads depict two jocular Tommies.
Around the middle of 1918, the American Quartermasters began to think that their supply depots should actually be stocked with uniform items that were capable of providing some degree of warmth and comfort in the French winters, and so they dreamed-up the uniform elements described herein. For those who have some knowledge of American WW I uniforms it will be easy to recognize upon reading this article that most of these items were never made (except for the long pants).
Two pages from the Sears Military Equipment catalog of 1918; these were flight-clothing items offered for military or private purchase during a time when aviation was oddly saturated with equestrian pretensions.
The canvas leggings worn by the A.E.F. (as ordered in the American Army Uniform Regulations of 1912) were simply dandy for duties on the dry prairies of the United States, but soon proved impractical in the damp and rainy climate of France and Belgium. Shortly after their arrival in France the U.S. Army replaced their leggings with the wool puttees worn by their European Allies. In May of 1919 they were adopted for use by the entire Army.
