Drawing on diaries and memoirs, he brings each engagement to life, from the initial planning to the actual battlefield experiences of soldiers whose exploits at Belleau Woods and along the Meuse-Argonne would become the stuff of legend.
Along the way, he shows how General Pershing and other leaders -- including George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, Billy Mitchell, and Peyton March -- transformed the American Expeditionary Force from a small, underequipped force into a strong, efficient, and effective army. Fast-paced, lively, and engaging, Yanks illuminates the central role of the American army in turning the tide in the biggest war the world had ever known.
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Background Information
World War I arrayed the Central Powers, primarily Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire against Russia in the east and France and Britain in the West. George C. Marshall was the army chief of state in Washington DC during World War II and had the idea for the plan to revive western Europe that became known as the Marshall Plan. Douglas MacArthur commanded American troops in the war against Japan, but was dismissed as commander in Korea by President Truman. George Patton was known as a brilliant but demanding general during World War II, whose insensitivity to public opinion may have kept him from commanding the Normandy invasion.