Nick Lloyd concludes with the arrival of General John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Force in 1917, which fundamentally shifted the war's atmosphere despite the initial lack of a prepared army. Pershing famously resisted "amalgamation," refusi

  Nick Lloyd concludes with the arrival of General John J. Pershing and the American Expeditionary Force in 1917, which fundamentally shifted the war's atmosphere despite the initial lack of a prepared army. Pershing famously resisted "amalgamation," refusing to allow American soldiers to serve directly under French or British officers, insisting instead on a semi-independent American command. By 1918, the sheer volume of American manpower convinced Germanleadership that the war was lost, as the German army began to fall apart under the pressure of Foch's coordinated multinational attacks. Lloyd explicitly debunks the "Stab in the Back" legend, asserting that the German military was decisively defeated on the battlefield and sued for peace due to exhaustion. Although the Allies chose an armistice rather than a costly invasion of Germany, this decision was based on the total exhaustion of the British and French forces rather than a lack of military victory. (8)
1914-1918