In a Strange Land: The American Occupation of Germany 1918-1923 Alexander Barnes

In a Strange Land: The American Occupation of Germany 1918-1923
Alexander Barnes
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd (1 Jun 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0764337610
ISBN-13: 9780764337611

Americas involvement in WWI marked its first major entry into European politics. The final cost of that involvement required the U.S. to supply a force to occupy part of the German Rhineland after the war. The force provided was first known as Third Army and then later as the American Forces in Germany (AFG). It consisted of the best divisions in the American Army. With a starting strength of a quarter million doughboys, the Americans marched to the Rhine and began their occupation period in December 1918. When the American phase of the occupation ended in 1923, the force consisted of one thousand soldiers. Many future WWII leaders of the Army and Marine Corps served in this force; including five who would become Marine Commandant, four Army Chiefs of Staff, ten four-star Generals, and, surprisingly, a National Football League Head coach.