Being there . . . . to watch what was an earthshaking event in mid-1914, the US Army’s entry
onto the stage of World War 1 in Europe, touching the lives of millions. As American author
Alexander F. Barnes writes in the Preface of his incredible two volume set, “To Hell With the
Kaiser – – America Prepares For War 1916-1918, “ . . . . and as it all recedes, almost beyond
recall, it has become something impersonal, as remote as the Trojan War. The sorrow of losing
comrades who did not survive the war has turned into the sorrow of losing those who did
survive it and whom I have outlived . . . .” Join President Woodrow Wilson when he tried to
keep America out of the horrors to come in Europe’s terrible mess, but finally concluded it was
no longer possible to be “too proud to fight”. Note for yourself how pure Wilson’s ideals and
motives were, although he clearly knew his United States was ill-prepared for what it needed to
attempt. Along with other government and leaders, he would have to create a huge army to
rival the colossal weaponization of hundreds of divisions, each numbering 28,000! Perhaps
even more were needed to face the best trained military in the world, the Imperial German
Army. Our boys were no more than farmers, shop clerks, railroad porters, college students, and,
unfortunately, they were needed on the French Front NOW! Waiting for them was a resolute
foe skilled in the use of poison gas, machine guns, flamethrowers, blockbusting long-range
artillery barrages, and the newest battlefield weapon: an aircraft relatively easy to fly.
SCHIFFER PUBLISHING OFFERS A UNIQUE TWO-VOLUME SERIES TO PERUSE OVER A THOUSAND
B & W PHOTOS OF THE US ARMY’S ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR 1, THE WAR TO END ALL WARS
Reviewed and Highly Recommended by Don DeNevi
“TO HELL WITH THE KAISER – America Prepares for War 1916 – 1918, VOLUME 1”, by Alexander
F. Barnes. SCHIFFER PUBLISHING, Ltd.; 2015, 302 pages, 9” x 11 ½”, hardbound, $59.99. Visit,
Info@schifferbooks.com.
“TO HELL WITH THE KAISER – America Prepares for War 1916 – 1918, VOLUME 2”, by Alexander
F. Barnes. SCHIFFER PUBLISHING, Ltd: 2015, pp. 303 – 582, 9” x 11 ½”, hardbound, $59.99. Visit,
Info@schifferbooks.com.
The Allies, among them, France, Britain and its Empire, Italy, Russia (until early 1918), Japan
and, from 1917, the USA, were against the Central Powers, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria,
and Turkey. Britain and the US insisted the war was fought to make the world safe for
democracy. After the armistice that brought fighting to a halt in November 1918, the victors
had one overriding objective – to lay down peace terms that would stop Germany from
dominating Europe again. What a laugh! Almost immediately, storm clouds in the far, far
distance began to gather. The legacy of Versailles began to fizzle . . . unparalleled, systematic
death and destruction was forming, soon to be on its way.
Each volume is an in-depth account of how the American military and civilian leadership
created and trained the “Doughboys”. In less than eighteen months, America’s Army would
grow from its humble beginning to fielding over a million fighting soldiers in the Meuse-
Argonne campaign. Training and leading this force into battle against the Imperial German
Army were some of the great names in American military history, including such heroic
stalwarts as John J. Pershing, George Marshall, and Leonard Wood. Here are two magnificent
texts telling stories of perseverance and courage that ultimately defeated the enemy and
helped win the 1 st World War. Volume One focused on thirty-two camps used to train the
divisional-sized units for war. The second volume begins with Chapter 10, carrying us through
Chapter 19, dealing with the other posts, camps, forts. Barracks, and stations. Chapters also
deal with problems among the Allies, the question of integrating color, patriotism and “the girl
left behind”, the Pandemic of 1918, notable Doughboys of the AEF, American Expeditionary
Force, and “remains of the day”.
