A Fraternity of Arms: America and France in the Great War (Modern War Studies)

Rating:
Summary: a very interesting thesis
Review: Bruce's thesis is that it was the French and not the British who were the main American allies during the First World War. During their period of training the American soldiers easily mixed with the French soldiers while having a diffcult time with the British. Moreover the French were the main trainers of the American forces and provided them with artillery peices, tanks, and guns. The French also were the main defenders of an independent American force while the Britih wanted to assimilate the Americans into British units. Bruce concludes his book by stating that all of the American actions in the closing phases of the First World War were heavliy supported by French infantry divisions and artillery. I would reccomend this book to anyone who wants a new and interesting perspective of Franco-American relationship during the First World War.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent account of the AEF
Review: Bruce's controversial thesis is that it was France and not Britain who was the main American ally during the First World War. French generals such as Joffre supported an independent American force while the British wanted the American forces to be assimilated into the British army. According to Bruce, the French trained the Americans in the techniques of trench warfare and use of artillery. Bruce believes that all American operations in the closing days of the First World War were based on close cooperation by the French army such as supporting the Americans by protecting their flanks, providing artillery support, and using planes to spot German army formations. Plus the French and not the British supplied the AEF with its weapons such as tanks and artillery peices. I would reccomend this book to anyone intereted in a controversial thesis about the clost days of the First World War and Anglo-French relations.

Rating:
Summary: a very interesting thesis
Review: Bruce's thesis is that it was the French and not the British who were the main American allies during the First World War. During their period of training the American soldiers easily mixed with the French soldiers while having a diffcult time with the British. Moreover the French were the main trainers of the American forces and provided them with artillery peices, tanks, and guns. The French also were the main defenders of an independent American force while the Britih wanted to assimilate the Americans into British units. Bruce concludes his book by stating that all of the American actions in the closing phases of the First World War were heavliy supported by French infantry divisions and artillery. I would reccomend this book to anyone who wants a new and interesting perspective of Franco-American relationship during the First World War.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!! Read this Book
Review: In the preface of his book A Fraternity of Arms Robert Bruce asserts that his intention is to refute a popular image "so widely held in America, of a historically acrimonious relationship between", (Bruce, xiii) the United States and France. Indeed Bruce's account of Franco-American cooperation is well documented, vividly expressed and covers the social, political, and military aspects of this relationship.

Bruce examines the experience of the American volunteers, including the Rockwell's, who found themselves in the Légion étrangère. Bruce points out that many of these young men wanted to fight and they wanted to find action as quickly as possible. Many of them, however wanted to serve in the regular army and found the Foreign Legion to be disappointing. They found the legion to be composed of mercenaries from many nationalities and not particularly friendly to the idealistic volunteers. Bruce points out however, that even in the face of severe disillusion Kiffen Rockwell and others still wanted to fight, but in regular French army units. Quoting Kiffen Rockwell's letter to his injured brother, "If you can get me into a French regiment, get busy, for I want out of the Legion".

Bruce provides details of the many shortcomings of the American army, especially the lack of modern heavy weapons. Chapter 4 illustrates clearly the fact that although America had tremendous quantities of natural resources and a huge industrial capacity as well, the situation was that it would inevitably be the French who would equip the American army. Bruce shows that despite heroic efforts on the part of American armaments manufacturers to build the machine guns and artillery, the allies did not have the luxury of time and could not wait for American manufacturing to come up to speed, and so the Americans would go to war with equipment that was almost exclusively French. Bruce provides as evidence a table comparing the French and British contributions of war material to the AEF during the war and in every category; the French contribution far exceeds that of the British.

Bruce provides engaging accounts of all the American engagements from Catigny the first battle in which American units play a deciding role, through Belleau Wood, the Second battle of the Marne to the Meuse-Argonne and the end of the war. He defends the Americans against those who have denigrated the American contribution to the final allied victory by quoting Ludendorf; "It was most assuredly the Americans who bore the brunt of the fighting on the whole battle front during the last few months of the war."

In the final paragraphs of his book Bruce recounts the interment of the remains of the Unknown Soldier in the tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National cemetery with moving quotes from Field Marshal Foch and Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation and then points out that:
"At the bottom of the crypt, on the hallowed ground of America's Valhalla, a two inch deep layer of French soil, gathered from the battlefields of the western front where the French and American army had fought side by side, had been spread. Here the Unknown American Soldier of the Great War rests for all eternity."
With that statement, Bruce brings his book A Fraternity of Arms: America & France in the Great War, to its conclusion having made his point that despite sometimes enormous political differences that America and France share a "fraternity of arms", and though it may be dismissed and forgotten, has formed a lasting foundation for Franco-American Relations.