CHRIS KEMPSHALL BRITISH, FRENCH AND AMERICAN RELATIONS ON THE WESTERN FRONT, (cid:18)(cid:26)(cid:18)(cid:21)(cid:201)(cid:18)(cid:26)(cid:18)(cid:25) British, French and American Relations on the Western Front, 1914–1918 Chris Kempshall British, French and American Relations on the Western Front, 1914–1918 Chris Kempshall Canterbury, Kent, UK ISBN 978-3-319-89464-5 ISBN 978-3-319-89465-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89465-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018940761 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. 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Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: A French ‘poilu’, accompanied by American, British, and other Allied soldiers, scales a blood-stained peak, atop which waits a German Imperial eagle. text: EUG. COURBOIN un dernier effort et on l’aura IMP. CORNILLE ET SERRE, PARIS VISA 13.625 [One last effort and we’ll have him]. © IWM. Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of Springer Nature The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland For my parents For Jo For the Tommies, Poilus, and Doughboys I’ve spent the past ten years with A cknowledgements To truly acknowledge and thank everyone who assisted in the creation of this work would, I fear, require more words than are available to me. This book began as my Ph.D. in 2008 and has evolved beyond that to its current form. With that in mind I would like to initially thank both of my Ph.D. supervisors, Professor Ian Gazeley and Dr. Chris Warne, for giving me the opportunity to do this in the first place. In addition, I would like to thank my examiners, Professor John Horne and Professor Claire Langhamer, for their hugely helpful advice. I would also like to thank all of the staff at Palgrave Macmillan for their support and belief in this project and for answering my increasingly strange questions as we approached the conclusion. This work would not have been possible without generous finan- cial support from several organisations. I was the fortunate recipient of a Postgraduate Travel Grant from the Society for the Study of French History which ensured I could undertake research at the Service his- torique de la défense. Further to this, a research bursary from Gateways to the First World War enabled me to undertake research at the National WW1 Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. I was hugely hon- oured to receive a Founders Travel Award from the British Association for American Studies to visit the United States Army Heritage and Education Centre in Pennsylvania. Without these financial contributions this study would not have been possible. Because of the international nature of this study it has taken in archives and libraries in Britain, France, and the USA. As a result, vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the staff of the following institutions for their time, advice, assistance, and patience as I trawled through their holdings: The Imperial War Museum in London, the National Archives at Kew, the British Library, The National WW1 Museum in Kansas City, The United States Army Heritage and Education Centre in Pennsylvania, The Service historique de la défense, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire de Strasbourg. The staff at the National WW1 Museum in particular were so welcoming whilst I visited, and supportive of this project, that they deserve extra acknowledgement and appreciation. My stay in Kansas City was also made possible thanks to the welcoming generosity of Christiana Coffey. During my time working on this project I have had a variety of teach- ing roles at different universities, all of which supported me in various ways as I undertook the writing and research. With that in mind I would like to thank the staff and faculty of the University of Sussex, University of Kent, University of Brighton, Goldsmiths College London, and the Baden International Study Centre. The students I have taught at these institutions have often been truly inspirational. Their interactions with history and their desire to learn more about whatever subject was under discussion helped me hold on to the actual joy of research when at times it felt like a never-ending slog. The library and administrative staff at the University of Sussex and the University of Kent in particular have been amazing in securing me books, sources, and usable images. I would also like to especially thank my current and past colleagues on the East Sussex WW1 project at East Sussex County Council for their unwavering support. Especially Lee, Indea, Beth, and Jane. It is no understatement to say that the flexibility they gave me to pursue my writ- ing and research enabled this book’s completion. In intellectual terms I am indebted to a great many people who are all, invariably, better historians than me and are the type I aspire to become. Professor Mark Connelly has been a huge source of support at various stages of my career. Dr. Sam Edwards’s advice on using the US Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) and acting as a reference for various funding applications has been hugely helpful. Dr. Franziska Heimburger’s support in sourcing difficult-to-find items in France and also sharing her amazing work with me has been brilliant. Bryon Thomas Smith was gracious enough to share with me his forth- coming, and excellent thesis on US–French military relations in 1918, and I strongly recommend others seek out his work. Professor Connie ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix Ruzich repeatedly sent me amazing sources and information during her own work, and I am profoundly grateful for this. The work of Dr. Elizabeth Greenhalgh initially inspired the Ph.D. which became this book and I continue my hunt to read all of her amazing work. Beyond individuals, the International Society for First World War Studies has been a hugely useful and affirming organisation to be a part of. Its members eagerness to help with queries and offer advice is a won- derful example of the collegiality that exists in this historical sphere. I have been fortunate enough to present the work of this book in a variety of academic locales and receive feedback from hugely knowl- edgeable historians. As a result, I would like to thank Legacies of War at Leeds, the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, the Institut français du Royaume-Uni in London, and many other conferences and symposiums around the world. The maps for this book, which I believe to be truly stunning, were designed by Paul from Battlefield Designs, and I heartily recommend them as a company to others. Other images and material appear courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, Punch Magazine and the Daily Mirror. It may take me the rest of my life to thank my assorted friends and colleagues for their direct assistance on this project, and I will endeavour to do exactly that. My cohort of friends from my Ph.D. at the University of Sussex continue to be an inspiration to me. Drs. Sam Shave, Becca Searle, Stella Sims, Ben Jones, Sian Edwards, and Rose Holmes are all wonderful and treasured people. My ‘geeky games group’ of Steve Newman and Drs. Roger Johnson and Tom Akehurst have provided endless opportunities for fun and nostalgia away from the First World War. The Friday Night Football group at the University of Kent, com- posed of similarly optimistic/tired historians and academics, has proved to be a perfect source of distraction and social interaction during the last year. The soon-to-be Drs. Peter Keeling, Natasha Silk, Adam Rolewicz, and Kasia Tomasiewicz have all interacted at some level with me and this project, and all of them prove that the field of history is in good hands for the future. The residents of ynwa.tv have shown far more interest in this book than could ever have been expected, whilst also providing use- ful tips for my research trips in the USA. Dr. Sylvie Lomer remains one of my best friends and an amazing aca- demic who is going to continue to make huge waves in her own field even if it doesn’t involve the First World War. x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Jo Baines has quite literally shared her life with this book for the past four-and-a-bit years. She has been supportive and loving, and barely complained about the fact I have reproduced trench systems using piles of books in our lounge. I love her very much. I’m looking forward to being able to properly interact with our friends Ruth, James, Lorraine, Bethany, Matt, and Jessica again. My family, particularly my mum and step-dad, have been as supportive and as interested in this work as anybody can be when the topic is not actually that interesting to non-obsessed people. They have proofread and listened to my ponderings and complaints about this process. I will never be able to repay them. I have spent the last ten years with this project in a variety of forms. A decade with long-dead soldiers from Britain, France, and America is a very long time. I could continue working on this exact book for another ten years. Decisions over what to include, what to cut out, and what leads to pursue or abandon have been supremely difficult. Trying to squeeze the wartime experiences of three nations into one book has been a challenge. As a result, this book could easily never be finished. However, in its final form I believe it provides the information I wanted it to. It is the book I always wanted to write. I recently asked some of my students what gave me the right as a his- torian to read the diaries, letters, and more of men who had lived a hun- dred years ago. It is a difficult question to answer. I have read almost everything ever written during the war of the men who are quoted or who appear in this book. For some I have read the letters their parents received informing them that their sons were dead. The study of history is critical in the modern world but that should not allow us to forget that even at a historical distance it is an intrusion into writing that was never meant for us. Whilst researching at the USAHEC I came across the Veteran Survey Questionnaire of Lt. McKoy who declared: ‘This is an evidence of “futil- ity.” Many hours, money, and time was wasted in preparing this ques- tionnaire. My time was wasted in filling in the answers. No one will ever read or be influenced by it.’ Historians cannot undertake research without access to the documents of the past. I wish I could inform Lt. McKoy of how wrong his belief was and reassure him that these would be read and they would have an influence. So, my final acknowledgement is to the men who appear in this book. I both thank and apologise to them. I hope I have done them justice. c ontents Introduction: ‘Liberty and Union …’ 1 Part I Confusion Building the Entente Cordiale 17 Initial Interactions: The British Expeditionary Force in France (1914–1915) 63 Part II Co-Operation ‘My Heart Softened to the French … All at Once I Loved Them’: The Entente Cordiale at the Somme 107 ‘That Liberty Shall Not Perish from the Earth’: The USA and the Entente Cordiale 159 Part III Collapse Careless Disasters: Allied Relations in 1918 191 xi