yanks arrive in france

"Vive l'Amèrique!" shouted the little boy standing at the edge of a Bologne pier as he waved his arms at the steamer passing into port.

On deck, the American General raised a hand to the distant lad. Near him, a newspaperman noted this exchange and looked to the dock ahead at the waiting French emissaries, a guard of honor and a band playing the French national anthem and The Star Spangled Banner.

For the 190 American soldiers and civilians that comprised Gen. John J. Pershing's entourage, the arrival at Bologne-sur-Mer 13 June 1917 was rather quiet. Yet all appreciated their place in history.

Just as they had been the first U.S. military force to ever set foot in Great Britain a week earlier, they were also the first to arrive on the Continent. The contingent included only 67 enlisted men and 40 regular army officers. It was a disappointingly small group from the perspective of the French, who hoped America's declaration of war would mean instant waves of corn-fed Yankees hitting their shores. And so the waves would come, but excruciatingly slowly.

The coordination effort of moving one division, let alone seven corps, across the Atlantic was profound. Landing the units, analyzing circumstances and reorganizing the divisions as quickly as needed was an unprecedented task.

The First Division landed at the ports of the ancient shipbuilding town of St. Nazaire in late June. This first wave was about 14,500 strong -- some regular army, a battalion of Marines, and many very raw recruits. "Sturdy rookies," Pershing called them. The general was on hand to greet the 14- vessel convoy as it sailed into port with American flags flying. The sight, Pershing would write, "gave us all a thrill of pride."

It was not the sharpest-looking outfit, however. Uniforms were so new and ill-fitting they looked as though they had been purchased from a catalogue. Many experienced officers and veterans had been stripped out to help train other units. The lack of preparation decried by Pershing retarded the U.S. participation in the conflict, though none of the allied commanders expected the Americans to be ready before the end of the "fighting season" for that year. Also at issue was how much of an influence the French officers would be in the training of the doughboys.

The soldiers in the First Division may have been in dire need of drilling but they were enthusiastic. Being safely back on land after the fretful crossing (with the constant threat of German U-boats), the Yankees were a happy, singing lot. The citizens of St. Nazaire did not care what they looked like or how long they had trained. Their welcome was boisterous. It took at least three days for the division to complete its debarkation in the port city, long enough for the soldiers to avail themselves of all the amenities and introduce themselves to France.

In the days between his own arrival and that of the First Division, Pershing had come to a full grasp of the deplorable state of morale for the French people and the French Army. The allied commanders knew that the sight of the fresh American soldiers would have a bolstering effect; had anticipated it for months, in fact. For that reason, a grand reception was arranged for the Fourth of July in Paris.