The USA in the Great War | Gordon Corrigan

In this presentation, which was delivered 'live' to an online audience, Gordon Corrigan talks about the involvement of the USA in the First World War.
When war broke out in 1914 Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States of America declared neutrality. He could do little else: much of the population or its ancestors had left Europe to avoid the seemingly unending internecine warfare there. In 1916 Wilson was re-elected on a pledge to keep America out of the war (although he himself never said that). Nevertheless, almost from Day One the USA helped the British and French war effort in a way that far exceeded the obligations of a neutral, and the slack in American industrial capacity was vital to Britain.
When America did finally enter the war, goaded by a German policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, her army was tiny - only 70,000 strong - she had to create a national army, train it and equip it and get it to Europe. This talk describes how the USA prepared from the Western Front and what she achieved when she got there.
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[@McTrollenstein]

I like this guy. I haven't seen a whole lot of WW1 experts that ACTUALLY understand our position back then.

[@IanCross-xj2gj]

And he was an ex-Major from the British Army!

[@McTrollenstein]

@@IanCross-xj2gj He's a good guy. I like old dudes like this. Knowledgeable and doesn't have the trappings of a young man. Not much foolishness in the wording I suppose. 10/10 would serve in his Gurka unit.

[@jaredkrol3739]

This speaker is quite articulate and well spoken. Enjoyed this talk greatly

[@sf14031952]

Ok, Major , you’ve done it again . Fascinating , how you make it always interesting , bring it to life , mesmerizing !

[@steven.ghodgson765]

Brilliant explanation, I could listen to Gordon all night, probably with a G &T which would go down well .

[@skymagruder5270]

They always do 😅

[@markmcshane9653]

My second time watching this presentation, really great stuff.

[@gretchencanfield5908]

So much fabulous detail! Thank you!

[@RANDALLBRIGGS]

Excellent presentation, sir!

[@nacnudyelrah]

An entertaining and decent talk. Thank you for sharing.

[@firsttankcrews]

Excellent presentation - thank you for educating me.

[@stevefranckhauser7989]

Splendid construction of facts and context. Thank you.

[@kevinmac2200]

Great work fielding such a large no. of questions so well.

[@josephturner4047]

And, from what I have read recently, Spanish flu originated in Kansas. So, they brought it with them. Americans are a mixed blessing.

[@janvanv]

Wonderful lecture Mr Corrigan. Even as a child here in the US I read the figures of battle dead and noticed the figure of roughly 50-55,000 US and the French at 1,4 million and the British Commonwealth of roughly 1,000,000 and I of course wondered how it was that "we" supposedly "won the war"? And of course I noticed the same for Round 2 1939-1945....which had only ended 7 years before I was born.. I began to suspect that my sources I was reading, and watching were a bit slanted...this is before I knew the term "Americo-centric", probably it was before the term was discovered... So I began reading other sources and being a mere pup of 10 or 11 I could only read English, so I read >>>English

[@Nonukes2024]

Pacific....War. After Europe fell But Blame....your teacher or government.....like all good feel good libs do..... VictimHood 101.... Pershing's family was killed in a Fire....... I'm wasting my time...listening to this racist.... English... American envious... Fool ..., it's All....bull shit Do your own research....

[@brianlopez8855]

Mr Corrigan is a compelling orator, even when he is just speaking from his Study.

[@jrooney58]

Two very good books on the preparation of the American Army for WWI were written by Richard S Faulkner. The first is “The School of Hard Knocks: Combat Leadership in the AEF,” which focuses on the training and performance of the American officer corps. The second is “Pershing’s Crusaders,” which focuses on the training, equipping and performance of the soldiers. Faulkner teaches at the US Army Command and General Staff College at Ft Leavenworth, and he often lectures at the WWI Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

[@johnmilner6419]

From 25:29: When Pershing's father in law visited France in 1918 as Secretary of War, he was inspecting French troops when he accidentally fell head first into the opening of a large artillery piece. Fortunately, General Foch was there to pull him out.🙂

[@adrianheald5212]

Really interesting

[@Schays]

Love this guy. Only criticism is the U.S. desegregated the armed forces in 1948 under Truman, prior to Korean War, not after.

[@thetruthseeker5549]

A great talk, unfortunate to have it tainted by the one question based on current race politics and factionalism. But the talk itself, great!

[@kidmohair8151]

the origin of the term 'yellow peril' is from a 1897 essay, of the same title (in French, "le Péril Juane") by a person named Jacques Novikow, which was subsequently employed by Kaiser Bill to "encourage the men" he sent to China with dreams of glory and conquest.

[@johnmilner6419]

From 54:58, America was the lender of last resort. Belgium got loans from France, France, Italy, and Russia received loans from England, and when England ran out of money, the United States stepped in to prop it up. At Versailles, John Maynard Keyes (economist for the British Empire), wanted a 'United States of Europe', free trade, one currency, and all debts to be forgiven. The problem with this is that the United States would be holding the bag, and all President Wilson could say is, "I think the United States taxpayer would like its debts to be repaid". So, this killed any idea of the plan. Keyes quit, went home, and wrote a book.

[@wuffothewonderdog]

The question of the relationship between the USA and Canada during the Great War did not arise, to my surprise. I imagine that connections between the respective armed forces would have informed the American military of the techniques evolving in trench warfare requiring intensive and extensive staff work. Did the Americans not send observers to France, as the European powers had done in the American Civil War?

[@johnadams6146]

Very interesting

[@johnmilner6419]

From 1:00:20, "Rue Nitot", my friend, on Wikipedia.

[@johnmilner6419]

At 1:16:18, Germany asked the United States on October 4, 1918.

[@johnmilner6419]

From 23:30, "Black Jack" Pershing didn't like his nickname.

[@RailfanDownunder]

My understanding was that the second explosion was attributable to coal dust and not the cargo of small arms ammunition... ? Nonetheless excellent analysis

[@Dog.soldier1950]

If T. Roosevelt had beaten Wilson in 1912 America would have entered in 1915 after the Lusitania sinking. JP Morgan financed the War for the UK and also kept Italy in the war

[@RANDALLBRIGGS]

All hypothesis contrary to fact. So, sheer speculation.

[@walterschumann2476]

Apparently the blockade was illegal " Though largely forgotten by history, the actions of the British were in contravention of international law. According to the 1856 Declaration of Paris (still in force in 1914), blockades were permitted, but only if they were so-called "effective" blockades - meaning that blockades should only take on the form of a cordon of ships off an enemy port or coast. Blockades 'from a distance' were strictly prohibited. The blockade also violated the 1909 London Declaration which established the rules under which items could be confiscated (Britain was not a signatory, but the international community - especially the United States - still expected Britain to honor the spirit of the Declaration; it was, after all, Britain's idea). As noted by historian Alexander Watson, the actions of the British "placed [them] outside the pre-war moral consensus on how naval warfare should be conducted."

[@bolivar2153]

It's a difficult subject. According to the 1909 London Declaration (which never came into force, _NO_ nation signing or ratifying it) Article 2 states "In accordance with the Declaration of Paris of 1856, a blockade, in order to be binding, must be effective -- that is to say, it must be maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the enemy coastline." Article 1 provides the provision for the need for the blockade to be "close" : "A blockade must not extend beyond the ports and coasts belonging to or occupied by the enemy." Article 24 of the 1909 London declaration declares Food to be conditional contraband and therefore subject to seizure if it can be shown it is on board a vessel bound for enemy territory. Edit : Article 4 of the 1856 Declaration of Paris states "Blockades, in order to be binding, must be effective, that is to say, maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the coast of the enemy."

[@pittsburghwill]

was the movie king kong inspired by that poster at 31:40?

[@LarrySteiner]

Corrigan has a very good grasp on why Americans were disinclined to enter a European war. Conventional teaching and thought usually simply condems American isolationism, but as he say's it wasn't America's War (until the Zimmerman telegram). And supporting Colonial Powers was a definte concern as well - that is an original sin in American political cuture. I do disagree with his analysis of the Meuse Argonne Offensive, but overall this is good stuff.

[@davemehelas5053]

Professor, you forgot Cantigney

[@rosesprog1722]

Providing war material to one side when you haven't entered the war is, AGAIN, illegal. How could anyone win a war against crooks like that.

[@alganhar1]

You know what stopped the US selling war materiel to the Central Powers as well? A little thing called the Royal Navy. Nations throughout history have bought weapons and other vital war materiel from Nations not involved in the fighting. If you consider that illegal then quite frankly you are a raving moron.

[@josephturner4047]

Give 'em hell 54th.

[@josephturner4047]

Two nations divided by a common language I think was GB Shaw.

[@PMMagro]

WW1 could ave been just a new Balkans war (with powerful sponsors/helpers). IF more nations had wanted to avoid war like USA initally did? Why fight without a powerfull ally when they are willing to fight on your side... I have met die hard left wing French still thankful for the US helping France in WW1 (and WW2).

[@shuhunbaloch9492]

Comments and?. The director is awfully entertaining I find world War super entertaining..Mainly because the Buffalo soldiers and how Spactacular the were and the huge part they played .. Which is Super concealed in American history...Stay with me..nIxga jack.. ? So ? Is...... Why isn't the major role of the African American in the "Great War" not Discuss or mentioned enough. ...And do you think they are? Anybody reply to the ? They weren't good enough to take a bullet at first....And at the end the most decorated unit in the American military.... Im a wrong??? FRANCE

[@donathandorko]

Hindsight of course, but I wish Teddy Roosevelt was US president back then. He was such a better man and leader than Woodrow Wilson. He would have ensured this war ended arguably before the horrors of Somme, Verdun and Passchendaele and could even have ensured no Russian revolution and WW2. Even if that statement is far fetched (and it is), I would still argue he would have done a better job than Wilson. Wilson is like a modern day Biden or W. Bush. T. Roosevelt is more of a Reagan or a Trump.

[@RANDALLBRIGGS]

Read some history and you won't think so much of Trump. As for Biden, he's been president for 5 months. It's impossible to render historical judgment on him as president. 5 months into Reagan's presidency, we were in a terrible recession and the Republicans would go on to take big losses in the 1982 mid-terms. Somehow, he turned out OK, and the USSR didn't.

[@georgea.567]

There would probably not have been a communist revolution in Russia if Wilson had just let them leave the war.

[@georgea.567]

I am glad the US didn't join earlier, because the US never should have joined the war in the first place. The only Americans who benefited were the financiers on Wall Street.

[@Kousaburo]

Was Zimmerman Jewish perchance?