January 1918

This chapter presents Pershing's letters, diary entries, and official correspondence written in January 1918. It focuses on the negotiations between Pershing, who speaks for the American Expeditionary Forces, and French military commanders over the autonomy of the AEF. With the collapse of the Eastern front and Allied defeats in Italy, French commanders were preparing for a renewed German offensive. They proposed that American troops be put under French control for both training and frontline combat to replenish French losses. Pershing's diary entries demonstrate that he rejected this proposal because he saw it as a concession of American autonomy. He offered to put four segregated African American regiments under French control; after much debate, General Phillipe Ragueneau accepted this offer. Several letters about the French production of American aircrafts for the AEF Air Service are also included.