“The Last Days of Innocence: America at War, 1917-1918”, by Meirion & Susie Harries

573 pages, Random House, ISBN-13: 978-0679418634

The last book I read by married historians Meirion & Susie Harries was Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army (reviewed by me on June 17^th, 2017); on the basis of that excellent work, I bought The Last Days of Innocence: America at War, 1917-1918. In both instances, the fact that these historians are outsiders to their subjects (both are British) brings, I believe, a new and different way of looking at their subjects that may not occur to native-born historians. Just a thought. Okay, then: if you wanted one book that would provide you with a detailed account of America’s role in the Great War, then this is it: the Harries’ do not flinch in painting an unflattering portrait of America’s first foray into a major foreign war (well, excepting the Spanish-America War; does that count?), from the gradual decline in civil liberties, the increase in government’s power over the individual, the war industry the training and arming of her armed forces, to their final deployment on the European battlefield. Although America didn’t get into the fighting until the last few months of the war, she paid for the privilege with many – too many – young American lives.

The army started from ground zero, its make-up unlike that of any force before it: Italians, Jews, Poles, Germans, Irish and so many others all answered their nations’ call and volunteered – or obeyed their nations’ command and were drafted. These varied ethnic groups would not have associated much with each other at home, during peace, but real nation building for America and a further sense of self came out of the war…for the price of 50,000 American lives. African-Americans were the exception: they could not serve with white American soldiers and were used as cannon fodder to fill the holes in the French army at the front. The French, meanwhile, had little use for the American army and its tactics, but were effusive in their praise of the abilities of the black soldiers they served and fought beside. That the war accelerated many changes in America society cannot be disputed and the Harries’ do a good job discussing them. The United States got nothing tangible from the peace after World War I; the Allies wanted none of Wilson’s idealism for a new world. France and, to a lesser extent, England wanted revenge against an exhausted Germany, guarantying a future war. No wonder the Yanks stayed out of Europe for twenty years.