A Selection from "Lafayette, We Are Here": The War College
Division and American Military Planning for the AEF in World War
I The decision for war answered only the first half of a two-
part question. The United States now had to address how to
fight. Controversies surrounding the depth and nature of US
involvement abounded during the weeks following the American
declaration of war. The central clashes focused first on whether
to amalgamate American soldiers into existing Allied lines or to
create an independent US Army, and second on whether to send an
immediate expeditionary force to France or to withhold US troops
until they could be trained and organized within the country. In
resolving these dilemmas, Wilson proved once again that he
believed strongly in the authority of the civilian President
over the military and that his concerns were noticeably
different from those of his military advisors. . . . A more
formidable obstacle would be time. The most optimistic of
American estimates concluded that in addi