25 June 2016
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American troops during the Champagne-Marne offensive in a forest fighting Germans
The first US infantry troops land in France at the port of Saint Nazaire on 25 June 1917
On this day in history, 1917: The first US infantry troops land in France at the port of Saint Nazaire. Known as ’Doughboys’ among the British, the American troops were untrained and unprepared for the realities of fighting on the Western Front.
America’s entry into the First World War was a major turning point in the conflict. When the war finally ended in November 1918, more than two million American soldiers had served on the battlefields of Western Europe, and more than 50,000 of these men had lost their lives.
Pictured: American troops during the Champagne-Marne offensive in a forest fighting Germans.
Image by Don Troiani CC BY 2.0.
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