Patriot Priests: French Priests in the French Army

Part II
In early October 1918, several companies of the US 77th Division found themselves surrounded in the Argonne Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  Led by Major Charles Whittlesey, the Lost Battalion, as it came to be known, survived a hellish six days. It’s a story many are aware of – but like most such stories – it’s likely that the popular version we are familiar with doesn’t have the richness or nuance of what actually happened. To explore the story of the Lost Battalion, the World War I Podcast hosted Robert J. Laplander, author of Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legend of America’s WWI Epic. 

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org

Part I
In early October 1918, several companies of the US 77th Division found themselves surrounded in the Argonne Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.  Led by Major Charles Whittlesey, the Lost Battalion, as it came to be known, survived a hellish six days. It’s a story many are aware of – but like most such stories – it’s likely that the popular version we are familiar with doesn’t have the richness or nuance of what actually happened. To explore the story of the Lost Battalion, the World War I Podcast hosted Robert J. Laplander, author of Finding the Lost Battalion: Beyond the Rumors, Myths and Legend of America’s WWI Epic. 

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org

Between September 1814 and June 1815, against the backdrop of Napoleon’s exile to Elba and his brief return, the Congress of Vienna worked out a new way to balance the power of the Great Powers and avoid future conflict. This system was called the Concert of Europe. It was supposed to keep the peace, and indeed, on the eve of World War I, many people in Europe were celebrating a century of relative peace on the continent – a golden age of European power and civilization. There had been regional conflicts in Europe and colonial wars, but nothing on the scale of the Napoleonic Wars. And yet, what started as a small regional conflict in 1914 spiraled quickly into world war. WWI was a war with a long fuse. Was the Congress of Vienna and the system it set up a long-term root cause of the war? Was a system designed to keep the peace the instrument that disrupted the peace? To discuss these questions, the World War I Podcast sat down with Professor Greg Jackson, creator, host, and head writer of the US history podcast, History That Doesn't Suck and star of the live tour THE UNLIKELY UNION.

Tour Dates — History That Doesn't Suck (htdspodcast.com)

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org

In 1914, as German forces quickly outmaneuvered Allied armies in the opening days of the war, there was some suspicion among the Allies that the circuses that had traveled around Europe in the years before the war – many of which were owned by German families or had German names – had helped prepare the German army by perfecting the art of rapid and efficient mobilization and transport. Even Americans – not yet involved in the war – suspected this to be the case and looked at circuses like the Ringling Brothers with suspicion. Was this true? Did armies prior to World War I study circus logistics? If so, how did they adapt this expertise?  To help explore this topic, the World War I Podcast hosted Matthew Fraas, Education Specialist at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum.

US Army Transportation Corps Museum Home Page

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org

When World War I began, the famed historian, sociologist, and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois was at the height of his influence. When the United States entered the war, he encouraged African Americans to “close ranks” and support the Allied cause. Tasked with writing a definitive history of the African American soldier in World War I, Du Bois ultimately came to be haunted by his support for the war. The manuscript for that project remains unpublished. To discuss Du Bois and World War I, the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Chad L. Williams, author of The Wounded World: W.E.B. Du Bois and the First World War. 

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org

In the winter of 1918, General John J. Pershing presented then Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur with his second Distinguished Service Cross. The award was for actions in France at the Côte de Châtillon between October 14-16, 1918. The citation ends with an interesting sentence: “On a field where courage was the rule, his courage was the dominant feature.” What happened there? What do we know about the circumstances behind this award? To answer these questions, MacArthur Memorial historians Amanda Williams and Jim Zobel sat down to discuss this WWI chapter in Douglas MacArthur's career. 

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org

In 1890, half of the US Government’s budget was devoted to disability pensions for Civil War veterans. This enormous financial burden combined with medical advances led to a different approach when it came to the US Army’s care of wounded soldiers in World War I. Far from the passive convalescent homes of previous wars, in World War I the US Army’s commitment to rehabilitation would mark a new chapter in the care of the wounded. To share the story of these rehabilitation programs, the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Sanders Marble of the Office of Medical History, US Army Medical Command. 

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org

Between 1914-1916, Portugal walked a delicate line. While actively engaged in an undeclared war with Germany in Africa, Portugal was not a combatant in Europe, nor did it officially declare neutrality. It stayed out of the war, but it provided support in a variety of ways to Britain – its historical ally. Britain hoped to maintain this arrangement for the duration of the war. In contrast, the Portuguese government was anxious to join the war. In March 1916, it got its way. By 1917, the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP) was fighting in France. 

In the decades after WWI, the dominant trend in scholarship was to view the CEP as incapable and even cowardly. More recent scholarship provides a more balanced picture of the CEP. To further explore Portugal and the CEP in WWI the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Jesse Pyles, an expert on the CEP. 

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org

When WWI began in 1914, Catholic priests were virtual pariahs in France. This was the result of a trend towards anti-clericalism that began with the French Revolution and continued in fits and starts into the 20th century. Prior to WWI, to further eliminate perceived privilege, France’s Third Republic made priests eligible for military service. Ironically though, this attempt to erase them as a distinct social class provided French priests the opportunity to be seen as patriots. Tens of thousands of priests served in the French Army during WWI – alongside nearly 2/3’s of France’s male population. To explore this novel chapter in WWI history, the World War I podcast was joined by Dr. Anita Rasi May, author of Patriot Priests: French Catholic Clergy and National Identity in World War I. 

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org

On Feb. 8, 2022, a local undertaker was digging a grave in the cemetery at Villers-sur-Fère, a small village in northeastern France near the Ourcq River, where the U.S. Army’s 42d Infantry Division pushed back German forces in 1918. At about four feet down, the undertaker unearthed human bones. He didn’t know it at the time, but he had found an American Doughboy. 

Michael G. Knapp, Director of Historical Services for the American Battle Monuments Commission, joined the World War I Podcast to discuss the identification process and what we know about this soldier.  

The soldier will be buried with full military honors in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery on June 7, 2023. Livestream link: Unknown U.S. WWI Soldier Burial Ceremony at Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, France - YouTube 

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org