Faced with entry into the "Great War," the country called upon its military leaders to prepare the Army for combat. What follows is the in-depth story of how the American military and civilian leadership created and trained the Doughboys. In less than eighteen months, America's Army would grow from its humble beginning to fielding over a million soldiers in the Meuse-Argonne campaign. Training and leading this force into battle against the Imperial German Army were some of the great names in American military history, including such stalwarts as John J. Pershing, George Marshall, and Leonard Wood. Here is the story of their perseverance and courage that ultimately defeated the enemy and helped to win the war.

Volume one provides in-depth coverage  of the development and training of the "modern" US Army and National Guard during the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa. It also describes the deployment of the first units of the AEF to France and how they were built and trained. The history of the 32 divisional training camps for the National Guard and the National Army are also detailed in this volume. These camps include such well-known installations as Camp Dix, Camp Lee, Camp Upton, Camp Meade, Camp Jackson, Camp Sherman, Camp Custer, and Camp Taylor as well as the less well known sites like Camp Sevier, Camp Logan, Camp Fremont and Camp Grant.