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Form Approved
REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 0704-0188
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number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS.
1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED (From - To)
14-06-2013 Master’s Thesis AUG 2012–JUNE 2013
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER

The 91st Infantry in World War I–Analysis of an AEF Division’s 5b. GRANT NUMBER
Efforts to Achieve Battlefield Success
5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER

Bryan L. Woodcock, MAJ 5e. TASK NUMBER

5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORG REPORT
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College NUMBER
ATTN: ATZL-SWD-GD
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-2301
9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S
ACRONYM(S)

11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT
NUMBER(S)

12. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited
13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT
The 91st Infantry Division was a National Army Division created prior to World War I. Based at Camp
Lewis, Washington, it was composed of draftees from the northwestern United States. Following a train up
that lasted less than one year, this division departed for Europe in June 1918.

In France, the 91st Division conducted additional training, but the AEF pushed it to the front lines before it
was completed. In its first combat experience, the 91st Division fought on the front lines of the Meuse-
Argonne. In the first days of this battle, the 91st Division, although inexperienced, gained more ground than
any other American division. However, it paid a heavy price in terms of American lives. The AEF
subsequently assigned the division to work under French command in the battle of Ypres-Lys in Belgium.

This thesis examines the division leadership’s ability to execute necessary warfighting functions and
combined arms operations in the challenging environment of 1917-1918. The division was tested and
accomplished a significant amount, but it also suffered many deficiencies and was forced to learn hard
lessons in combat.

15. SUBJECT TERMS
91st Division Ninety First Meuse Argonne Ypres Lys World War I Combined Arms AEF Camp Lewis

16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON
OF ABSTRACT OF PAGES
a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE 19b. PHONE NUMBER (include area code)
(U) (U) (U) (U) 92
Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)
Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18

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