AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES IN EUROPE 1917-1918 FROM THE GERMAN PERSPECTIVE

By: Hermann von Giehrl

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

They thought the Americans would arrive too late. They were wrong.
In American Expeditionary Forces in Europe 1917–1918 from the German Perspective, Hermann von Giehrl, a highly decorated German General Staff officer, delivers a candid, deeply informed analysis of how the United States upended German war plans in the final chapters of World War I. Originally published in 1921 in the military journal Wissen und Wehr, this rare account reveals what the German high command truly thought of the Americans—and how those views changed, battle by battle.

Inside this volume:

• A detailed explanation of Germany’s decision to pursue unrestricted submarine warfare—and how it backfired

• The General Staff’s early estimates of American strength, resolve, and military inexperience

• Tactical and strategic plans developed before U.S. involvement—and how those plans collapsed as American troops arrived

• Poignant reflections on a new kind of enemy: bold, resource-rich, and unshaken by years of trench warfare

Von Giehrl, no apologist but a soldier and strategist, offers not excuses but insight—revealing the quiet desperation of a great power realizing that its moment has passed. His writing is clear-eyed, emotional, and at times haunting.

This is the German perspective not often told: not filled with fury, but with fatigue—and the dawning awareness that a younger nation had arrived to inherit the future.

From submarine warfare to shattered plans—how America’s arrival ended Germany’s hopes for victory.
A rare German account of World War I’s turning point—told without pride, propaganda, or pretense.