Author Description

A fascinating series of accounts from Major-General Hunter Liggett who commanded 41st Division, then 1st Army Corps, A.E.F. before the entire 1st American Army. A significant and underappreciated leader of the United States war effort during the First World War and a prominent member of the U.S. army command for over four decades. "Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett (March 21, 1857? December 30, 1935) was a senior United States Army officer. His 42 years of military service spanned the period from the Indian campaigns to the trench warfare of World War I. Additionally, he also identified possible invasion sites in Luzon, particularly Lingayen Gulf, which were used during World War II in 1941 by the Japanese and in 1945 by the United States. Success in brigade commands in Texas and in the Philippines led to his promotion to major general, and selection as commander of the 41st Division in April 1917. The division served in France as part of the American Expeditionary Force. When his division was disestablished, he took command of I Corps. Under Liggett's leadership, the I Corps participated in the Second Battle of the Marne and in the reduction of the Saint-Mihiel salient. In October 1918, as commander of the First United States Army with the rank of lieutenant general in the national army, he directed the final phases of the Meuse-Argonne offensive and the pursuit of German forces until the armistice. After commanding the post-war Army of Occupation, Liggett returned to his permanent rank of major general, and retired in 1921. Throughout most of this period, Liggett's aide-de-camp was James Garesche Ord, a major general in World War II."-Wiki