By Robert Thompson.
Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2023.
ISBN 978-1-59416-409-5. Photographs. Maps. Notes.
Bibliography. Index.
Pp. xiv, 266. $35.00.
From its organization in August 1917, the 42d Division was swathed in publicity. Known as the Rainbow Division, it was formed from National Guard units from twenty-six states, and its fitting nickname was suggested by then-Major Douglas MacArthur. The division went on to achieve an enviable combat record in France. It is no wonder, then, that the 42d Division has been the subject of much historical examination. There are numerous division and regimental histories as well as memoirs of division officers and enlisted men. Some of its more famous members have also been the subjects of later monographs. In Approach to Final Victory, author and historian Robert Thompson builds on these and his own previous studies of the division to bring us a history of their contributions during the final two major battles of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF).
In the process of researching and writing his previous books, Thompson came “to admire and respect the courage and tenacity demonstrated by the men of the Rainbow Division” (p. xii). Accordingly, Approach to Final Victory is “a story of people, their experiences, their successes, and their tragic failures” (p. xiv). To tell this story, Thompson begins with an overview of the division’s history up to the summer of 1918 and the preparation for the Saint Mihiel Offensive. In subsequent chapters, Thompson reports on the division as it proceeds through the Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives and the intervening time.
The battles are covered in a good amount of detail that centers on action from the brigade-level down to the platoon-level. With plenty of memoirs and histories available, Thompson has chosen wisely, and the result is a good overview of what the men of the division accomplished, how they accomplished it, and how they felt while doing so. In weaving together these memoirs and histories, Thompson shows that the AEF was in the process of learning how to fight a modern war and that often the men on the line, both junior officer and enlisted, adapted and overcame faulty tactical understanding. While senior officers, such as AEF commander General John J. Pershing, come in for some criticism, it is important to remember that some recent scholarship shows the AEF’s tactical understanding was not as backward as often thought. Jeffrey LaMonica’s American Tactical Advancement in World War I: The New Lessons of Combined Arms and Open Warfare (McFarland & Company, 2017) is one such work. In addition, two recent volumes edited by John T. Greenwood show the complexities of coalition warfare and how Pershing and his staff navigated these difficulties with understanding, if not with absolute perfection.
Thompson’s afterword gives brief postwar biographies of some of the key players in the division’s history. These include senior American officers as well as junior officers and enlisted men who are mentioned in the narrative. Eleven maps and many photographs enhance the text. Thompson’s bibliography runs to a little more than seven pages and is helpful to anyone who wants to learn more about the division and its campaigns and personalities. Approach to Final Victory is mostly a synthesis of previously published primary sources such diaries, memoirs, and regimental histories. As such, its value arises in the picture it paints of the entire division. The book succeeds in describing the fortitude and struggles of the men in the division during a crucial period of the war. Thompson vividly recounts the obstacles they faced and the horrific combat they endured. While there is not much new material here, this book is recommended to anyone who wants a concise history of the 42d Division during the final three months of the war.
Major Peter L. Belmonte, USAF-Ret.
O’Fallon, Illinois
