America's involvement in WWI marked its first major entry into European
politics. The final cost of that involvement required the U.S. to supply
a force to occupy part of the German Rhineland after the war. The force
provided was first known as Third Army and then later as the American
Forces in Germany (AFG). It consisted of the best divisions in the
American Army. With a starting strength of a quarter million doughboys,
the Americans marched to the Rhine and began their occupation period in
December 1918. When the American phase of the occupation ended in 1923,
the force consisted of one thousand soldiers. Many future WWII leaders
of the Army and Marine Corps served in this force; including five who
would become Marine Commandant, four Army Chiefs of Staff, ten four-star
Generals, and, surprisingly, a National Football League Head coach.