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introduction Edwin C.Bridges As time passes,memories fade.World-shattering catastrophes of one generation thin out into old stories for the children of the next generation.For later generations , they are merely the stuff of history.thus nearly a century after their heroic service inWorldWar i, the men of Alabama’s 167th infantry regiment— called “the immortals” in their time—have been largely forgotten. in Send the Alabamians, rod Frazer helps bring their story back to life.And it is a story that for many reasons deserves to be kept alive. WorldWar i may have been the shaping event of the twentieth century. it led to the breakup of european dominance in the world and ushered in a new era of horrific, mechanized total warfare. it gave birth to communism and fascism and new vitality to militant nationalism. in many ways, much of the rest of the twentieth century can be seen as the playing out of forcesWorldWar i either unleashed or accelerated. in the spring of 1918, after almost four years of carnage, France and england were in desperate straits.the russian communist government had signed a treaty of peace with the Germans in early march.the Germans were moving hundreds of thousands of soldiers westward for a great final push against the French and english ,whose armies were depleted and worn.the Germans held numerical superiority .Without help,the French and english lines would probably have broken. by may, however, as the Germans were intensifying their attacks, more than a millionAmerican soldiers had arrived in France.these fresh troops made the difference in the outcome of the war. one of the most effective units in the US forces was the famous “rainbow division,” and one of its strongest regiments was Alabama’s 167th infantry. Send the Alabamians is an account of this remarkable regiment. in addition to serving as a regimental history,Send theAlabamians also helps us 2 / introduction see howWorldWar i engaged and affected the people ofAlabama.When we think about the war now,almost a century later,we visualize photos of trench lines and the pulverized terrain of “no man’s land” in between.We think about the war’s massive destruction and its disastrous aftermath.We do not think much about how importantWorldWar i was for people in Alabama or the role Alabamians played in its outcome.but it was a life-changing experience for manyAlabamians as well as for people in europe, and it was a major chapter in the state’s history. the 167th infantry regiment of the US Army grew out of a 1916 mobilization to protect American interests along the mexican border.that June, PresidentWoodrowWilson ordered national Guard units totaling more than 150,000 men from across the United States into active service.they were to protect the American border against raids by Panchovilla and spillover damage from internal turmoil inside mexico. one of theAlabama unitsWilson mobilized was the 4thAlabama infantry regiment. the 4thAlabama was led byWilliam Preston Screws,a nativeAlabamian who had been the training officer for the state’s national Guard. he was then Captain Screws in the regular Army, but he was also the lieutenant colonel of the 4thAlabama militia, when officers were still elected by their men.the 4thAlabama trained atvandiver Park in montgomery and added new men to bring it up to strength before shipping out in october. by the time the 4thAlabama arrived inArizona,much of the hard fighting had already taken place.the role of the new national Guard units was nominally to police the border,butAmerican leaders had been watching the war in europe for two years.they knew the United States was unprepared for serious, large-scale warfare. So the mexican expedition also became a training program.through the winter of 1916/17, under the command of General John J. Pershing, the Guard units carried out extensive exercises in trench warfare. in early 1917, as this training progressed, the Germans began an expanded offensive against the english and French,including unrestricted submarine warfare againstAmerican supply ships.in response,PresidentWilson broke off relations with Germany in February,and Congress officially declared war with Germany inApril.When the 4thAlabama returned home fromArizona that march,its men were immediately dispatched to guard strategic positions across the state— railroads, bridges, and industrial sites—against possible sabotage by German agents or sympathizers (for instance, from the German immigrant community in baldwin County). that June the 4thAlabama reassembled in montgomery atvandiver Park.new men were added,and...

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