General Pershing, in a cablegram to General March, Acting Chief of Staff, announced on March 29, 1918, that the American expeditionary force in France had been placed at the disposal of General Foch, the allied Generalissimo. The message read:
Have made all our resources available, and our divisions will be used if and when needed. French are in fine spirits, and both armies seem confident.
(Signed) PERSHING.
General Pershing had called on General Foch at Headquarters on the previous day, March 28, and made the offer of American troops. His words were reported by the Paris newspaper, L'Information, as follows:
"I come to say to you that the American people would hold it a great honor for our troops were they engaged in the present battle. I ask it of you, in my name and in that of the American people. There is at this moment no other question than that of fighting. Infantry, artillery, aviation—all that we have are yours to dispose of as you will. Others are coming which are as numerous as will be necessary. I have come to say to you that the American people would be proud to be engaged in the greatest battle in history."
In a statement given out at the American Headquarters in France on March 30, Secretary Baker said:
"I am delighted at General Pershing's prompt and effective action in placing all the American troops and facilities at the disposal of the Allies in the present situation. It will meet with hearty approval in the United States, where the people desire their expeditionary forces to be of the utmost service in the common cause. I have visited all the American troops in France, some of them recently, and had an opportunity to observe the enthusiasm with which officers and men received the announcement that they would be used in the present conflict. One regiment to which the announcement was made spontaneously broke into cheers."
THE OFFER ACCEPTED
General Foch placed General Pershing's offer before the French war council at the front, which included Premier Clemenceau, French Commander Pétain, and Louis Loucheur, Minister of Munitions. An official note, issued in Paris on March 31, dealing with the operation of American troops with the French and British, said:
The French Government has decided to accede to the desire expressed by General Pershing in the name of the United States Government. The American troops will fight side by side with the British and French troops and the Star-Spangled Banner will float beside the French and English flags in the plains of Picardy.