Prior to World War I, most people regarded the National Guard as the militia, not as a valuable part of the nation’s strategic reserve. The 1916 National Defense Act – a piece of legislation that a young officer named Douglas MacArthur helped the US Army lobby for – would lay the groundwork for National Guard units to be activated into Federal service. In 1917, as the United States prepared to fight in Europe, National Guard units across the country were activated into Federal service. Maine’s 103rd Infantry Regiment was one of these units and it would see service in France as part of the 26th Division. Known as the “Yankee Division,” the 26th would see considerable combat in France during the war. To discuss the experience of the 103rd Infantry Regiment during World War I, the World War I Podcast interviewed Captain Jonathan Bratten, command historian of the Maine Army National Guard and author of To the Last Man: A National Guard Regiment in the Great War.
If you'd like to read To the Last Man, a free download is available: https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/to-the-last-man.pdf. You can also request a hard copy by emailing: usarmy.leavenworth.tradoc.mbx.armyu-aup-rp@army.mil
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