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Title: Trial by Friendship: Anglo-American Relations 1917-1918 by David R. Woodward ISBN: 0-8131-1833-6 Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky Pub. Date: 01 April, 1993 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $34.00

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Summary: A High Stakes Geopolitical Struggle
Comment: During World War I (WWI), frequent confrontations occurred between the American government with its idealistic American President, Woodrow Wilson, and the British government with its imperialist minded prime minister, David Lloyd George. From 1916 through 1918, critical diplomatic skirmishes over war strategy between the United States and Britain took place. Prior to 1917, Wilson pursued a policy of "peace without victory" while the British wanted direct American involvement. When the United States entered the war in April 1917, the military situation of the western allies was critical: France's army was exhausted and ready to mutiny; Britain was incurring a substantial economic burden while its army faced critical manpower shortages; and Russia on the eastern front was collapsing with the Bolsheviks taking over and suing for peace with Germany. Britain wanted American infantry to serve directly in the British lines as combat replacements under British command. American General Pershing and a small staff rushed to France in May 1917 where "Pershing and his staff sought the creation of an independent American army..." as the build up and training of American Expeditionary Force began. Wilson concurred in Pershing's strategy.

Professor Woodward, the author, presents a comprehensive study of Anglo-American relations during the WW I as mutual distrust and political maneuvering resulted in a deterioration of the relationship between the two countries. Wilson sought to have a strong or dominant America when formulating postwar peace terms while Lloyd George was concerned about maintaining a strong postwar diplomatic and military position for the British Empire. The text concentrates on diplomatic and war strategy issues during WWI referring to the battlefield only as background for the situations being narrated. Most interesting is the account of Lloyd George's attempts to move infantry from the western front to the Middle East to insure protection of the Empire's Asian interests. Woodward's description of Britain's unsuccessful efforts to get Japan to invade eastern Siberia to prevent Germany from overrunning Russia, after its military collapse, is fascinating.

The author notes "The war's unexpected conclusion in November" 1918] " could not have been more advantageous to the British Empire's geopolitical goals." President Wilson "planned to force the Allies to discuss peace on his terms" i.e. Wilson's Fourteen Points which the Allies accepted with reservations. The text concludes with the statement "Despite America's and Britain's common struggle against Germany, Wilson's substitution of moral for traditional diplomacy and his self-appointed role as the Peoples' spokesman militated against the creation of a postwar Anglo-American partnership to maintain the future peace and stability of the world....He placed the maintenance of American freedom of action second only to the defeat of Germany." Woodward further states "The failure to achieve a true Anglo-American partnership during and after the war thus represented a great setback to world stability...."

An appendix listing a cast of characters in alphabetical order with one or two sentences given for each would be most helpful. However, this is an excellent work and is a must read work to gain a full understanding of a critical phase of twentieth century history.