Most Decorated

The Doughboys

Doughboys is the story of the American soldiers who fought in World War I. When President Woodrow Wilson declared War on Germany in April of 1917, thousands of young men rushed to enlist. In their youthful exuberance they did not realize the horrors of the war raging in Europe. The industrial and technological advancements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries changed the nature of warfare. No longer was war the romantic heraldry of an earlier day. It was now the methodical slaughter wrought by the machine age. The Doughboys soon learned the horrors of war first-hand, and their innocence was forever lost.

Doughboys would be useful for classes on American History, European History, Military History, Culture and the History of Science and Technology. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

• acclimated
• annihilation
• armistice
• avenge
• crusade
• disillusionment
• expeditionary
• fanfare
• fatalistic
• fledgling
• loathe
• loomed
• lore
• morale
• naive
• obligation
• permeate
• ponder
• refuge
• rigorously

Discussion Questions

1. Technology made World War I different from any other previous war. How was this war different? How did technology make war more lethal than ever before? How has technology made war even more deadly since World War I?

2. Soldiers in the battlefield form intense and enduring friendships. Why do you think they would form these relationships? Why is friendship so important to a soldier?

3. When President Wilson declared war on Germany, young men rushed to enlist in the army. Why did these young men so readily enlist?

4. When young men enlisted for duty during World War I, they had a nostalgic, romanticized vision of the war. How did the media contribute to this illusion?

5. World War I was a war between European nations. At first, the U.S. was neutral. Why and how did that change? Why did the U.S. become involved in World War I?

6. What is the origins of the nickname

7. Gas was feared by the soldiers more than any other weapon. Soldiers would rather face bullets and mortar fire than gas. Why was gas so feared by the soldiers? Why was it so lethal?

Extended Activities

1. Design a recruitment poster for World War I. How would you encourage young men to enlist in the army?

2. Imagine that you are a Doughboy on the Western Front. Write a letter home to your family describing your experiences and your feelings about the war.

3. Read Erich Remarque's classic novel about war, All Quiet on the Western Front. Discuss this novel in class. What is the message of this book? How does Remarque present the war?

Air Dates

• November 07, 2005