Description
Inscribed by Vice President Charles G. Dawes to the Secretary of War John W. Weeks, the complete works of The Allied Armies under Marshal Foch in the Franco-Belgian Theater of Operations.
Octavo. [three volumes], 577pp [Vol. I, Part I]; loose charts and maps [Vol. I, Part II]; viii, 1173pp [Vol. II]. Blue cloth, title in gilt on spine and front cover, increased toning to spines of Volume I, Part II and Volume II. Text in both French and English. Light rubbing to tips, solid text block. Includes numerous full-page black and white photographs. Volume I, Part II complete with hundreds of full-page maps and illustrations. (Shrader, 831) Foreword to this work by Brig. Gen. Charles G. Dawes, future Vice President of the United States. This copy is signed on the front flyleaf of Volume I, Part I: “For my friend John W. Weeks, Secretary of War, without whose continuing interest & loyal aid these volumes would not have preserved important lessons and principles of Allied Warfare and be available to the students of Military Science. From Charles G. Dawes / Brig General ORC / May 15th 1925.” This work was inscribed by Vice President Charles Dawes to Secretary Weeks, just weeks after suffering a career ending stroke in April of 1925.
The Military Board of Allied Supply was formed by Charles G. Dawes in 1918, after his recommendation to General John J. Pershing to form an intergovernmental agency to coordinate logistical support of the Allied forces on the Western Front during WWI. Competition between the Allied armies for scarce resources, such as fuel and ammunition, resulted in unnecessary price gouging and supply gaps. This report of the Military Board of Allied Supply Board was headed by Brigadier General Charles G. Dawes, with the hope of educating future military leaders about the importance of such a coordinating body. Many of the lessons were forgotten by the onset of World War II.
