The Sedan Affair: a Debacle at the Moment of Victory for the AEF

The Americans wanted to hand Sedan over to the French because of what happened there during the Franco-Prussian war
[As the Meuse-Argonne Offensive drew to a successful conclusion, General] Pershing wanted the Americans to capture Sedan and hand it over to the French as a goodwill gesture. The city’s importance to the French Army could not be understated. During the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, the Germans had defeated the French in Sedan and in the process arrested their emperor, Louis Napoleon III, a humiliating blow to French pride. To his credit, Black Jack did seek approval from General Paul Maistre, commander of the French Group of Armies, which included Gouraud’s Fourth Army, which was on a parallel course with First Army. In the event that American troops reached Sedan first, Pershing thought they should take the city, and Maistre consented.

On 6 November, First Army Chief of Staff Bg. General Hugh Drum [without consulting First Army Commander General Hunter Liggett] issued a memorandum [originally encouraged by AEF operations chief Bg. General Fox Conner] on behalf of the AEF commander to the I and V Corps, instructing them that the coveted honor of entering Sedan would fall to First Army. “[General Pershing] has every confidence that the troops of the 1st Corps, assisted on their right by the 5th Corps, will enable him to realize the desire,” he wrote. Furthermore, “your attention is called to the favorable opportunity now existing for pressing our advantage throughout the night. Boundaries will not be considered binding.”

American leaders are not immune to moments of stupidity. The men of the Big Red One were lucky they weren't shot up by the units they were passing through.