U.S. Army's 1918 Infantry Tactics with the Airplane

by Jeffrey A. Rothermel

February 8, 2026

Captain's Log:

Regulating an Idea:

The Airplane

Numerous ideas and concepts make their way into a used and rare bookstore. Two books from the same time period are in the store and pictured below. Both touch upon the beginnings of American air power. Each one is interesting. When they are combined, they are fascinating because they illustrate the development of ideas.

American Dictionary in 1914:

Aëroplane

U.S. Army Tactics Regulation in 1918:

Airplane

When the United States entered the First World War it was using the term "aëroplane." The below picture of the heavy twenty-five-pound American 1914 dictionary does not use the term "airplane." The second book depicts how- eventually, Americans were using the modern term "airplane." The U.S. Army tactics manual was printed in France in 1918 on the eve of the war's conclusion. The small book had two paragraphs dedicated to how infantry units should operate with and against airplanes.

NOT FOR SALE (NFS): U.S. Army 1918 Tactics Manual referred to as a regulation. The second larger book is THE CENTURY DICTIONARY AN ENCLOPEDIC LEXICON OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE Revised and Enlarged Edition. Edited by William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E. Smith.  New York: Century Company, 1914. [4, blank], xii, 7,046pp., [estimated 2,000 unnumbered pages "The Century Dictionary Supplement"], 28pp., [4, blank]. [Both books are NOT FOR SALE]

The 1914 spelling of Airplane, according to THE NEW CENTURY DICTIONARY was "aëroplane"

You may note the lack of a page number. Publishing a book without page numbers (pagination) is aggravating.

The photo below is the Table of Contents for the 1918 Infantry Drill Regulations (Provisional) American Expeditionary Forces:

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END

Historical Point One

Aëroplane to Airplane

NEXT POINT

Military Regulations

Regulations

for the

Order and Discipline

of the

Troops

of the

United States

by

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

[Link to U.S. Army War College

Original copy of von Steuben's

Regulations.]

The Blue Book (Click Me)

Today, the U.S. Army has hundreds of regulations. Today, one thing that is generally not codified in a regulation is tactics. The U.S. Army prefers to allow the commander the freedom to innovate and adapt faster than the enemy and therefore does not dictate military technique in a regulation. It took a long time to break the tradition that was developed at Valley Forge. Historian Benson Bobrick painted it in the following manner:

"In February 1778, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a professional soldier and veteran of several European campaigns, arrived at Valley Forge. Steuben had served on the staff of Frederick the Great, and at Valley Forge, in remarkably short time, he transformed the roughshod Continentals into an effective European-style fighting force....[1]

Steuben's genius was his ability to unite Prussian virtues to those of the American mind. ... ... ... Until his advent, troops had drilled from at least three separate manuals, so that were brigaded together, disarray ensued. Steuben's new military manual, or "Blue Book," simplified and shrewdly adapted standard procedures to the particular requirements of training patriot troops. ... ... ... Steuben had begun his task with almost no knowledge of English, and his young secretary and translator, Pierre Duponoeau, remembered that "when some movement or maneuver was not performed to his mind he began to swear in German, then in French, and then in both languages together..."[2]

Historically, militaries like to prepare for the last war that was fought. As the U.S. military professionalized, it learned to allow commanders the ability to innovate in accordance with the situation. Similar to NFL football teams, each army unit will normally have its own playbook often called a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) that they use to execute drills or tactics. Moving an army across a river held by the enemy remains a complex feat, just as it was when General Washington crossed the Delaware. How the U.S. Army does it or will do it, will not be in a codified regulation. Today, the U.S. military uses "Training Circulars" rather than regulations to serve as guides concerning how organizations operate in a joint environment (Army, Marine, Air Force, Navy, Space, coalition partners, ....). Regulations remain an important aspect for a modern army. Water must be clean. Fuel and ammunition must be handled in safe manner.

Today you can download the U.S. Army's Drill and Ceremonies training circular TC 3-21.5 dated: 03 May 2021 at various internet sites. The following link is an USARCENT.army.mil:

DRILL AND CEREMONIES (Click Me)

The current U.S. Army 288-page document does not include river crossing operations, or operations with airplanes. Additionally, the last page of the document states: "Distributed in electronic media only (EMO)." The 2021 version is significant for a few reasons. It is the first U.S. Army Drill and Ceremonies print on demand book. The first pages of the 2021 U.S. Army print on demand book references Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben's Blue Book from the American revolutionary war. Appendix H of the 2021 document covers Mounted Drill.  The appendix "contains the procedures for the orderly formation and movement of vehicles during drill and ceremonies for motorized and mechanized units." The document does not include animals such as horses or mules, or military aircraft. The current omissions cause me to wonder if animals and drones will be included in the next publication. [3.]

The importance of the 1918 booklet is that it is an artifact of military technique. During the days of muskets, soldiers stood in three to five lines called ranks. All the ranks started with a loaded single shot musket. On command the first line knelt and fired. As the first rank volley fired at the same time creating a withering volley of bullets fired, they began to reload. The next ranks marched in front of the reloading rank and volley fired. It was thought that the side with the fastest, best disciplined troops, led by competent steady leaders won. Professional militaries believed this type of disciplined method basically worked until the time of the machine gun. Belt fed ammunition could mow down organized human waves of soldiers. Armies dug trench lines and blasted each other with artillery attempting to suppress the machine gun and make a hole to surge through. Armor and airplanes became the technology concepts that each side experimented with during the First World War.

Historical military theories suggest that those that can innovate, test, build, and educate faster with the correct technologies and techniques often win. Regulations work, until they don't. Americans pride themselves on being rule breakers. Knowing which rules to follow and which ones to ignore is one theme of the American military story. Page 118 of the First World War regulation is not how the U.S. Army does it today.

The 1918

Infantry Drill

Regulations

The final page of the 1918 INFANTRY DRILL REGULATIONS had two paragraphs (550 & 551) concerning Infantry and Airplanes. Paragraphs 550 starts with:

"550. During all offensive operations, the men carrying panels or flares should keep them in a handy accessible position. All men should be thoroughly instructed regarding the airplane signals, and general characteristics of enemy and friendly airplanes. One man from each platoon will be designated especially to watch airplanes. Immediately upon being sighted, an airplane should be closely watched until it is ascertained whether it is enemy or friendly. If it is hostile, preparing small-arms and machine-gun fire, but no firing will be permitted until directed by platoon or higher commanders. If it is friendly, it will be closely watched for signals..."[4.]   

The 1918 American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Infantry Drill Regulations marks a turning point in American military document techniques for tactics. The Infantry Drill Regulations have faded away, though the half step, sidestep, back step, and halt mandated in the 1918 regulation are still taught by U.S. Army Drill Sergeants today. American air power which was born in the First World War continues to evolve.

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Source Footnotes:

[1.] Benson Bobrick. Angel in the Whirlwind. NY: Penguin Pooks,1998, p.331.

[2.] Bobrick, 334-5.

[3.] TC 3-21.5 Drill and Ceremonies. Headquarters, Department of the Army, 03 May 2021. pp. 1-1 thru 1-2. H-1.

[4.]  Infantry Drill Regulations (PROVISIONAL) AMERICAN ESPEDITIONARY FORCES Part I 1918. Paris: Imprimerie E. Desosses. p. 145.

End Chapter Two of the Corduroy Chapters

Chapter One: Corduroy Chapters (Click Me)

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Miscellaneous Notes.

THE CENTURY DICTIONARY AN ENCLOPEDIC LEXICON OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE Revised and Enlarged Edition. Edited by William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E. Smith.  New York: Century Company, 1914. pp. Vii & IX. [Also refer to Captain's Log: The Century Dictionary Published in the Year 1914 ]

Captain's Log (Click Me)

Infantry Drill Regulations (PROVISIONAL) AMERICAN ESPEDITIONARY FORCES Part I 1918. Paris: Imprimerie E. Desosses. p. 144. Approx. dimensions: 4.375"x 6.75" x .375" [A few markings inside the book indicate it belonging to unreadable name in cursive pencil: ----- A. Dahl. Purple Ink stamp: Co. "G" 349th Inf.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Google Search:

Company G, 349th Infantry which was formed at Camp Dodge, Iowa in August 1917. It belonged to a John A. Dahl (G/2-349 INF)/88th Division (Cloverleaf Division). The unit deployed to France where it conducted training and defensive operations in the Alsace sector. The unit "returned to the U.S. in May 1919 and was demobilized on June 12, 1919, at Camp Dodge."

Company G / 349 Infantry during World War One Google Search (Feb 8, 2026):

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