page_title: James W. McAndrew
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: James W. McAndrew / World War I
caption_attribution_description: cropped and cleaned version of "111-SC-24739 - NARA - 55209089.jpg"
context_page_description: James W. McAndrew was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of major general, and was most notable for his service as chief of staff of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.
  A native of Hawley, Pennsylvania, McAndrew graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1888 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Infantry. His early assignments were in the western United States, and he took part in the Ghost Dance War of 1890-1891. He served in Cuba during the Spanish–American War, including the Battle of El Caney and the Siege of Santiago, and in the Philippines during the Philippine-American War.
  As McAndrew's career progressed, he completed the Army School of the Line, Command and General Staff College, and Army War College. At the start of World War I, he was promoted to colonel as commander of the 18th Infantry Regiment. He commanded the regiment until he was promoted to temporary brigadier general as commander of 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. After service as commandant of the American Expeditionary Forces Staff College in Langres, McAndrew was promoted to major general and assigned as AEF chief of staff.
context_section_description: At the start of World War I, McAndrew was promoted to colonel and assigned as commander of the 18th Infantry. He led his regiment to France, and commanded it until he was promoted to temporary brigadier general in August 1917 and appointed to command 2nd Brigade, 1st Division.  He was then assigned as commandant of the American Expeditionary Forces Staff College in Langres, where in addition to the staff college, he organized the AEF School of the Line, Officer Candidate School, Infantry School, and Tank School in order to train soldiers for their combat duties. In May 1918, AEF commander John J. Pershing named McAndrew to succeed James Harbord as AEF chief of staff. He was promoted to temporary major general while in this post, and served until June 1919. McAndrew was praised for the leadership and management style he brought to the AEF staff, including speeding up the planning process and preparation of operations orders by delegating as much authority as possible, including allowing senior staff officers to issue directives in Pershing's name when circumstances required it. Though his initiatives enabled the AEF staff to function more efficiently, they were also criticized for creating resentment between the AEF staff and subordinate army and corps commanders, who believed that their authority was being diminished.
caption: James W. McAndrew (center) with Secretary of War Newton D. Baker (right), Major General Andre W. Brewster (left) and a group of german prisoners in September 1918.
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