The Glory of the Coming: What Mine Eyes Have Seen of Americans in Action in This Year of Grace and Allied Endeavor

In Short

Irvin S. Cobb’s war narrative collects his dispatch journalism from the spring and summer of 1918, tracking the mobilization and active engagement of American forces alongside British and French troops. Drawing on his earlier experience as a neutral reporter in 1914, Cobb contrasts initial German successes with the growing Allied counter-momentum. His account details front-line trench duty, logistics bases, bombing raids over London, and the experiences of diverse American units, including Black regiments and foreign-born draftees. It remains a vivid, contemporary record of the American Expeditionary Forces at the height of the First World War.

The Story

The account opens with Cobb reflecting on his early observations of the war in 1914, when he covered operations from both sides of the lines as a neutral journalist. Returning to Europe in 1918 as a committed partisan following American entry into the conflict, he sets out to document how the United States military and its Allies are adapting to modern warfare.

Beginning near the Vosges foothills, Cobb observes French infantry and newly arrived American troops holding front-line sectors. He describes the practical realities of the battlefield: camouflaged roads lined with woven grass screens, subterranean battalion headquarters, and the daily wear of steel helmets and gas masks. Moving through shelled villages and battered countryside, Cobb highlights the contrast between seasoned French veterans and inexperienced American recruits. He visits military cemeteries where thousands of wooden crosses mark the heavy toll paid by France.

As the narrative progresses toward the active sectors near Noyon and Soissons, Cobb encounters British forces enduring the German spring offensive. He reports on casualty dressing stations, the calm efficiency of British military police directing traffic in ruined towns, and the camaraderie within an Allied night-bombing squadron composed of young flyers from across the British Empire. In London, he witnesses night air raids, observing how civilian populations take shelter in the subterranean Adelphi Arches while maintaining order under bombardment.

Cobb then turns his attention to the immense support network sustaining the front. He tours supply depots in the French interior, where thousands of workers construct massive cold-storage facilities, sort balanced rations in vast warehouses, and lay miles of railway tracks to feed and equip the army. He details the specific contributions of various American units, highlighting the decorated Black soldiers of the 369th Infantry—such as Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts—and the transformation of foreign-born conscripts from New York into disciplined combat troops.

Throughout his travels, Cobb interviews high commanders, including General John J. Pershing and Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, contrasting their leadership styles while emphasizing their shared responsibility for millions of troops. The narrative concludes with observations of recovering wounded in Paris hospitals and reflections on the eventual Allied victory, framing the effort as a necessary sacrifice to secure lasting peace.

How It Unfolds

The front line taken over Cobb travels through the Vosges foothills to visit front-line trenches recently assumed by American troops from French units. He describes the physical hazards of the sector, the omnipresence of gas masks and steel helmets, and the stoicism of French civilians surviving in ruined towns near the wire.

With the British in retreat Moving toward the western sectors during the 1918 offensive, Cobb encounters wounded British officers and retreating units. He details the orderly discipline of the British fall-back, the resilience of Scottish infantry, and the youthful makeup of an international air squadron based nearby.

Under air attack in London Visiting England, Cobb observes the impact of night bombing raids on the civilian population. He describes hundreds of residents taking refuge in the Adelphi Arches, noting the absence of panic and the growing determination to see the war through to its end.

The machinery of supply Back in France, Cobb explores the sprawling logistics operations of the American Expeditionary Forces. He inspects cold-storage plants, inventory management in massive supply warehouses, and the construction of rail networks designed to keep the front lines provisioned.

Valour and transformation Cobb documents the performance of specific American divisions, focusing on the decorated exploits of Black infantrymen in hand-to-hand combat and the rapid evolution of drafted immigrant workers from New York into effective front-line combatants.

The People

• Irvin S. Cobb: The author and narrator, an American journalist who observes the conflict first-hand, recording interactions with soldiers, commanders, and civilians across the European theater.
• Captain Pepper: A young British machine-gun officer from Yorkshire who, despite a hand wound, walks twenty kilometers toward a hospital while recounting the fierce resistance of Scottish troops during a retreat.
• Sergeant Fulton: An American marksman serving in a Canadian battalion who excels as a sniper while holding strong anti-monarchical views derived from his home upbringing.
• Henry Johnson and Needham Roberts: Two African American soldiers of the 369th Infantry who defend an isolated outpost against a night raiding party, earning the French Croix de Guerre for exceptional bravery.
• Watterson Towers: An adventurous Black American civilian who travels independently to France without papers, ultimately deciding to enlist upon being intercepted by military authorities.
• General John J. Pershing: Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, described by Cobb as a disciplined, athletic leader bearing the full weight of commanding American troops in Europe.
• Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig: Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in France, depicted as a precise, formal commander managing a vast coalition army.

In Its Own Voice

"France has become a land of these wooden crosses and these six-foot mounds. It is part of the toll--a small part of the toll--she has paid for the right of freedom..."

Cobb reflects on the vast military graveyards stretching across the French countryside near the front lines.

"There is something so radically wrong in the Prussian propaganda it is inconceivable that any mind save a Prussian's mind could have conceived it."

Observing civilian shelters during an air raid in London, Cobb critiques the German strategy of bombarding non-combatant targets.

"Three short hard months of training had transformed them from a rabble into soldier-stuff; from a street-mob into the makings of an army; from strangers into Americans."

Cobb describes the rapid military development of foreign-born conscripts trained at Camp Upton before their deployment to France.

What It's Really About

At its core, the book examines the logistics, morale, and national identity of a country mobilizing for modern total war. Cobb focuses on the practical mechanics required to move and maintain millions of men overseas, emphasizing that modern military success relies as much on supply depots, railway construction, and food distribution as on battlefield tactics. The text also explores how shared service in the American Expeditionary Forces altered social and national boundaries, highlighting how draft policies brought together diverse groups—including Black soldiers and newly arrived European immigrants—who demonstrated equal capability and bravery under fire despite domestic prejudices.

Why Read It Today

This volume offers a direct, contemporary window into the summer of 1918, capturing the sights, sounds, and operational scale of the Western Front from a journalist's perspective. Cobb writes with clear descriptive detail, avoiding abstract military strategy in favor of human observations: the weight of a soldier's pack, the organization of supply warehouses, and the atmosphere of bomb shelters.

Modern readers should note that the text reflects the racial attitudes, terminology, and literary conventions of early 20th-century America. Cobb frequently renders regional and ethnic dialects phonetically, and his characterization of minority soldiers contains period assumptions that may jar present-day sensibilities. However, his reporting remains notable for its explicit praise of African American troops and foreign-born recruits at a time when their contributions were often minimized. Readers interested in First World War history, early journalism, and the logistical realities of military mobilization will find it a thorough, vivid historical source.