On the Border: The National Guard Mobilizes for War in 1916

摘要

President Woodrow Wilson had a deeply concerned look on his face. The chief of staff of the Army had just updated him in the Oval Office, and the news had not been good. Turning now to his senior defense adviser, Secretary of War Newton Baker, the president said, "With the Regular Army stretched so thin, I'm not sure we have any other options but to mobilize the National Guard." Baker nodded but cautioned, "Sir, you know we just reorganized them, and most are still trying to figure out what their units are supposed to look like." "I know, I know," the president said slowly. "But these latest cross-border attacks have forced our hand." Baker nodded his head again and said, "Yes, sir. It'll be painful for everyone, but the Guard can make a difference." He paused and then said, "If there's a positive side to this, at least now we can inform the states electronically. I'll have my staff send out the telegrams to each governor this afternoon." Wilson quickly shook Baker's hand and turned back to the other report on his desk: a German submarine campaign was sinking British and French ships faster than they could be made. Eventually the United States would have to take a side in the war, but for now, the problem on the Mexican border was his biggest concern. The nation had been attacked, and something had to be done about it.