The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille: Told by its Commander

by Georges Thenault

In April 1916, the creation of the American escadrille was decided. During the next twenty-one months this aviation squadron was to be seen over every important battlefield, with its men fighting and dying for France. George Thenault’s fascinating history of the Lafayette Escadrille covers from its very inception to the end of the war. Many Americans living in France at the outbreak of war in 1914 wanted to fight for the country that they saw as the founder of Liberty, and some of those men were pilots. But with the French army only having 80 planes the Americans were initially rejected from joining the air force and instead had to sign up with the Foreign Legion. It was only after months of persuasion that some of these intrepid Americans were given control of France’s planes and later, under Thenault’s command, they developed their own squadron. They were immediately thrown into the thick of the fighting above the pockmarked land of the Western Front. Thenault provides vivid descriptions of his brave pilots which included Norman Prince, the Rockwell brothers and the ace Raoul Lufbery. Some of these pilots were rather eccentric, for example William Thaw who when in Paris bought two lions, named Whiskey and Soda, which became the escadrille’s mascots. Flying their Nieuports, they were fighting at the very beginning of military aviation and were instrumental in pioneering new battle techniques. Their life expectancy was not long and many who had joined at the inception of the escadrille did not make it through until the end of the war. Thenault’s extremely personal account covers all aspects of this squadron in World War One, from their activities on the ground to their dogfights in the air. It is a truly remarkable read. Eventually with the United States joining the war the Lafayette Escadrille was disbanded and a number of its members were inducted into the U.S. Air Service as members of 103 Aero Squadron. George Thenault’s The Story of the Lafayette Escadrille was published in 1921. His book gained widespread American public recognition. In May 1922, he accepted an assignment that began an eleven year diplomatic service in the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C.. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1933 following successful completion of duties as Military Attache for Aeronautics at the French Embassy in Washington DC, he returned to France and continued his military services with the French Air Army. He died in 1948.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War I

124 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 7, 2016

About the author

Lieutenant Colonel Georges Thenault (pronounced "Ten-o") was the commander of the Lafayette Escadrille - the famed branch of the French air force in World War I composed of American volunteer pilots. The Lafayette Escadrille was created before the United States gave up its neutrality, and joined France and Britain in the war against Germany. Once the United States formally entered the war, the Lafayette Escadrille was absorbed into the U.S. Army.

(From Wikipedia biography, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_...)

Reviews

[Billy Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a bad read. The book was decent enough, but I expected a little more. I gave the author a little bit of slack considering he was a soldier and not a professional writer. Still the grammatical errors, and there are more than a few of them, interrupt the flow of the read. Details of the combat accounts of the escadrille are pretty uninformative. The individual aircraft are described as just enemy machines. One doesn't know if we are engaged with Fokkers, Albatri or Pfalz aircraft, single or two-seaters. The book is a bit flowery at times. Especially when the author attempts to pay tribute to the fallen. All that said, the book is still a decent read, it's just for more detail one needs to look elsewhere.

[David Dennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book, telling the story of Americans who went to fight for France even before the United States got into WW1. The author praises those men and shows appreciation for them, telling of their valor. Another view of the war.

[Al Lock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fundamentally, this is a book praising the American who loved France and loved liberty and the brave and honorable men who risked or gave their lives for their love of such. And it tells you that over and over and over.

There is information to be gleaned from this, but first you have to get past the Frenchman gushing.

One of the points that I found very interesting is the name changes that the Escadrille went through - going from the American Escadrille to the Volunteer Escadrille to the Lafayette Escadrille to 103 Aero Squadron, United States Army Air Corps

[Paul Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for those interested in the Lafayette Escadrille

As commander, he had a unique perspective. I think he is trying to be very honest yet never saying anything derogatory about any of his pilots. Written in 1919 only a year after the war, you get a good factual presentation of time places and his memory of very recent events. He didn't have to do ANY research. He lived these experiences only A year or two previously. A very good read.

[Gregg C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good account of the units history

Who flew, how they did. Where and what they flew are all here. A good history of the escadrille and its formation.

[Bhall · Rating 3 out of 5]

For years i thought my Grandfather, William Thomas Ponder had been a member of this elite group of American pilots fighting for the French prior to America's involvement in WWI...
Realized he did fly for the French in other squadrons and then on to the 103rd Aero Squadron U.S. with the rest of the LE boys...
Good read by the man who formed the famous group...Great slice of history..movie FlyBoys captures some of this story...and micmics my grandfather's story...marrying a french bride...thus my quarter percentage french blood :-)

[Jerry Mercer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Document of the Air War

Thenault tells a careful and accurate review of the American fliers who joined the French air force in WWI. It gives us a definitive look at the brave individuals and their evolving equipment. While these men are long gone, this book helps us remember them and what they did.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great supplement to "Open Cockpit" and "Horses don't fly". Worth reading!