Instructions for American Servicemen in France during World War II

United States Army

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9780226841724
• eBook ISBN: 9780226841755
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: French History
• Index: History

"You are about to play a personal part in pushing the Germans out of France. Whatever part you take—rifleman, hospital orderly, mechanic, pilot, clerk, gunner, truck driver—you will be an essential factor in a great effort."
 
As American soldiers fanned out from their beachhead in Normandy in June of 1944 and began the liberation of France, every soldier carried that reminder in his kit. A compact trove of knowledge and reassurance, Instructions for American Servicemen in France during World War II was issued to soldiers just before they embarked for France to help them understand both why they were going and what they'd find when they got there. After lying unseen in Army archives for decades, this remarkable guide is now available in a new facsimile edition that reproduces the full text and illustrations of the original along with a new introduction by Rick Atkinson setting the book in context.       
            Written in a straightforward, personal tone, the pamphlet is equal parts guidebook, cultural snapshot, and propaganda piece. A central aim is to dispel any prejudices American soldiers may have about the French—especially relating to their quick capitulation in 1940. Warning soldiers that the defeat "is a raw spot which the Nazis have been riding" since the occupation began, Instructions is careful to highlight France's long historical role as a major U.S. ally. Following that is a brief, fascinating sketch of the French character ("The French are mentally quick;" "Rich or poor, they are economical") and stark reminders of the deprivation the French have endured under occupation. Yet an air of reassuring confidence pervades the final section of the pamphlet, which reads like a straightforward tourists' guide to Paris and the provinces—like a promise of better days to come once the soldiers complete their mission.
            Written by anonymous War Department staffers to meet the urgent needs of the moment, with no thought of its historical value, Instructionsfor American Servicemen in France during World War II nevertheless brings to vivid life the closing years of World War II—when optimism was growing, but a long, demanding road still lay ahead.

ANNEX:

VARIOUS AIDS

DECIMAL SYSTEM

In France, almost all calculations are based on the decimal system. We are here concerned with weights and measures, and money. As we have dollars and cents, the French have centimes and francs. 100 cents to the dollar; 100 centimes to the franc. The value of the franc has never been as much as the value of the dollar. You will be told how many cents a franc is worth before you have occasion to use one. There is just one small complication in the French monetary system—the sou (say “soo”). A sou is five centimes—twenty sous to the franc. Don’t throw your money away, You’ll only force prices up; and they’re high enough as it is, Send your extras home,

Weights and measures in France conform to the metric system, which is in use throughout most of Europe. This is also a decimal system: larger units are divisible by ten or a hundred to give smaller units. The following table of approximate comparisons may prove useful:

10 centimeters = 4 inches

11 meters = 12 yards

8 kilometers = 5 miles

50 kilometers =31 miles

26 sq. kilometers = 10 square miles

1 hectare = 2 ½ acres

15 grams = ½ ounce

5 kilos = 11 pounds

1 hectoliter = 22 gallons

1 metric ton = 2,205 pounds

1,000 meters = 1 kilometer = ⅝ mile

1 kilogram (kilo) = 2.2 pounds

1 liter = ⁴/₅ quart

You will soon get used, to dealing in terms of these measures, just as you will quickly gain familiarity with the coins and paper you will use for money.

FRENCH LANGUAGE GUIDE

Hints on Pronunciation

You will find all the words and phrases written both in French spelling and in a simplified spelling which you read like English. Don’t use the French spelling, the one given in parentheses, unless you have studied French before. Read the simplified spelling as though it were English. When you see the French word for “where” spelled oo, give the oo the sound it has in the English words too, boot, etc. and not the sound it has in German or any other language you may happen to know.

Each letter or combination of letters is used for the sound it usually stands for in English and it always stands for that sound. Thus, oo is always pronounced as it is in too, boo, boot, tooth, roost, never as anything else. Say these words and then pronounce the vowel sound by itself. That is the sound you must use every time you see oo in the Pronounciation column. If you should use some other sound—for example, the sound of oo in blood—you might be misunderstood.

Syllables that are accented, that is, pronounced louder than others, are written in capital letters. In French, unaccented syllables are not skipped over quickly, as they are in English. The accent is generally on the last syllable in the phrase.

Hyphens are used to divide words into syllables to make them easier to pronounce. Curved lines (

) are used to show sounds pronounced together without any break; for example, day-z

U H meaning “some eggs,” kawm-B

YANG meaning “how much’”

Special Points

AY as in may, say, play but don’t drawl it out as we do in English. Since it is not drawled it sounds almost like the e in let. Example: ray-pay-T A Y meaning “repeat.”

J stands for a sound for which we have no single letter in English. It is the sound we have in measure, leisure, usual, division, casualty, azure. Example: bawn- JOO R meaning “Good day.”

EW is used for a sound like ee in bee made with the lips rounded as though about to say the oo in boot. Example: ek-skew-zay MWA meaning “Excuse me.”

U or UH as in up, cut, rub, gun. Examples: nuf meaning “nine,” juh meaning “I.”

U or UH as in up, cut, etc. but made with the lips rounded. Example: D UH meaning “two.”

NG, N or M are used to show that certain vowels are pronounced through the nose, very much in the way we generally say huh, uh-uh, uh-huh. Examples: lahnt-MAHNG meaning “...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• FOREWORD
• Contents
• I WHY YOU’RE GOING TO FRANCE
• II THE UNITED STATES SOLDIER IN FRANCE
• III A FEW PAGES OF FRENCH HISTORY
• IV OBSERVATION POST
• ANNEX