An American plane from the Escadrille Americaine (later renamed Escadrille Lafayette) shot down its first German aircraft; it was the first American involvement in the conflict. This squadron’s contribution to the Battle of Verdun was notable, but even more notable was its contribution, through the press and the immense publicity at home, to the massive American intervention in the war. Verdun shaped in the Americans’ imagination the role that the Battle of Britain would play for the British in the Second World War.
