As United States soldiers arrived in France, they were struck with the realities of a war that had been raging for three years. The war had not gone well for the Allies in 1917 and many leaders believed that the Americans had arrived too late to offset French and British losses. In April 1918, supreme Allied commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch warned General Pershing of potential disaster. Pershing was more optimistic: more American doughboys were arriving and they came determined to defeat Germany and end the war.