In compliance with the War Department's order, the 88th Division commenced on August 25, 1917, with Major General Edward H. PLUMMER assuming command.

Major General PLUMMER was directed to organize the 88th as follows:

       All incoming drafted men came through the Depot Brigade before being permanently assigned to the division. Here, as applicable, the men saw specialists such as chemists, psychologists, doctors, and so on. The Depot Brigade also took care of men physically unfit for combatant branches of the service prior the discharge.

      The Division had been organized by September 5, 1917, almost complete in officers but without enlisted personnel. On September 5th the first drafted men began to arrive at Camp Dodge, coming from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and central Illinois. They came without any concept of military life.

Initial training focused on physical drill.

      On July 22, 1918, the War Department sent a telegram containing instruction for the movement of the Division to the Port of Embarkation. Two detachments left Camp Dodge on the night of July 28, headed for Camp Upton located at Long Island, New York. On August 3rd, the Advance School Detachment sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, arriving at Brest on August 11th, and from there proceeded to Chatillion-sur-Seine, site of the 3d Corps School. The Advance Detachment and Billeting Party sailed about the Cunard Liner "Aquitania" on August 6th, arriving in Liverpool, England on August 12th. After a four days rest, they landed at Cherbourg, France on August 16th, and proceeded to Semur, Cote d'Or where they established their headquarters.

The 349th Infantry sailed on the White Star Liner "Olympic" on August 9th, arriving at Southampton England on August 16th, then proceeding on to Le Havre.

      The Regiment Headquarters and Headquarters Company, the 1st Battalion, Medical Department, and the 350th Machine Gun Company and 350th Supply Company sailed aboard the H.M.S. "Delta" on August 11th, arriving at Tilbury- on-Thames August 25th, and Cherbourg on August 29th. On August 15th, the 1st Battalion Headquarters, Company M of the Supply Company, the Medical Detachment of the 352D Infantry, and the 337th Machine Gun Battalion sailed from New York aboard the "Ascanius" of the Blue Funnel Line, arriving at Liverpool on August 28th, and at Cherborg on September 1st.

The 339th Machine Gun Battalion sailed from Philadelphia on August 14th aboard the Blue Funnel Line "Phens", arriving in Liverpool on August 27th, and at Le Havre on August 30th.

       On August 15th, the 3D Battalion and Company G of the 350th Infantry, and the 338th Machine Gun Battalion sailed from Hoboken aboard the H.M.S. "Kashmir." The remainder of the 350th Infantry sailed the same day aboard the "Messanabie." The "Messanabie" and H.M.S. "Kasmir" arrived at Liverpoor on August 28th, and arrived at Cherbourg on September 1st.

       The U.S.S. "Ulysses" sailed in a convoy with "Ascanius" from Philadelphia with the 2nd Battalion and the the 3D Battalion of the 351st Infantry [minus Co. M of the 352D Infantry], landing at Liverpool on August 28th and on to Le Havre on August 30. Company M of the 352D Infantry sailed from Philadelphia aboard the "City of Exeter" on August 14th, arriving in Manchester, England on the 29th and then at Le Havre August 31st.

The remainder of the 88th Division embarked as follows:

       The remainder of the 351st Infantry sailed aboard the "Saxon" and the "Scotian", arriving at Liverpool August 28th, then proceeded on to Cherborg. The 313th Ammunition Train and the 313 Sanitary Train sailed August 18th aboard the "Vedic", arriving in Liverpool August 31st and at Le Havre September 5th. The 313th Field Signal Battalion sailed August 17 aboard H.M.S. "Bohemia", arriving in Liverpool August 31st before proceeding to Le Havre. Division Headquarters, Headquarters Detachment and Headquarters Troop sailed from Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, August 21st aboard H.M.S. "Demosthenes" and arrived at Liverpool August 21st and then at Le Havre September 4th. The 313th Supply Train sailed aboard H.M.S. "Empress of Britain" on August 23th, arriving at Liverpool September 4th and at Le Havre on September 7th.

       The 163D Field Artillery Brigade and the 313th Trench Mortar Battery arrived in France [date not provided], but those units did not join the 88th in France. The 163D Field Artillery Brigade went into training at Clermont, Ferrand, and Bordeaus, France, destined to never be sent to the front, and returned to the United States soon after the armistice was signed.

       When the 88th arrived, the entire sector was traversed with abandoned trenches partially filled with water, caved-in revetments, and a labyrinth of barbed wire. No Man's Land was a maze of shell holes and old fortifications, overgrown with brush and weeds. Upon their arrival, the entire 313th Engineer Regiment went to work rehabilitating and strengthening the essential parts of the trench system. The infantry cleaned up the sector and made the dugouts and trenches habitable.