Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1916-03-29
Stories of the War
What Won the Battles of User and
Ypres.

What Won the Battles of User and
Ypres.
The battles of the User and Ypres
were. in the first instance, won by the
French railroads, and though the Ger
man lines possessed certain initial ad-
vantageS over them, they have held
their own throughout the war;" says
an officer closely concerned in the
mobilization, concentration and dis
placement of the French troops.
THE Germans have had the advan-
tage of distance, since the line took
the form of triangle; inside that
triangle their points. of concentration
are nearer to the User or any other
part of the front than the allies con-
centration points on the other side,
where it is necessary to turn the angle
instead Of going across the inside of
it"
1t appears that General Joffre fore
saw the German thanking movement
toward Calais during the last days of
the battle of the Marine, and began
sending troops to parry it as early as
Sept. Sth- Between that date and the
beginning of October SOC trains car
ried II army corps and three divisions
of cavalry northwards.
A review of the military operations
| beginning with the mobilization shows
| hat the railroads of France have ac-
complished everything that was ex-
pected of them, contrary to the expert
ence of 1870.
| The first consideration in developing
| the efficiency of the military railroad is
| the maximum number of trains that
| can be run one after another within a
| given time. Consequently all military
/ trains are obliged to run at the same
reduced speed, following each other at
very close intervals under The block
| system; without risk of accident, the
continuous movement accomplishes
| n ore than would be done by high speed
which would necessarily involve in
| creased spaces between trains.
In preparation for this intensive
movement necessitated by the mobili-
cation, the officers of the railway SER
vice of the French army met every
year under the direction of the general
staff to study thee problems involved
each officer being placed on the spot
where in time of war he would be call
ed upon to exercise his functions. The
| last drill of this kind was in April
1914, when the manoeuvres undertaken
/ supposed the grouping of two armies
face to face. Orders for the operations
had been established, taking into ac-
count the vicisSitudeS of battle and al
the needs of the army, so far as pos
Sible bringing their men face to face
with problems, incidents and accidents
and consequent necessity for immedi-
ate decisions such as they would have
the men charged with the transporta.
ton of troops prepared themselves ft
the mobilization and the intensive
movement of military trains that ha:
continued ever since.
The plan under which the army wa!
modified in 1914 was the 18th tina
had been elaborated since the war o.
| 1870. From the annual census of thu
i resources of the country in men, horse!
and material, the general staff hat
raNI IL
) pnits it could create and the theoreti
organization that they might Civ
them. Every corps charged with mo
Utilization possessed it's table givini
details of all the elements that it wa
called upon to furnish, where to find it
{ men, from where would come tn
t horses and material necessary for tn
l constitution of new units; every maj
) had his mobilization sheet indicating
4 the corps that he must join; the stat
3 of that corps had his name and ad
r dress on its rolls and expected him o.
q the day that he arrived. Every mayo
I of every commune of France unde
= his system knew exactly where I
n take the horses of his commune in or
der that they could be requisitioneC
Every president of requisitioning com
missions knew the horses that he mus
choose and the point to which he mus
take them. This plan not only involve
the uniting of these elements and thei
proper QlSITlDuIlOns out every nOIS
}, and every man found what was neces
I sary for him at the spot where he wa
n TO be taken. The troops of such
8 corps, with their horses and all &C
I coutrements, once equipped and read.
" found the train ready for them at til
n point Of their concentration, CORE
:, spending exactly in capacity to tn
I lumber of men, horses, baggage wag
ons, artillery, ambulances, and S
Z, forth, Of the corps to be transporte
secretly, over France and disembarke