The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1917-08-31

An army travels on It's belly" mean
ing that soldiers must be we'll fed and
well supplied il they are to fight ef-
fectively. This is even more neces'
sary today than it WAS in Napoleon,
time. In modern warfare the scale OF
fighting and the quantities OF supplies
are so tremendous that the duties o.
the Qusrtermaster corps are multiplied
beyond any previous experience.
The officers Of the quartermaste
corps must be able business mon. Man,
Of them have held important business
positions. The enlisted men Of tn,
corps are skilled in such occupations
as blsoksmithing,/ painting, driving
teams and trucks, baking bread. and
the like.
Work Of Ordnance Department.
OF the same general character is the
work OF the ordnance department,
which furnishes the guns, ammunition,
and other supplies needed for fighting
Several times during the present war
whole armies have been forced to re
treat or have suffered severely be-
cause OF the lack Of munitions. The
quantity OF ammunition used daily Is
enormous. During the French often
sivc of June. 1917, 100000 shots were
fired from artillery guns.
In the actual theaief OF war the am.
munition service is under the control
Of the field artillery. Bringing up
supplies OF ammunition to troops and to
batteries in action is one OF the most
essential OF all duties on THE battle
field. The wagons or trucks carrying
ammunition must be driven when nee
csSary within easy reach OF the firing
line. Sometimes there Is an opportI
nifty here for the display of resource
iulness and courage far above the ordi-
nary requirements OF the service.
At the second battle Of Ypres in
April, 1915, the Third bstteU in the
Third brigade OF the Canadian field
artillery galloped into position within
a few hundred yards OF the German
front, where they did gallant work
lighting against Overwhelming odds to
hold back the encmy's onslaught. After
a time i, became necessary to bring up
high explosive shells. One OF the Ca.
madam gunnqs tells how they wer,
brought
The ammunition wagon containing
them came ~galloplng across the oper
field under n heavy fire, the men lash.
ing their horses and yelling like mad
The horses were simply crayed. Some
Of them had been hit with bullets, and
when they neared our guns the men
could not stop them. II looked as
though they would 60 right on to the
German lines There was only one
thing to do The rider Of the leading
horses drew his revolver and shot them
dead They went down, with the other
horses and men and the wagon rolling
over and over them. With the HIGH
explosive shells We tore the trees TO
bits and left the whole place open then
our infantry, quickly following Up the
advantage, drove the Teutons bNk."
The Fighting Team
When the three fighting arms and
the tine staff corps are all brought e..
gether under one control they form
what we may call the fighting team"
This is the team in which YOU and
every other soldier mus, be ready to
play your part
The smallest unit in which all these
branches OF the service is represented
is known az a division. Under present
regulations an infantry division is made
up OF three infantry brigades, one bri
eade OF field artillery, one regiment
Of cavalry one regiment of engineers,
one battalion OF signal corps; one
squadron Of aIplanes; together with
field trains and combat trains carrying
ra,lons, baggage. ammunition and all
kinds Of supplies A division therefore.
lis in itself a complete small army
When at full strength II includes 2S,ji|
officers and men A field army. is
made w VI a number VI syeh divisions.