Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-12-05
BELGIAN ARMY IS
BACK To NORMAL
REDUCED TO PITIABLE SIZE Az
TER THE INVASION BY GER
MANY, 1T is NOW AN IMPORT
ANT FIGHTING FORCE.

was COulpOSeu " II ,UVU HiSH at INC
beginning of the war, increased by 20,-
600 volunteers in August, 1914, and was
reduced to 10000 men after the battle
Of the User. BY measures applied to
Belgian refugees and the enlistment
OF volunteers who braved the live
wire barriers raised on the Holland
frontier, it now has been brought up
to 10 divisions of well trained forces
ready to take their part in the often
siye in Flanders whenever the WORD
is given by the commander chief,
the Associated Press is informed by
the Belgian Minister of War.
IF our army has not undertaken
operations of wider scope up to this
time" said the minister, "it is because
it does not devolve on it to decide
the moment when these operations
should begin. The army is only part
of the combined Allied forces acting
in unison and in accordance with
carefully developed plan. The army
has valiantly filled the role, more I'M
grateful than glorious, that has been
assigned to it. 1t has just proved
by its brilliant participation in the
last offensive in Flanders that it is
ready to attack with fervor and awaits
impatiently the hour
Summarizing the work of the Bel
gian army during the war and refer
ring to its difficulties and lack of
equipment, the minister recalled that
in August, 1914, the army had only
one machine gun for each /, 200 men,
was short of 3-inch guns and had am
munition for only about 500 shots for
each piece. 1t had no light mOrtars,
no heavy artillery, no grenades, no
trench equipment, no am5ulances, no
pCntOon crews. and not a ingl3
motorcycle. 1t had only 1000 BIZ
cycles, captive balloons, a few
superannuated airplanes ana a few
posts of wireless telegraphy
I'VE had only $4,000 infantry after
the battle of the User" said the min
lister, "and equipment was in pitiabla
state, munitions We're lacking and all
the different organisms were deranged
when the army base was transferred
to foreign soil. This remnant of an
army not only barred the way to
Calais, but while doing so was re-
organized and reinforced until now it
counts three times the number of men
that the battle of the User left be-
hind The front held by the Belgian
army has been gradually heightened
from about IL IL miles after the bat
tie of the User to 10 miles in June
1916. The Belgian army organized
this front and held it alone until the
middle of this year, when, as con-
sequence of the operations of the AL
lied offensive in Flanders it was re
duced, enabling the army to dispose
of considerable reserves.
The Belgian army prepared more
than ESQ miles of trenches and rebuilt
more than 200 miles of road. Eighty
different lines of normal gauge rail
roads were built. Battery emplace>
ments were constructed by hundreds,
and thirteen thousand miles of tele-
phone wires were put up, or laid I'M
derground.
In August, 1917, the army had
twelve times as many machine guns
as in 1914, seven times as many field
guns and heavy pieces with five times
as much ammunition as was on hand
4, the outset of hostilities. 1t has ten
times as many airplanes.
Belgian aviators during three
months normal activity executed near
" 1000 fights, of which 1920 were in
pursuit of adversary planes. All the
different arms Of the service have pro-
crossed and been improved in the
ratio indicated by these figures.
THE impression that has gone
abroad that the Belgian army was re
organized and re-equipped entirely by
our Allies is an error" the minister
added. Belgium, exiled and deprived
Of all her resources, received generous
hospitality and powerful aid from her
glorious Allies 1t was on French an1
British soil that all Was to6Ae done,
but Belgians themselves TOOK up the
work of reconstruction The Belgian
army created by its own efforts the
greater part Of what was indispen-
sable for it to live and fight 1t is
building its own cannon, making its
own powder and its own projectiles.
Our valiant troops have held in front
OF them continually far greater num-
Der of German troops than the public