Middletown transcript., 1917-05-12
PLANS FOR THE
FIRST j. 5. ARMY
will Be 1883 Officers and
528,659 Enlisted Men.
ALL IN READINESS FOR DRAF T
Officers From Regular Army and Ma
tional Guard To Instruct New
Troops-19 New Generals
To Be Named.

Washington.-The full strength Of
the first war army organized under the
Selective Draft bill will be 1889 Off
GERS and 52S,659 enlisted men, making
up Is war-strength divisions complete
in every arm and supplemented by 16
regiments of heavy field artillery
equipped with large-calibre howitzers.
Virtually every detail of plans for
raising, training, eQuipping and organ
iZing this force has been carefully
worked out by the War Department,
and the selection of the men will begin
as soon as the draft measure becomes
law
Groups OF Troops Arranged.
A revised list of officers training
camp district issued by the department
indicates that the divisions of the first
half million new fighting men will be
formed as follows:
First Division-Troops from all New
England States.
Second = New York Congressional
Districts / to 26, including Long Is
land, New York City and a strip north
of the city.
Third = Remainder Of New York
State and Pennsylvania Congressional
Districts 10, II, IA, Is, 16, 21, 25 and %.
Fourth Remainder of Pennsylvania,
including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Fifth-New Jersey, Delaware, Mary
land, Virginia and District of Co.
lumbia.
Sixth-North and South Carolina
and Tennessee.
Seventh - Georgia, Alabama and
Florida.
Eighth-Ohio and West Virginia.
Ninth-Indiana and Kentucky.
Tenth-Illinois
Michigan and Wisconsin.
Twelfth Mississippi and
Louisiana
Thirteenth-Minnesota, Iowa, North
and South Dakota and Nebraska.
Fourteenth - Missouri, Kansas and
Colorado.
Decentralization and Texas.
Sixteenth-Montana, Idaho, Wash
ington, Oregon, California, Nevada,
Utah, Wyoming. Arizona and New
Mexico
Two Cavalry Divisions.
In addition, there will be two sepa-
rate cavalry divisions which probably
will be situated in the Southwest, near
the Mexican border. Officers for the
cavalry divisions will be trained at all
Of the 16 officers training camps,
which will open within a few days
with 10000 prospective officers under
training
Each infantry division will consist
of nine full regiments of infantry,
three regiments of field artillery, one
regiment Of cavalry, one regiment of
engineers, one division hospital and
four camp infirmaries The total
strength of the 16 will be 1902 off
GERS and 439,792 men.
The two cavalry divisions combined
will have 1,214 officers and $1,000
fighting men, including mounted
engineers and horse artillery units
and each will have also it's divisional
hospital and camp infirmaries
The proportion of coast artillery
troops to be provided out of the first
100000 will be 666 officers and 10000
men, with requisite medical troops.
Supplementing these tactical units
will be the 16 regiments of heavy field
artillery, strength, 768 officers and 21,-
104 men; eight aero squadrons, or one
new squadron to each two new in
fantry divisions; eight balloon COM
panies, 10 field hospitals, 10 ambulance
companies, 90 field bakeries, six tele-
phone battalions, 16 pack companies,
six ammunition trains and six supply
trains
Recruiting National Guard.
In preparation for the enormous task
OF training this great army, the exist
ing regular establishment and the Ma
tional Guard is being brought to full
war strength. The regulars, when all
i've additional increments provided for
IN the National Defense act have been
added, will total 1928 officers and
$4,000 men of all arms. Since April
1 nearly $4,000 recruits have been OBJ
tanned, bringing the army up to nearly
10000