New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-09-27
WITH OUR SOLDIERS
over in FRANCE
Sergeant Tells Correspondent
About Sammies cover There"
THEY ARE ALL RIGHT
Stick Their Bayonets Into Dummy
Germans, Give Wild College Yells,
Have Real Work, in Shell Fire and
All Having a Good Time.

All Having a Good Time.
American Training Camp in France.
Sept. 27.-The Paris correspondent of
Reuters has written the following ac-
| count of hs recent visit to the training
camp OF the American expeditionary
force.
Il asked an English drill sergeant,
who had just given a bunch of sixteen
American subalterns a breathing spell
after some fairly strenuous exercises,
what he thought Of his charges.
What do I think of these ere
young gentlemen, which sir we've, be
Jad' 'ad 'em in six days and look at
'em. They're training on beautiful"
The best thing about 'em, sir,'' he
went on with professional pride, lis
that they're as keen as mustard. We
can't give 'em too much. They eat it
up. At 1t right more and you could
see for yourself, sir, 'ow we made 'em
'ustle. Just let in 'em see, sir, 'ow
we do it in our little army
Il was on visit to one of several
camps somewhere In France where the
American army is in training. After
| lunch with the division commander.
a simple but ample meal with water
washdown-as I am told it is in every
| mess-he invited me to come with
him ito see how your English SER
geant maker takes my aide over there
and the rest of the school of officers
and makes them run around
Yes, said a young officer come
see me sweat. The drill we get has
baseball skinned at the post as an ex-
| ercise but 1t is great stuff
1--WE stood later on hillside while
the general pointed out where there
had been constructed in a dip three
short lines of trenches, ending at a
rise some hundred yards off.
Those points you see in the sun on
the opposite slope he said, are tin
cans on sticks. You will know their
use in minute or two. Ready gen.
tlemen,' said the drill sergeant. Pre-
pare for trench bayonet practice by
half sections. You're to take these
three lines Of trenches, lay out every
boche in the lot and then get to cover
| and fire six rounds at them ere tin
| ats. Don't waste shot, gentlemen,
| every bullet a boche. Now then ready,
over the top and give 'em ell right in
the stomach. Fritz likes his victuals,
but not that sort. Get at EN-
"Over the top they went with what
must have been some wild college yell.
They ran some ten yards and dug their
bayonets savagely into dummy Ger
mans, made of sacks, who swung in
| the wind to meet them and disap-
peared in the first trench. We could
see the rifle butts lift and fall as they
| lunged desperately at the supposed
foe. Then up they came and on again
| until we could see them spread-eagled
| behind a shallow trench, blazing away
at the cans which ratified down. Then
| as they marched back the second Sec
ton got ready to begin its stunt
TO ease 'em up a bit between real
! work. the sergeant explained, we
give 'em games, but each of these
| ere games is meant to teach 'em
something. We let 'em laugh and
! joke, but they just keep their minds
on the game or we tell 'em a thing
$50 they played a game designed to
teach concentration of thought on the
exact words of command. The SER
geant began:
"'When I begin command with
the words "O'Grady says" you obey
| it. When I don't, you stand stiff. Now
ready. O'Grady says yes right. O'Grady
says left turn, front
"There you are, four of you gone to
sleep. Get back and touch the post
in that wire fencing behind you and
and then keep your ears strained for
O'Grady.'
Afterwards we watched what was
an extremely interesting bit of train
ing. A section of a communicating
trench had been prepared with side
pockets, so to speak, at intervals Of
five yards or so. In each of these was
| supposed to be one or more Germans
represented by sack. The object was
| to teach these young officers so that
! they might afterwards teach their men
| the best manner in which to take the
| occupants of such trench by swift
bayonet charge in hand, to clean it up.
! '"The last supreme impression which
| the visit made upon me was that OF
| the immense seriousness and modesty
! of officers and men in the face of their
| tasks. We heard in France, as you
doubtless have heard in England, that
the Americans had come over boast
| ing they had come to finish job too
big for us. I've still to come across
such a man. ! am convinced that the
| stories arc a myth.
| ''These men had left their homes,
their business and their amusement
and came 5000 miles for more than
some silly schoolboy idea of bravado
and bounce, they are not fools, and the
boches will know it when they get to
work When all the weary fighting is
over and done with, it will be that the
two great Anglo Saxon races will be-
! come sword and blood brothers for all
! time"