Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-10-30


short Of his second achievement; he
created a general staff. For the first
time in its history the army was
statutorily endowed with a body of
officers empowered to labor continu-
ously upon questions of policy and
organization affecting not merely it's
own small self, but the far greater
matter of the nations military re-
sources and their conversion into
available form when needed.
The National Guard
The so-called national defense act
of 1916 provided for a material in
crease of the Army, to be made in
five yearly increments, and estab-
lished ways and means of federaliz-
ing the National Guard and of CIV
ing the general Government better
control of this element of the ma
tional defense. This act, with the
draft enactment approved May 1S,
1917, constitutes the basis of our
present military establishment.
Under these two acts, when war
broke out, the four remaining incre-
ments of the Regular Army were an
ticipated, and that branch of the
executive brought up to a war
strength of 100000. BY this step the
infantry of the Regular Army was
increased from thirty regiments to
siXty-four; the field artillery from
six to twenty-one; the cavalry from
fifteen TO twenty-five. The coast ar
tillery was practically doubled, and
the engineers got seven regim ments,
where before they had had none.
Corresponding additions were made
to the various staff corps. The Ma
tional Guard. over 100000 men, was
taken into the military service of the
United States, and the drafting of
a third force of 100000 enlisted men
with necessary officers was author
lied, and later carried out. The
Army of the United States, therefore,
to-day consists, respectively, of the
Regular Army, the National Guard,
and the drafted men, known as the
National Army; three different ele-
ments of different degrees of train
ing, but all are organized andS off,
cered in the same manner, and, so
far as experience is concerned, all
new to the business of war as now
conducted.
Now let us see what organization
has been officially adopted.
The smallest unit of infantry is
the company of $50 men, with two
captains, one first and three second
lieutenants, six officers, instead of
three ,as heretofore. If the first cap
tain should be>killed or wounded, his
place is taken by the second, held
in reserve for that reason. Each
lieutenant commands platoon.
From all accounts, trench combat is
what may be called close work, and
this kind of work is essentially the
affair of Sub-units, especially trained
for the particular object in view at
given moment. The organization
of the company is made to fit the
work. Accordingly, each company
has a headquarters (two officers and
eighteen men), and each of its four
platoons includes one headquarters,
(two officers and men); one section of
bombers and rifle grenadiers GIVEN
ty-two officers and men), two sec
tions of rifiemen (twenty- officers
and men), one section of automatic
riflemen (four guns, eleven officers
and men); in all, fifty-nine officers
and men. The small number of rifle
men proper at once attracts the at
tention-that is, of men whose prin-
cipal weapon is the regulation rifle.
Bombers throw the hand grenade;
rifle grenadiers use the rifle grenade.
This is a grenade connected by
suitable contrivance with the muz-
zle of the ordinary rifle, from which
1t is then fired. A part of the equip
ment consists of the so-called
trench knives" At first sight 1t
seems horrible to use this weapon,
and it is horrible, but no more so,
really, then to run a man through
with bayonet, which we all accept
as matter of course. But the bayo-
net, fixed to its rifle, is not so handy
a-weapon in trenches, in melee, as
the trench knife.
How Units Are Made Up
Four companies form a battalion,
and the three battalions bring the
number up to 5000. To these must
be added the machine-gun company,
the supply company, the headquar-
ters troops, so that our infantry
regiment is brought up to over 300
men, as follows:
No.
Units of
Men
Headquarters and headquarters
company ..'. ..'''...'.. 3U3
3 battalions of companies
each ................ 3,07S
1 supply company ....... 140
l machine-gun company ...... 178
1 medical detachment ...... Sc
Total Observation-Disclosures 3,755
Two regiments form the brigade
and two brigades the division. The
division is organized as follows:
No.
Units of
Men
I division headquarters .... 1874
machine-gun battalion of
companies .............. 1858
2 infantry brigades of regi-
ments and l machine-gun
battalion (three companies)
each) ..................16,42o
1 field artillery brigade of 8
regiments and trench-mor-
tar battery ............... 5,068
1 engineer regiment ....... 1866
1 field signal battalion .... 262
l train headquarters and mill
tary police ............ 3S7
1 ammunition train ....... 962
l supply train ........... 472
1 engineer train ........... "a
1 sanitary train of field
companies and ambulance
companies ............ 949
1OIdl q Z II q
Two things should be remarked in
this organization: the absence of cav
airy, for reasons already made plain,
and the great increase in the artil-
lery strength. Since the front lines
of opposing trenches lie close to each
other, and are so deep that they COW
er their occupants against any form
of small-arm fire, the trench mortar
hos been devised Gas the grenade has
beeu resurrected) to launch a pro-