New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-01

ready to take its place at the front.
We know that all the units must under
90 final training in France. In the case
of the regular army this special training
has lasted four months or more. This is
because officers and men have had to UNI
learn much of their former training and
learn new system in all its details. The
same thing will probably happen in the
case Of the National Guard, for 1t. too, Will
have TO unlearn in order to relearn.
But the National Army starts with a
clean slate. And in this organization Is
where time can be saved to tie greatest
advantage. 1t can be saved by giving
course of training in America that will
lead directly to the final training in
France, instead Of the type of training our
regular army and National Guard have
had in the past, which was devised for
fighting on this continent and has been
quite superseded by the new warfare in
France.
II is a simple business proposition. The
task set for us is fighting Germany. The
method of warfare we shall have to use
has been evolved on French soil by the
French. British and German armies.
America has had no experience of it. We
must therefore, in a true American spirit,
call in the services of experts in solving
the particular business in hand. We can
get these from France or England
England at the outbreak of the war had
q professional army. 1t now has one COM
posed of the same elements as our draft
army. The French have one composed of
these same clements, but with sturdy
framework of professional military OK
merits who have studied with thoroughness
the science of the present wax. We should
choose either one or the other Of the
methods evolved, for they are sufficiently
different 10 cause endless confusion If both
are adopted or adapted. The offspring OF
such a union could only have all the bad
qualities traditionally assigned to half
breed. For the British it may be claimed
that we have a similarity of nature, and
their ways may therefore be more adapt
able to our nature. On the other hand, our
troops will be sandwiched in between
French units, fighting on Frerch soil, In
trenches constructed for the French armies.
Our regiments at present in France are fol-
lowing the experience of the French army
Cur troops here should therefore do tie
same until the American forces abroad,
starting at the stage which the French
have now reached, shall have developed
the French system into one peculiarly our
own, if such development be necessary or
desirable.
The French government has put at the
disposal Of the War Department several
hundred veteran French officers to give US
the benefit of their experience. Among
these is Lieutenant Colonel Paul Azan,
formerly in charge of the instruction OF
the 9Th and 18th Armies in France (about
5000 mem. He has shown himself TO
be an admirable teacher, not in France
only. but in America, where first he IN
structed the Harvard University Training
Regiment, and latterly the officers Iron
Battalion of fifty picked men from each OF
the last series of Reserve officers training
camps. A proof Of the value Of his train
ing may be gathered from the fact that as
great an authority on the training OF
American troops as Major General Leon
ard Wood sent for seven graduates of the
Harvard regiment whom, by the way, the
government has refused to commisslon)
and has had them training all his divl-
sional line officers in the French methods
os trench warfare as taught by the French
officers at Harvard. Realizing the back
wardness of our army experience in mod
crn warfare, he called in seven civilians,
rupils of the French school in Cambridge,
to teach American army officers what they
bad learned there.
The French officers at Cambridge and
many others are at the disposal of the gov
eminent with a mass of experience in act
ual fighting. Lacking American officers
with such experience, we should make use
of these French officers.
We kaow that the National Army will
rot be ready TO sail until spring. Its
quotas will not be full till about November
/. The remainder of the year will prob
ably see the completion OF the preliminary
training Of these troops This means that
by Christmas or New Years Day they will
be ready to start on the training in mod
ern warfare which the French officers have
come over to give. There remain, there
fore. three months before the parting Of
the ways. At the end Of that time we shall
either have to teach the National Army
Civil War methods and skirmishing, such
as have heretofore been taught, or tactics
and maneuvring leading directly toward
trench warfare on the Western front. II
we start in with the former, it will De the
same old story of unlearning, with its con-
seouent loss of time. If we start in with