The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-12-20
Moving a Big Army

Before body of troops is entrained the
time and place of every move are mapped
out, including the date and place of entrain-
ing. destination, time of arrival, route, as
sembly point, time of troops leaving as
sembly point, route of assembly point to
train, time of arrival at station, time of
boarding train. time of departure of train,
rate of travel over each section of route,
time, place and duration of stops, time and
place of feeding troops and animals and a
schedule showing the assignment of troops
and equipage to each car. Aside from this
are the countless details connected with pro-
curing supplies, the disposal of troops and
their care.
All these preliminary arrangements must
be made by an officer of the quarrermaster
corps. The first thing to be done is to pro-
cure lists with weight of all property to be
shipped, obtain this material and make out
the bill of lading. This, with plumber of
men and officers, constitutes a basis on
which he estimates the number and kind of
cars needed. He then engages the cars and
provides loading facilities, such as material
for blocking and lashing, and constructs
necessary ramps, or runways, for entraining
animals or wagons.
Next, on the arrival of the cars, he in
spects them from a thousand major and
minor angles. All cars must be clean.
Passenger cars must be fully supplied with
water and ice, sufficiently lighted and heat
ed and all other appurtenances in proper
condition. Stock cars come in for special
attention.
| Then the number of men or kind and
quantity of supplies allotted to each car is
marked on the side or Steps, together with
name of the organization. In loading men
three are assigned to section in tourist
sleepers or three to each two seats in day
coach.
| Another important point is to keep the
troops of each unit with all equipment to-
gether. This is important in case of sudden
attack. Imagine the fate of unit of troops
suddenly detrained at the firing line with
out equipment.
A possible element of delay lies in the
timing of the arrival of troops at the station.
There must be no time lost by cars waiting
for the troops. The facilities for loading
animals and wagons at each station on each
route should be part of the quartermaster
corpe' records. Quick and noiseless loading
IS
are an art in themselves. Dispositions of
individual animals must be studied. Gentle
animals should be placed opposite doors
therefore loaded last.
The time of loading and unloading has
been carefully tabuIated and should not ex-
coed the following: Infantry, one hour,
cavalry and light artillery, one and one
half hours; heavy artillery and engineers
with bridge train, two hours. All move
ments, loading, entraining, detraining, feed
ing and watering and exercising men and
horses, are made in military fashion.
With each train kitchen cars are provided.
Otherwise baggage cars are fitted up by
| troops or arrangements made for procuring
meals, or at least liquid coffee, at stations
in itself no small matter.
Say the War Department was called upon
to transport twenty field armies of 80, 600
men each, or 1,640, 600 men. In moving
such a military force the railroads must
carry, besides the / $40, 900, 700, 900 mounts
and draft animals, $4,000 vehicles and
1850 big guns.
To accomplish this the quartermaster
corps must have available at the right points
AZ, 300 passenger coaches, 200 baggage
cars, d, 100 box cars, 81, $50 stock cars and
Is, 500 fiat cars, making a total of 124, $50
cars, or 1920 trains with as many engines.
Here is the government minimum esti-
mate of the gross weight of material needed
each month by this force of l, $40, 900 men;
rations, 900, $50, 400 pounds; ammunition,
7.046, 100 pounds; forage, 623, l47, 800
pounds; general quartermasters' supplies.
1874, 440 pounds; ordinance supplies
other than ammunition, ,622, 74O pounds;
engineers supplies, 9,043,26 pounds,
medical supplies, 597, $50 pounds; candy
and tobacco, 319, $50 pounds, making a
total of 96l, OS9, 100 or nearly 1000, 600, 900
pounds. The transportation of this enor-
nous weight would require fifty-fve trains
of thirty cars each day as long as the force
was in the held.-Ea.