Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-12
Our Land Ships
ny Frederic J. Ha.kin

Officers wearing the latest TANK model
on their collars as insignia are busy re-
| eriiiing husky young Americans % man
the "land ships" Of the United States
Army. The Tank Corps is the neweet
branch Of our rapidly expanding land
force. but IL is not going to be the smallest
nor yet the least important.
The Tank Corps came into existence IN
February rs small part Of tho engineer
Corps. Within month IL was advanced to
the status nf an independent corps Of the
army, its importance manifested by the
heavy atmosphere Of serecy which sur
rounded its development.
The tank unit is popnarly known as the
"rreat 'Em Rough Corps II ~ with
this character IN mind that recruits are
selected Limited service men, immature
bows. and youths III nabby muscle are
barred from this exclusive branch, where
mental and physical standards ere the
highest in the service The Tank Corps -
proud nf this. md also of the fect that II
includes men from almost every tra dr,
business and profession.
NO raErFIcrKrrH.
Soldiers Of fortune, bank presidents,
| and mechanical engineers tnhabt the
| same tank and the same bunk NJ the
|
ical engineers have been enlisted IN large
numbers because tank corps officers be
lieve that men highly trained along
technical lines and men Of good education
are needed IL the Tank Corps Is 10 he
success In the crew assigned 10 each
| tank there ~ no room for even one m
| efficient man, and skill and initiative are
| required of the entire crew.
The Tank Corps is always on the look
out for competent men, especlaiiy me
rbanics. cooks, drivers and college gradu-
ates
Applicsnts for enlistment must apply
to the army recruiting station IN Boston,
| New York, plttsburg, Ste Louis, Denver,
or Salt Lake City :,
Men have come from Europe and all
parts of the United States To join the
oortq. An American engineer from Java
and another American from Rttssia drop
ped into the recruiting office st Washing
ton the other day Both had como 20
America to enlist - "tankcrs and had
crossed IN the snFne ship, neither knowing
the Others destination
The Tank Corps recruit who survives
tho strict physcl test, whlch is quite
different from that ~ tho regular army
Y sent - Camp Colt AZ GetfysburG Ia
Hero he ls taught to do several thing and
,lo them III we'll For instance, nc may be
trained n driver and engine mechanic. or
AZ machine glin mechanic and ginner iic
rnost bo able tn substitute for another
member of the crew IN caso ~ efncr2"nrF,
and hcip out ~ another hne - work With
olIt hinderinr nattcrs by awkwardness
I,o 81 ,rnoranre American officers
familiar wlfh methods NJ tank lighting
no,y ~ ,lsr have been sent from France to
t~atu the men NJ & amp Olt
TASKS urpE - STAY
IL tank Gehtnn Il ia trench warfare,
mrthotlz arr const ,nty changing lanss
arr ,.aw horng used IN making trench
raids and aro proving Inst ~ rffGent ~
tins work ~ ~ tearing open hari,ed wire
and locating the enemy with wcil AIMED
bullets and shells
Wbon first introduced ~ fhe public.
The tank aroused mIrh laughter and was
rryardcd as 4 frcak invention that would
dic an carly death Vow, IS pracficahilitY
Is no longer Questioned. The moving tort
made ite dramatic entrance into the var ~
-enternbcr 1916 Arnored automobiles
hal been used az gun mounts from The
bcginpiug Of the war, but with decided
limitations These cars were most salts
factory on level roads, but when Il came
10 steering them through the apN,
shcll-tnrn gruund between the trenches
thev we're acknowledged failure. Larry
in 1916 the British, sing the American
tractor ~ 4 basis, evolved IN secret a
cumbersome fantastic monster of steel
and IRON known to the Horkm"n . blR
Willie 'tl.Ittl" Willie and hotnef
ucre also constructed Men sworn TO
secrecy we're trained 10 run them IN n
caup carciul, gta r,ied from espionage
Finally, "A feet Of His MaIeStys land
shlps. as thcv we're officially designated,
was stealthily carried to France by trains
and ShiIgs and deposited on the Sorame
front to the amusement OF the British
soldiers and the terror and disgust % the
Germans.
Like battlcshln~. the TANKS 9re gwen
names. \ list Of french tanks reads ike
menu card Creme dc Aicn5he,
"Chanpagne. "Cognac' and Cafe an
Lait" are some Of them. British sponsors
incline toward such names rs "Deadw-od
Dick and Daredevil This practice OF
naming the tanks has been adopted IN this
country. cur first made in America tank
Is ton affair, is christened America. >
JEERs. THEN FEARS.
The Germans have alternately Ieered !,
denounced. and feared the moving for
trceses of the Allies German newspapers
at first protested in eloquent editorials
against the barbarouS tank, terming il
Illegal Failing 10 Danish the tanks by
their protesta:ionS, the army set out TO
capture one of the monsters with q view
TO studying its construction. But the
tank proved elusive game. One machine
caught near German lines was blown to
atoms by British artillery to prevent cap
ture. Eventually, the Germans did cap
ture = rather damaged specimen and
paraded it through the streets of Berlin
as = trophy.
German efficiency promptly reproduced
German version OF the captured tank
Thereafter when "Cyclops or Creme de
Menthe' went across to cut up barbed
wires, the Germans would trot out n
.'kaiser" or "Deutchland and = tank
combat would be staged The Germans
have not, however, given the tank SO i'm
portant place in the fighting organiza-
ton us the Allies have The German tank
is larger than that of the British or French
and in spite Of sarcasm leveled at the
speed Of the early Allied tanks. seems to
cover the ground little faster than its
! rnoial