The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-10-03
FACE II READY
To FIGHT MOLLY
AMERICAN SOLDIERS I'M ITALY
ARE FULL OF PEP AND DO
NOT FEAR
NOT co HOME TILL IT'S OVER, THERE
Tactics Employed BY Foch Bear Evil
dence OF Mastery Strategy In :
Handling Troops Effectively
BY H. G.. EVANS
Copyright 1879

With the COlors in Italy.-American
soldiers are now modelling in Italy
and soon will be fighting over the
same ground that the Caesars fought
over before Christ was born, and over
which Hannibal and Napoleon led
their victorious armies.
Some four months ago American
troops began to move up to the
French battle line in considerable
numbers. They came across the
English channel behind the British,
who were being pushed backward.
They broke camp all W. France,
some Of them taking over sectors on
the Alsatian and Lorraine fronts, 9TH
ers in large numbers coming up be-
hind the French on the Marine. From
the Swiss to the Belgian frontiers,
all along that bloody front, there were
American troops. They stood between
the British army and the channel, as
the British were being pushed back.
They stood between the French army
and Paris as the French were forced
backward. Hundreds of thousands Of
our boys were moved into these two
most important positions against the
possibility of a serious defeat OF eth
or the British or the French, or both.
Hindenburg, confident of success
was striking his hardest blows. Had
he succeeded in defeating our two
allies, then with his veterans he
would have faced the untried soldiers
of America. They would have receiv-
ed the full shock of the Germans.
Those were anxious days for Amer
leans in Paris and just back of the
front, for we knew not but that our
boys would any day stand as practic-
ally the only barrier to German dom
ination of the world. Counting our
soldiers the allies had fewer men
than the Germans.
Other things being equal numbers
are the decisive factor in military
problems. General Foch, up to the
present time, has always fought
against superior numbers. The rule
as stated, however, does not mean
that superiority of numbers decides
a campaign necessarily in favor of
liz SupCl " poNSi* ~ ~ H
armament and discipline and courage
and generalship are equal on two
sides, the side having the greatest
numbers in that particular field will
have the victory. Foch has won all
his battles on this plan. Notwith-
standing on the whole battle line at
the first Marine fight the Germans
o- Gun 10 thrnn hU nnnHnnfr1T-
ing superior numbers at a given point
Foch won the battle. Let me give a
simple illustration:
Suppose five men are acting against
three. II the forces bear upon each
other equally, the five will defeat the
three. But if the five are so badly
handled that they get arranged in
groups Of two, two and one, and +
the three are so well handled that
they strike swiftly at the first isOlat-
ed two and defeat them, and then
strike the next isolated two de-
feat them, the three will at the end
of the struggle have only one to deal
with and the Eve will have been beat
en- by the three.
Foch's successes have been due to
the fact that he has been able to
bring up a locally superior weight
against a generally superior enemy in
the decisive time and at the decisive
place.
When he threw American troops in
to the fight they gave him the local
ly superior weight at that particular
time and place. The thanks of the
American people are due him that he
did not needlessly sacrifice our boys.
The manner in which u men were
finally brought into the hardest bat
tie OF the war is interesting. FocL.
sure of himself and his own brave
troops, was not yet sure of the fresh,
inexperienced troops from the United
States. 1t was Germany's belief that
it was impossible for soldiers un-
trained in the science of war;; who do
not believe that might makes right
or that there is virtue in war; whose
nations ideal is peace-Germany be-
lieved that it was impossible for such
men to make good soldiers In so short
a time, and had publicly ridiculed
them and declared she did not fear
them. Foch may have had some such
idea, as indeed many Americans had.
At any rate, Foch was as c~onsiderate
of our boys as a father of his sons.
When his own French troops were be-
ing battered and beaten back. he did
not put our boys in. After training
in camp, he moved them toward the
front where they could hear the roar
of artillery. Next they came in be-
hind the veterans of the allies. where
they were under shell FIRE. Then first