Evening star., 1918-08-14

Gen. March, chief of staff, in his
talk to the newspaper men today, gave
accounts of the continued success of
the forward drive of the allied forces,
and, said that the conduct of the Amer
lean troops wins the praise of the
allies.
He briefly reviewed the sit
nation in the Picardy salient. There
the lines have now reached the gen.
eral position of the front in 1915, be-
fore the Hindenburg withdrawal. At
no point is the enemy now within fifty
miles of Paris.
The 131st Infantry of the 33d United
States Division has been engaged in
the fighting north of the Somme and
particularly in the repulse of an enc
imy counter attack at Chapilly. This
regiment alone captured officers. $50
men and seven lo5-millimeter guns
The 131st Regiment is composed Of
Illinois national guardsmen. and is at
itached to the Ssth Brigade of Infan-
try. In the 33d Division. commanded
by Maj. Gen George Bell. The troops
swere trained at Camp Logan. Tex
Americans Retake Fismette.
The Picardy salient has been trim
med away on a front of fifty-three
miles to q maximum depth of fifteen
miles. the chief of stan said. and the
line on the Aisne-Marne front has re-
mained stationary. American troops
have recaptured Fismette, on the
north bank of the yesle, from which
they were driven
Discussing the work of the 28th
Division in the Aisne-Marne salient,
Gen. March said the only report upon
its casualties received was that 400
men had been hit during twenty-four
hours on July 80 in the drive to the
vesle.
The 2sth Division, Cen March said,
was in positions. near Dormans on
July Is and participated in the ad-
vance across the Ourcq river on the
26th, when the attack against the Ger
man lines attained its full momentum
Vesle- The 2Sth was fianked on one
side by the 42d (Rainbow) and on the
other by the Sd Regular Division. Its
position in the line was between Sergy
and Roncheres.
The work Of the American troops
both on the French and British fronts,
Gen. March said, continues to win the
highest praise from the allied COM
.mandera-
+ First Army Organization.
Gen. Pershing's announcement of
the formation Of the LIST Field Army
shows 1t was organized on August
10. In this connection Gen. March
declared there are thirty-one Ameri-
can divisions in France, and the
. Field Army includes approximately
1,250.000 men The Organization of
additional corps and, subsequently, of
additional armies will proceed with
out delay. Gen. March added Even
tually Gen. Pershing will take COM
mand of all the armies, leaving COM
mand of each to general officer
whom he may select.
It is assumed that Gen. Pershing
has taken over his own staff as the
case Maj. Gen. James W. McAndrew
is the chief of staff, both of the Army
and of the American expeditionary
forces.
Gen. March was asked as to the
truth of reports that the American
forces north of the Marne lacked
adequate air service. Gen. Pershing's
dispatches make no mention of any
such condition. he replied, and added
that a specific report as to the opera
tion of airp1anes in action and the
conditions in that regard had been
asked of the American commander,
the substance of which will be made
public when received
: Gen. March said no American troops
had landed in Siberia as yet, and he
did not have available figures on the
total embarkation for France. which