The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1918-08-06

they saw in the engineers school a night
demonstration Of wiring =. the field
They finished on Saturday afternoon
with 'ttct!cal walk. Quite a busy
week
1t WAS just MS busy in the class in
had close order drill, tarraEc drill. O. lee
turc on ritr"c: fire another on indirect
fire. pr1ctiCc IN range firing and tho use
Of range finders. Finally they had an
hours pistol practice.
They had a great deal OF artillery tar
get practice that week. also n lecture on
trench routing, n. conference on indirect
fire tables whatever they may be. and n
two days hard work in the gas school
You cannot. You know. just pick up n
gas mask. put II on and Succe SSfully
fight. You have To- learn how. I tried
on i gas mask and couldn't breath in it
five minutes. so III" soldiers have to
learn how 10 wear their masks and 4
great deal besides before they can safe
~ face q gas attack.
They hear lectures on how gas is used
preparation for tho attacks. on tho me-
chanics OF the box rcSpirator used by
our army and thu effects OF cnS. They
lrarn the history Of Ens warfare and tho
German orders and reports concerning it,
and attack. They drill in actual gas
chambers.
Even To Seminars.
The officers III this school had much
moro technical work. \ tactical course
for felh officers interested me greatly
The men studied the technique OF Ercn-
adj" trench mortar and one pound tnn-
non firing. Trench lighting. when
visited tho school. WAS being vigorous
y studied: and | heard part Of an in
trrscly interesting lecture on Tho At
tack IN Trench Warfare" from II leu
tenant colonel ur the. British army who
had led many such attacks himself since
1915.
1t seems odd to hear of seminars in
war wisdom. but they have them there.
officers who had experienced trench
fEhiinG sitting around n table and dis
GUESSING nice questions OF tactics. just as
n short time ago some Of them were
sitting around university tables and dis
cuSsinE political economy or English
literature.
They had course for signal mon
which WIS very valuable. Field telc-
graphs and telephones play nm exciting
part in modern battles. and the students
in this course devoted much tim" IT,
buzzer telegraph work. They learned
how to string field telephones. and to
use them. They haG lectures on ciphcrs
and signals. endless and intricate. They
learned To read maps.
In the aero school they were training
aerial photographers and teaching them
how ~ interpret photographs taken in
the skies The flyers were being taught
in signal troops from above and In road
army signals thousands OF feet below.
What the soldiers on the ground seem
{" be- doing is spreading freshly washed
towels and shoots on the grass. but what
they arc really doing. IL appears. ia ask
inE question ri the avintors about tho
cncnN'S mancuvrrS
\ little later ! visited another army
school. or rather m army college. for
there line and staff officers OF superior
rank were under instruction. Oar army
authorities do not intend - repeat the
mistakes nf tho civil war in regard to
superior officers. 1t mas been said that
II took only n ycar to teach the rank
and ill" Of our men to fight hut that
VI fought for Two years to train lieII-
tenants and captains and threc years
10 train generals. The wAr was enc ID
in one NOR" year.
This W. college in France. where
some ;,r'i' r"ral may now be in train
ing. r"rhdle FIR IN" highest command
"f all. is located in n medieval town
which must have seen lot Of lighting
in III" distant past. It's stout city wallS
still stand. md it is plain that a long
hattl" w"nld linrc tn b. fought before
III" hct'rGinS army reached the walls
TIL" town stands on n rocky height littln
nc"":;Sih" in the old days. Below
stretches Il level plain where all the en-
rin?'% m"N"mcntS would have been Wis
Ihlr for miles.
warriors Of Old
II is m appropriate" place in which to
train future American Generals for this
war Is being fought. not only with all
modern Weapons. hut with many Of the
weapons of Tho JrLst. One can easily
fancy tho ghosts Of the great Charlie
ma::n" Gndfr"y OF Eouillon. Richard
Lion Heart. Sir John Cahndos. lowering
IN tho shadows Of the class rooms and
listening d"light"dly To familiar things.
tnIk Of liquid fire, hand Erenades. and
st"rming positions with bayoncts and
hong knives.
l1ut tho Ehostly warriors would hear
ether talk and when flnal examination
time came. fancy mat they might
thank their stars that they were safely
dcnd for this war makes demands on the
Intelligence OF commanding officers that
tho middle ages wot not OF.
took O. brief survey OF one examtna-
ton paper In which It WIS put up to
commander to move q division OF mon
from ono district In France to the night