El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-07-26

Of 1918, but win result in the appear
ance Of a great all-American force in
the war zone more quickly than the
original plan of taking over a small
permanent sector and widening IL as
more troops came across
1t has always been understood that
as American units became trained
fighting men they would, as circum-
stances. permitted, be withdra Tn from
allied divisions and formed into Amer
lean divisions under Pershing and his
generals.
Good Relations Prevail.
Much depends, for the success OF the
brigading system, on how the Amer
lean officers get on with their French
and British superiors- A great deal
has been written about the good re-
lati0Hs Eetween the dOughboy, the
Tommy and the Poilu. This is happily
3 true. and is most important But the
I doughbov fights under his own off
3 GERS and does not come into personal
I contact, after he passes the earlier
I stages with allied troops while he is
] on duty. excepting in the confusion
and lptermingliug of battle The Of
} ficer above the rank Of major must
work with the French and British
chiefs, and If he does not hit il off
I with them the whole scheme OF coop
GRAFTON falls to the ground
They Do Work Well.
He does hit 10 off with them.
T than three years, I have come to know
many officers of our allies well
enough TO penetrate the reserve Brit
ish and Freuchmen habiIually pre-
serve when talking TO foreigners.
Some Of them whom have seen re-
Gently belong TO stats which have
the delicate task OF managing Ameri-
can troops brigaded with others They
are all beaming with COY over the
competence, the willingness TO fit into
strange system the eagerness to
learn and lack of presumption Of the
American officers under their COM
mand- They feel as a general Of di-
vision put ir. that cit is like a trans
fusion Of blood from a healthy patient ]
into the veins of a man Who has been
bled almost white"
How Important Is Our Ais.
How important really is the aid that /
the United States can give the allies /
in the field9 This question. in many /
forms, crops up continually People I
sometimes say 1t is all very well 10 I
talk Of 100000 soldiers, or even two. /
But our Statesmen tell US that Ger /
many has. 5000, 900 men in the field I
now and that we and our colonies /
have raised over eight How, then, /
can the Americans be an important |
factor, at least for some years.
Soldiers do not say these things. j
They know better 1t is difficult TO I
write in the press as the soldiers talk
a bout numb without falling foul OF \
the censor. and this causes confusion
in the civilian mind.
Limit Is About 2O6 Divisions
Soldiers DO not talk in terms of
millions Of men They speak OF divis-
ions They say that the Germans.
who had during the Somme battles 137
divisions on the west front, have
Gradually increased that figure,
since the collapse Of Russia to zoo
divisions, and that this represents al
most the limit, since there are only
wastes Of the eastern war zone, and
German sources Of recruitment aside
from 100000 boys who grow to mill
tary age each year. have dried up.
We Have About 40 Divisions Less.
Aaglnst these 2u6 divisions each
containing about 5000 infantrymen,
the French, British, Belgians, Amer
leans. Portuguese and Italians have
massed an aggregate number OF divis-
ions considera bly, short Of the enemy's
total Perhaps all OF US together
have in the field today nearly 30 di-
visions less than the enemy; and some
Of our divisions, as is obvious, are Of
unequal value
Now, the fighting strength Of Ger
many and of. ourselves is to be meas
ured, not in terms Of 100000 Ger
mans or 10000 Britons who may be
wearing uniforms, but in terms Of d.
visions at OF behind the front All
the fit men who can be sent to the
front are sent there, on both sides.
No reserves Of man power 10 fiji the
gaps are left on either side, broadly
speaking, except Americans Civil
ians are always puzzled at the great
between the number Of I
infantry with bayonets and machine
guns who take part in the fighting,
and the total numbers called out by
the nations.
Germany Has Most Men.
Germany. for instance, has only
about 1000, 900 actual bayOnets in the
west; and the German army is far
larger than our combined forces and
the Germans have succeeded
far better than any other people in
getting the largest possible proper