The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-12-09
MACHINE FEATURES THE NEWS SCIMITAR Daily HOWE HELPS

me major naval operation OF the war
so iar as the United States is con-
cerned Is given as the conveying OF
more than 1000, 900 truops 10 EIirons
without the loss by enemy action OF a
single eastbound transport. This ac-
coinpilshment, the report says. will
stand as q monument to both the army
and the navy as the greatest and most
dltficult troop transporting effort which
has ever been conducted across seas
Up to Nov. !, it is shown, 924.57g trooDs
had been carried to France in American
transports under American CONVOY wifi,
no losses outward bound and only three
vessels sunk on the road home. From
Nov. | to the date of the report there
had been 2S9 additional sailings of
American troop n supply ships the
average being about one ship every five
hours.
Writing with pride of the record of
the marine brigade in France, the sec
rotary shows that with only 5000 men
Of the corps engaged. the casualties
numbered So officers and 1881 dead. rs
officers and 2,435 seriously wounded.
while but 81 marines are reported off
cially as captured by the enemy, illus
trating the desperate character of the
fighting in which the brigade partici.
pated and the fact that 1t was Away
advancing.
ITO the United States Marines Mr..
Daniels says, fighting side by side with
equally brave and equally courageous
men in the American army. to that
faithful sea and land force Of the navy,
fell the honor Of taking over the lines
where the blow of the Prussian would
strike the hardest, the line that was
nearest Paris and where, should a
breach occur, all would be lost.
The world knows today that the
United States marines held that line;
that they blocked the advance that was
rolling on toward Paris at a. rate OF
six or seven miles a day; that they met
the attack in American fashion and
with American heroism; that marines
and soldiers of the American army
threw back the crack guard divisions Of
Germany, broke their advance, and then,
attacking, drove them back In the be-
ginning of a retreat hat was not to end
until the cease firing signal sounded
for the end Of the worlds greatest war"
A striking picture OF the fighting at
BelIeau wood, now renamed in honor of
the marine brigade, is given. The place
was a jungle filled with machine gun
nests, the secretary says, impossible to
reach with artillery or grenades. There
was only one way" he continues "to
wipe out these nests-by bayonets And
by this method were they wiped out,
for United States marines, bare chested,
shouting their battle cry Of 'E-e-e-e-e
y-a-a-h-h yipi' charged straight into
the murderous fire from the guns
and won Out of the number that
charged, in more than one instance, only
one would reach the stronghold. There,
with his bayonet as his only weapon,
he would either kill or capture the de-
tenders of the nest, and then swinging
the gun about in its position, turn it
against the remaining German positions
in the forest.
there is no such battle as that one in
Belleau wood. The heroism and dog
gedness Of that battle are unparalleled"
Barrage U. S. Job.
The report describes the laying Of the
North sea mine barrage, wholly an
American enterprise. While there is
no way Of ascertaining definitely what
that 250-mile barrier did to he enemy
submarines, Mr.. Daniels says there is
reason to believe that 10 U-boats had
fore the middle of Octobed."
The building and manning of the
l4-inch rifle naval batteries working
with the armies in France Is also
described. There have been no equals ,
in the fighting of these highly, mobile
report says, adding;
briefly, the American navy has
designed, built and is now manning
with bluejackets specially trained for
land service, the largest and most
high-powered mobile land artillery in
the world. So successful have these
guns been that additional orders for
many more were requested before the
armtstiCe."
The depth bomb has proven the most
effective means of combating the sub
marines, the report states, and 1t shows
that American enterprise was RESPONSE
BILE for very largely increasing that eff
f~ectiveness. The early 5Q-pound charge
structive force compared to the 300
pound and 60O-pound charges now be-
ing produced. Many allied ships have
been equipped with these American i'm
provements,
Another ordnance development that
rifles for all new battleships. They will
make these vessels, 1t Is said, the
heaviest armed craft in the. world with
a broadside projectile weight Of 25, 200
Pennsylvania, the biggest and most
powerful craft now in commission.
The report emphasizes also in the
record Of small arms training during
the year, 10000, 900 rounds having been
fired without an accident due to care
~lessness. Since last July the navy has
qualified 54,l47 marksmen, 23.222 sharp
shooters and IL, 1857 expert riflemen.
To-day" the report says, practical
ly every combatant ship is able to or
game q lanullB IOFCe OF az many men
as 1t can send ashore, with every man
"a trained rifleman and many Of them
trained machine gunners.
To Capt. Il. p. Jessop, engineering
officer at the New York navy yard, the
report gives credit for having recon-
mended the revolutionary practice of
electric welding when repair Of the
damaged German shipping was under
taken, Careful estimates have shown
that this one innovation saved IL
months in time and S20,0 900, 900 in
money, while the ships thus made
quickly available carried half Il million
soldiers in France.
Another engineering achievement OF
the year Ia the completion and testing |
OF the first electric drive battlessip p, the
New Mexico. Despite adverse criticism
which met the determination to employ
this mechanism ON battle craft, the re-
port saws, the New Mexico has not only
met every requirement, but has passed
many additional tests with the result
that ''in this unique vessel, the United
States navy has "A battleshlp which has
no peer in the worlds navies, not only
for economic propulsion and less liabil-
itv to serious arrangement, but her
military superiority In greater maneuv-
ering power and increased underwater
protection" Credit Ia given Rear Adj
miral Griffin, cngineer-in-chief OF the
navy, for this accomplishment.
Many Boats Ordered,
The report shows that four battle
chine ana hottle cruiser two f1pt Uhipa |