Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-08-15
HANDLING SUPPLIES
IS MONSTER TASK
Officers In Defensive and Of
fensive Actions Must Have
Great Initiative.
eY WILLIAM PHILIP sIMMs.
United Press Staff Correspondent.

With the British Armies in the Field.
Special.-'The Lilies,' they sometimes
call the staff officers out here. on the
ground that they toll not neither do
they do anything but spin-joyriding
in autos.
But did you ever stop to consider the
amount of administration" required to
keep an army going? The man in the
street. even the average soldier, seldom
lakes the trouble to figure it out. To
him. the brass hat is mainly decor
alive. Is he?
fake h n problm of transport
looked after by what h British call
Tho ." staffs: With the Germans at
lacking along q 5O-mile front how
many pounds of supplies daily do you
estimate nus be hauled up to battle
petitions from bases at h rear?
The answer is zoe, 0O0, 900 pounds:
100,O 900 tons.
And this is taking for granted that
the 8 previously have been plenti-
fully stocked at tremendous pains and
labor with requisites from the four
corners of h world.
The more one thinks of Il h more
astounding the task proves to be, and 1t
battle.
During an offensive the work is cut
o. for every officer and man in adj
a 1t is all a matter of routine.
From general commanding down to
truck driver everybody knows today
pretty much what tOmorrow's supplies
must be. in what proportions, to what
units they are to be delivered, where
n at what time.
The defensive changes all this. March
90, 20" was following out it's routine
deliveries. March 21 the entire system
was as obsolete as the written rules
Tor crossing the sands of III Sahara
WQTo tn old N0oh Vryhnr no c,r16or1,y
was called upon to navigate h Ark.
British divisions no longer were
where they had been. Their addresses
had changed. At daybreak they were
in one place. At noon in another. At
night maybe they were no place at all
but on the move.
That was one problem which had to
be- solved.
Needs Change Often.
Then the needs of the divisions had
changed overnight. and were changing
almost from one hour to another. Be-
fore. they a to have trench mortars
and trench mortar shells. None OF this
stuff was needed now h a they We're
OIL the move. Sometimes n kind OF
ammunition was urgently needed then
not needed at all. Suddenly, in one
spot. a particular kind Of artillery ma
terial would be absolutely necessary.
md just as suddenly of no use what
ever. Barbed wire was in great de-
mand one day and q glue on the mar
ket the next.
Before the offensive started "Sup-
plies" knew to the nan how many ra-
lions were required. Afterwards. with
armies shifting and sideslipping: di-
Visions merging and criss crossing all
the time; with British divisions being
sent to the French and French divisions
being shunted up among the British.
to know what to send and how much
was enough to puzzle the solver OF the
Asian mystery himself.
Where ON day supplies went up by
train. the next they hAd to 80 by motor
truck. horse transport and pack mule
From routine the system had to be
extraordinarily elastic, adaptable to
hourly changes.
About thi6Ltt time Americans began ar
rtvine In large numbers In thio rome
They were without transport, engineer
ine supplies, and mostly minus equip
ment. 20" had u take care OF this
: situation while not AaGiscfing the other
and To their, oredltsbe II said t1sey did
II. Not . regiment went hungry. II ID
aid. and. in De midst Of all this when
U. E. soldiers. who M co1Ree drtnkefs
called for coffee gyAn0ofo from . eeG
drtnking lot. the eo9oo gyandego Were
prodpeed a. r. " magic MOI e
1msE4can unit We lett without d
gHnder 0hOugh only 'Q' ord probably
Seaven, knOWs Whese tssy eaoe nom
The Yefugeeo had - b booAo0 a1ee1
by. somSNe3y. ana xhis - IN % tn
let Of "6nppliso."
0eue Of. the otEssaans asesd wisely