Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-06-16
AMERICAN FORCE
IN FRANCE 100000
Official Figures Furnished by
General Pcyton c. March,
Chief of Staff.
WILL BE MILLION BY JULY ]
Believes Primary Objective of
Hun Offensive Is Channel
Ports Rather Than Paris.
WILL BE MILLION BY JULY ]
tBy Associated Press.

| WASHINGTON, June 15.-More than
500. 900 American troops have been sent
TO France. and the governmen: expects
to have 100000 there by July
! This disclosure was made to-day by
General Peyton c. March. chief OF staff.
at his first weekly conference with
newspaper correspondents and. at a,
earlier conference of War Department
officials. with members OF the Senate
Military Committee.
! General March summarized the bat
tie situation as it stands to-day with
four distinct phases Of the great Ger
man offensive halted. but with it's final
battles still to come. TO meet th.
emergency. he added only lack OF ship
ping facilities is limiting the rush Of
American troops TO the fighting front.
Their prompt engagement in the stru.-
gle. he said. Is a paramount necessity
The newspaper conference WAS held
| in the rooms of the war council. On
the walls were great maps showing the
battle fronts, and as General March
talked he pointed to the rows OF color
ed pins that marked each phase Of
the fighting. He said that all -four
VI lHc Nici iIidH lHuS nave
had a common object ana nave been
only developing phases of the German
purpose to drive their way TO the
channr! ports primarily. and. second
arily. 20 capture Paris.
LAST WEEKS FIGHTING
MERELY TO sTItAIGIITEN LINI,
The fighting of the last week. In the
| Oise-A:sne salient. he demonstrated,
Issi IN CT fC
German battle front, rather than a
blow at direct objective like Paris.
Further operations of this nature. it
was indicated, are anticipated before
the drive toward the channel can be
resumed.
Up to the present time the bulge the
Germans have made in the allies line
has added s.Xty-six miles OF front to
the allies lines from Rheims to the
| sea, and large numbers OF additional
| allied forces have been absorbed into
the work OF holding the lines. This
makes It urgent said General March,
that American forces be rushed fo--
! ward without delay.
General March would make no pre-
dic;ion as to when American aid might
give the allies superiority OF numbers
again. The time and size of move
ments OF enemy divisions from the east
10 the west, he sa!d, could not be -sti-
mated nor could a day be fixed when
the allies would have the mastering
superiority" OF numbers. which will
eventually be theirs.
RUSSIAN PROBLEM POLITICAL
RATHER THAN MILITARY
The Italian front situation was not
discussed. and General March indicated
that the Russian problem was still
political. rather than military.
American military experts are agreed. |
Senator'S said after their conference.
that the present German drive has beer
stopped for the present at least. but
its renewal. possibly with its force di
rected more largely against positions
held by the Americans. is expected. The |
enemy's recent successes. the Senators
were told, were due largely to new uses
of gas.
The allies, It was said. soon will be
ready to cope with new forms of gas. !
Gas masks now in use, the Senators
were told. admittedly are not useful
against some forms of German gas. par
ticularly mustard gas. y special tear"
gas for use against artillery, the SEN
ators were told. has been developed
by the Germans.
The allies officials, It is said. are
| preparing to match the German efforts
in the use of gas and provide for the
complete dcfenscs of their forces as
far as possible before the next attack
! develops.
General March took occasion to cor
rect the impression that the German
| advance has at some points gone be- |
! yond the points reached in 1914. He
pointed out on the map that at no point
| during the present offensive had the
Germans come closer TO Paris than TO
| within twenty and onc-half miles Of
the farthcst advance they made in 1914
toward that city.