The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-12-20
Headquarters OF
AMERICANFORCES
At HAUTE MARINE
Location of Chief Center Of
Army Operations Made Pos
SibIe Since Signing of Ar
miStiCe on Nov. II.
CITY is SITUATED ON
PINNACLE OF PLATEAU
Word Picture of Life at Gen.
eraI PerShing'S Headquar-
tiers Is Painted by Core
SpOndent on Scene.

- CHAUMONT, France, Dec. 20. Cor
respondence of the Associated Press -
This little city of the Haute Marine is
the home of the general headquarters Of
the American eXpeditionary forces. I'm
til now its mention has been taboo and
the whereabouts of &c. II, G." one OF the
secrets of the war.
Here lives the commander-in-chief
and in the buildings of the French gar
rison is housed in the offices of the gen
eral staff n all the auxiliary organ
izations that go with 1.-THE nerve CEN
ter Of the army. A city of normally
about Ii, 1000 inhabitants, Chaumont lies
on the Eastern railway lines, 1863 miles
east of Paris. 1t was formerly the cap
ital of Bassigny and is now the capital
Of the department Of the Haute Marine.
Like most Of the older cities of France,
Chaumont seems to have been founded
or a site of strategic defensive value. 1t
crowns a high plateau between the
Marine and the Suize and from the walls
and towers of the old city is a wonder
full view of the valley of the Marine,
here the river being hardly as wide as
the Marine canal that flows beside II be-
tween its poplar bordered banks.
NorthWard over the narrow vale Of the
Suize the view takes in a wide sweep
of rolling forest crowned hills.
NCltld utduQudIleI were removed
from Paris here in September of last
year, Chaumont being selected after a
careful search of available locations. 1t
lies in the center of what was the
American training area, every camp as
we'll as the Toul sector in which the
American forces first saw battle, and
all the lines from Toul eastward where
we were located, being within reach by
motor.
The French post occupied as head
quarters offices is typical of French
garrisons, Three long four-story, red
tile rooted barracks form three sides of
a great quadrangle facing a wide ave-
nue., A group of lesser buildings and
the customary iron fence n orna-
mental gates is the remaining boundary,
On either gatepost flies the tri-color
and the Stars and Stripes,
Sentries pace their posts on every
hand, the quadrangle is filled with hur-
rying officers and orderlies and clerks,
hands flash in salute, bugles give their
almost hourly calls for the various
military events and periods Of the day,
staff cars and motorcycles roll in and
out and now n then the sentry at
the gate stiffens even more rigidly and
brings his piece up with more snap
when a great olive drab car, shining like
a yacht, slides in, the scarlet tab on
the windshield with four white stars
Slgnlfylng the commandments,
Frequently the generals car ap-
proaches unheralded and so swiftly that
the sentry's cry Of Turn out the
guard, - is too late and the commander
in-chief is gone before the guard can
tumble from the guardhouse.
Until last spring Gen. Pershing made
his residence in a large villa near head
quarters. He Don found however, hat
so near the workshop or the army he
could not have the quiet and lack Of
intrusion necessary to his growing re-
sponsibiHties, and he removed in May
last to a beautiful chateau about five
miles from the town. Here, in a great
rambling castle situated in the Marine
valley among groves and wide sunlit
lawns, he lived with his personal staff.
Connected by telephone with every d.
visional, corps and army headquarters,
his own offices in Chaumont and with
Paris he did his work there when not
with the army.
Chaumont itself has become almost
A~mericanized by the presence of the
headquarters. Its little hotels are al
ways crowded with officers. 1t has been
very hospitable to the American occu-
patton. Nearly every home with a spare
room is thrown open as a billet for
officers and many Of the finest resi-
dences have been taken over entirely
by the hundreds of messes.
In many of them the officers have in