Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-05
GENERAL PERSHING PAYS
HIGH TRIBUTE TO YANKS
IN FIGHTING THE ENEMY

can First army in Its first offensive
was of prime Importance. The Allies
found they had a formidable army to
aid them. and the enemy learned that
he had one to reckon with"
The report shows for the first time
officially that with this brilliantly
executed coup General Pershings men
had cleared the way for the great eff
fort of the Allied and American forces
to win a conclusive victory. The
American army moved at once to-
ward its crowning achievement, the
battle of the Meuse.
The general tells a dramatic story
of this mighty battle in three distinct
phases. beginning on the night OF
September 81. when Americans quick
ly took the places of the French on
the thinly held line of this long quiet
sector. The attack opened on Sep
tember 26 and the Americans drove
through entanglements, across NO
Mans Land to take all the enemy IS
first-line positions. CLOSING the
chapter, General Pershing says:
"On November division OF the
first corps reached a point on the
Meuse opposite Sedan. Twenty-Five
miles from our line of departure. The
strategical goal, which was our high
est hope, was gained. We had cut the
enemy's main line of communication
and nothing but surrender or an
armistice could save his army from
complete disaster.
| sin all forty divisions had bcen
used against us in the Meuse -Arsonne
battle. Between September 2S ana NO
vember we took 26,050 prisoners and
46S guns on this front. Our divisions
engaged were the First, Second. "hird'
Fourth, Fifth. Twenty-siXth. twenty
eighth, Twenty ninth, Thirty-secoho'
Thirty third. Thirty-fifth, Thlrty-seY
cnth, Forty-second. Seventy-seventh'
Seventy eighth. Seventy -ninsh, Elsh.-
ieth, Eighty-second. Etghty-hlhth,
| Ninetieth and Ninety-first. Many OF
our divisions remained IA line for
length of time that required nerves
of steel. while others were sent IN
again after only few days of rest.
! The First. Fifth. Twenty-SlXth' rory
| second, seventy seventh, Eighteth'
| Eighty-nfnth and Ninetieth were in
| tho line twice. Although some OF the
| divisions were fighting their hrst
battle they soon became equal TO the
| best.
The commander in chief does not
| lose sight of the divisions operating
with French or British armies during
| this time. He tells of the work OF
| the Second corps. comprising the
! ions in the British assault on the
Hindenburg line, where the ST. Quen-
| tin canal passes through n tunnel; CT
how the Second and Thirty-slSth dl-
/ visions got their chance in OCTOBER
by being assigned to aid the French
! in the drive from Rheims and OF the
! splendid fighting of the Thirty-sev-
| enth and Ninety-first divisions sent
| 10 ioin the French army In Bel
| gium.
Of the total strength of the expe-
ditionary force. General -Pershing re-
ports: ~
"There are in Europe altogether in
| cludinz a regiment and some canitaFy
units with the Italian army and the
! organizations at Murmansk, also in
! Guiding those en- route from the states
! approximately 2.05S,347 men, less olf
losses. OF this total there are In
| France 1,33S.169 combatant troops
| Forty divisions have arrived. of whlch
| the infantry personnel of ten have
cen used as requirements. leaving
| thirty divisions now IN France or
pa anized in three armies of three
corps each"
Army Lacked in Material
! "Our entry into the war found u:
| with few of the auxiliaries necessary
for it's conduct in the modern sense
Among our most important defci'
encies in material were artillery, avi'
alton and tanks.
"In order to meet our requirement.
as rapidly as possible we accepted
the offer of the French governmen
to provide us with the necessary ar
tilIery equipment of 75s. t55mm
howitzers and 1856 G. P. F. guns from
their own factories for thirty di
visions.
"The wisdom of this course is full!
demonstrated by the fact that, al
though we soon began the 'nanufac
ture of these classes of guns at home
there were no guns of the caliber
mentioned manufactured in Americi
on our front at the date the armis
tice was signed.
"The only guns of these types pro
duced at home thus far received II
France are 100 75-mm. guns:
"In the aviation we were in tn
:. same situation, and here again tn
French government came to our all
until our own aviation program
should be under way. We obtaine
from the French the necessary plane
for training our personnel, and the.
have provided us with a total of 2,
676 pursuit. observation and bomb
ing planes.
"The first airplanes received fror
!, home arrived in May, and aitogethe
we have received 1879. The frs
American squadron completely equip
ped by American production, includ
ing airplanes, crossed the German
lines on August Z. 1913. AS to tanks
we were also compelled to rely upol
the French. Here. however. we wer
less fortunate, for the reason tha
the French production could barel
meet the requirements of their owl
armies.
"It should be fully realized that tn
French government has always takel
q most liberal attitude and has beel
the most anxious to give us ever.
possible assistance in nesting ou
deficiencies in these as we'll as II
other respects.
"Our dependence upon France 70
artillery, aviation and tanks W2s, c
course, due to the fact that our in
dustries had not been exclusively de
voted to military production. Al
credit is due our own manufacturers
fer their efforts to meet our require
! ments, as at the time the armistic
was signed we were able 70 look for
ward to the early supply of prac
tically all our necessities from ou
own factories"
RURIAL OF GEORGE ROUTZAHN