The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-04
OUR SEA SOLDIERS.

Brig. Gen. Charles A. Doyen, orr
ganizer, drill-master and fighting COM
mander of our marines whose daring
victories On the Marine have thrilled
the nation. has been invalided home
just as fame crowned him and his
men. His command, temporarily, has
passed to General Hartford, the Kan
sas man. who has just been made a
major general.
General Doyen is a member of the
Naval academy's famous class of 1881;
SO are Major General Barnett. COM
mander in chief of the marine corps,
and Brigadier General Lauchheimer
who, practically speaking, is the chief
of-staff Of the corps. Brigadier Cen
eral Lejeune-who has gone over to
relieve Doyen-and the two regi-
mental commanders, Colonel Catiin,
severely wounded in leading his regi-
ment and Colonel Neville-whom
Vera Cruz will long remember-are all
Annapolis men, sailors by education
and practice.
Conditions in the army are SO diff
ferent from those in the navy, says
Sea Power" the official organ of the
Navy league, that traditions and drill
methods are not the same in the two
services. Life on shipboard and work
in small boats tend to develop indi-
vidual initiative more than does the
barrack system of squad control.
Then, aboard ship, target practice-in-
dividual target PRACTICES almost a
subject of worship. The developments
Of trench fighting have led the army
to the use Of the hand grenade, the
machine gun, etc, perhaps to the IN
| avoidable sighting of rifle instruc-
ton.
The navy has watched with interest
the working out of these two systems
in our training camps in France We
have seen General Pershing's soldiers
| receiving the best American army sys-
tenn of training. modified by lessons
learned from our allies. At the same
time we have seen General Pershine
approving and encouraging the some
what different drills instituted by
Doyen for his marines In Doyen's
|
every day and for everybody Con-
ventional targets and known ranges
have been almost taboo. Instead there
has been a series of posts crowned
| with tin cans to represent German
helmets; tall posts and short ones
posts erect and recumbent, some post.
in the open, some In trenches, some In
| ahall h0laG PI1k -
can. Thru these stage armies of Hun.
the marines have advanced daily-and
nightly-in sunshine and rain and foe
and snow. Sometimes they ran, agar
they walked or crawied or wrigglec
snake-like on their bellies. but every
tin can was punctured repeatedly as
soon as seen and between shots post.
were bayonetted or smashed with rifle
butt or barrel.
Broadly speaking. the army trained
for trench or open field work. with tn,
emphasis on the trench. and tn,
marines trained for the open or tn,
trench. with emphasis on the open.
Then. after a preliminary try-ou
| II the trenches the marines wer,
rushed to the neighborhood OF Cha
teau Thierry, where they were givel
their chance. They knew their super
iority in the open and were lucky il
finding the Germans just digging int
temporary trenches. And the marine
went forward. chucked the Huns gu
| of the bitches and mixed 1t up" in TIL
open. Every Fritz was a post art
| every helmet tin can and even tn
| seasoned French and British wer
amazed to see men equally expert il
the use of the bayonet. the butt ant
the sights. For the first time in abou
three years the rifle came into its owl
in the hands of experts who handle,
it as a fowling piece or pig sticker or
shilIaleh.