The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-08-13
YANKEE TANK FORCE.
ENGLISH TRAINED.
Great Things Expected BY In
Structors - All Picked Men
and Machines Are Best

Press -AnOther consignment Of Amer
icNn man power that might be labelled
" Made in England" " is ready for ship
meut to the Western trout. II is the
personnel Of the first American tank
battalion.
Trained by veterans of the British
tank service, and equipped with the
most modern of the land warshiPs, the
new force is expected to give an excel
lent account Of itself. The British
coaches of the American crews have
, expressed their approval Of the manner
in which their pupils have adapted
themselves to the operation of the ma
chimes and, unless they aer mistaken,
the man whose training in England is
just being completed will be given en-
vable poles. Their machines have
the best points Of both the British and
French tanks and the training of the
men has been in the light of expert
ences already, gained by the fighters of
France and England.
Learn Of Mistakes
To every man in the American out.
fit there have been impaired the stories
Of mistakes made in the early history
Of tank warfare. Enlisted men and
officers have been told what to do and
what not to do; all their admonitions
have been based not on theory but on
actual experiences, gained in. the face
of German fire, loosed always upon the
slightest intimation that the tanks are
numbering TO the front.
But as Il reminder, perhaps, that
the enemy's fire is seldom effective is
the insignia adopted for the .Ameri-
can tank corps-two salamanders,
crawling creatures that worm their way
unharmed through the flame and smoke.
1t is expecter that because of the ex-
cellenee of the weapon with which it
will fight and the training it has un-
dergone the American contingent will
prove itself exceptionally efficient; for,
even as the American engineers have
been careful TO combine in the Ameri-
can tank the best features of those now
used by the British and the French,
so have the instructors of the person
mel been scrupulously careful to in
culcate the most advantageous methods
Of offence and defence.
All Picked Men
Further cause for belitving the Am
erican tank corps will live up to the
estimate of the British instructors
the character of it's personnel, both
men and officers. They are carefully
selected men, picked from the thOL
sands who volunteered when the cal
for tank men was made. Two bnSe
requisites were insisted upon: first, ev
cry man must be physically fit, and
second, tcmpermantally adaptable. Th'
| training every man has received has
meant either that he is delivered to thu
commanders at the front as wonder
fully efficient unit or is mereilessl'
| thrown out of the service. He is turn
ed over to the fighting force as az
expert mechanic, q man drilled in the
| operation Of both machine guns an"
| heavier ordnance, a tactician and STRAIT
! egist, and finally, as man with no
! evidence of "nerves'
British trainers at the little country
| town where tht Americans have beer
coached have been careful to explain
TO the men, as they weeded out the un
ft and those not tempermantally suit
able, that only the best can be used
There is perhaps no branch of the arm.
service that makes q greater demanr
on the physical endurance of the man
than the tank service, and certainly
none calculated to test the nerves more
for within the very small fighting
space there is combined the roar o.
the heavy ordnance, the rattle Of thr
machine guns, the acrid smell of burn
ing powder. and the suffocating fumes
Of burning oil and gasoline. Into thi'
little space, not more than eight feet
long. and four or five wide and will
a ceiling SO low that man canno'
stand upright, there is crowded tho
crew.
Actual Conditions
The actual experiences of the britisl
instructors many Of whom were in th'
first tanks used in the war, have beer
reproduced in the most minute detail
for the instruction of the Americans
Little has been left to the imagina
tion; the practical has been substitute
for the theoretical. Huge shell holes
not dug out with pick and shovel bu
blasted by mines AZ though by the Ger
man shells, have torn up the training
fcId trenches identical with those that
mark the battlefelds Of France an
other Instructions that tanks encount
er have been built and il is over thes'
that the Americans have been drille'
and drilled until, in the opinion of thei
instructors, they are prepared to tak'
their places on the line.
Practical problems of getting out o.
tight places have been provided, anC
in anticipation of some of the predic
aments that may be encountered care
! full instruction in reeOgnizance worl
has been given. Strenuous work II
target practise has been a daily sched
ule Indeed almost the only expert
ence not vet undergone by the Amer
cans is the pOunding of the German
fire.
Use Of Compass
Another bit Of training the tank maj
has had is in the use of the compass
and just AS lesson demonstrating th'
reason for this they have been give
the experiences Of huuiling the tank
at night, when the analogy hetwee'
these land wnr~hips and those Of tn
sea is seem
Although the Americans have bee
trained in British tanks it is not e1
prrtrd they will fin any tr0ubI
whatever III oprrutlng the newer an
hra Ter machines from the Unite
States. The differences is betwecl