Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-07-02
NATIONAL ARMY
TAKES ITS PLACE
ON WEST FRONT
General March Also Announces
Arrival of u, S, Forces on
Italian Front-Situation Sat-
iSfaCtoy for the Allies

WASHINGTON. June 29.-The first
American troops landed in Italy yester-
day. General March, chief of stan, an
nounced today These are not the force
sent by Genral Pershing, but consisted
of units shipped from this country.
The. troops consist largely of sanitary
units, but includes other special organl-
cations General March explained. on
the whole, however. il is made up
mostly of non-combatant units. The
connbatant troops will be sent by General
Pershing as previously announced
General March had no announcement
to make today as to the total number
of troops shipped from this country
to France Formal announcement, he
said, would be made later
Surveying the entire front, General
March said the situation could be said
to be extremely favorable to the allies
He would make no comment upon the
indications of an impending German
attack.
The first national army division has
taken up sector of the front, General
March announced. 1t is the Seventy
seventh, raised in New York, trained at
Camp Upton and orig. nally commanded
by Major General ]. Franklin Bell. 1t
was taken across under Major General
Johnson.
General March disclosed that the Of
fetal reports from the Italian II ont
place the number of Austrians captured
at $4,000 and a large amount of war
material. The line of the Piave has been
entirely restored by the Italians and in
some places has been slightly ad-
vanced.
Five American divisions which had
been hrigaded with the British for
training have been returned to General
Pershing's command, with training COM
pleted.
One of these is the Thirty-ffth d.
vision. composed of Kansas and Nilsson
ri troops and commanded by Major Gen
eral William NJ. Wright when IT left
the United States
Military opinion, General March said,
found the Austrian attack faulty, be-
cause it was spread over SO large a
front as to make it impossible to carry
through successfully.
The Austrian disaster which followed
is valuable to the allies. not only in
a military sense, but psychologically, the
chief of staff said, because of it's slim
ulating effect upon Italian morale, both
among the civil population and the
army.
The practical result in prisoners and
guns taken also was of course valuable.
During the last week American ac-
tivities in France have been local in
character, but official reports show that
the Americans at all times and places
have more than held their own Cen
eral March said Fine examples of in
dividual bravery are coming in, he said.
Commenting upon the return to GEN
eral Pershing's command of the five d.
visions brigaded with British, General
March said it showed clearly the sue
cess of the plan for using all facilities
to give American units their final pol
fishing. 1t would not have been possi-
Bile otherwise, he indicated, to have Sc
cured so large a trained force under
General Pershing in so short a time.
Senators of the military committee
weer told by General March at their
weekly conference that the accounts of
the larger number of captured Austrians
for some unknown reason were printed
only in American newspapers and not in
any of Europe.
Teh achievements of the Italians,
however, according to senators, were not
minimized.
So far there is no information to con-
firm reports, General March stated, that
German troops aer being sent to back up
the Austrians.