Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-10-06
General Pcrshing's Achievement.

Kansas city Star.
The precision with which the first
army executed its appointed task
at ST. Mihiel has given the American
public its first real insight into the
working af the field staff system of
the eXpeditionary force in France.
The staff probably is the least un-
derstood element of field army,
and its function the least appreci-
ated by the layman. He knows the
part OF the artillery and of the in
fantry, He Is familiar with the work
of the signal corps and the tanks. He
knows there are engineer divisions,
ammunition and supply trains and
hospital corps, but the staff has only
the vaguest meaning for him and
his mental picture of it is more
than likely to be that OF a highly
ornamental group of officers sur
rounding a general and mostly en-
gagged in locking through field
glasses.
Bnt now that we are hearing a
chorus of commentator from the
highest military quarters on the staff
work of General Pershings army in
its recent brilliant and victorious
operations. 1t is not amiss for us to
inquire with little more particu-
larity Just what staff work is, what
its development: has been and why
it has assumed an importance in
this war unknown to any previous
conflicts.
To understand the merest detail
of the work Of staff, take the
simplest military problem; assume
an order to a detachment of in
fantry to move from its position,
cross n field, pass through a wood
and occupy tho crest Of hill in
plain sight. Even II the movement
is unopposed, II no enemy is in sight
and not a shot is fired, experience
shows that without proper staff con-
trol--that is, without the direction of
trained officers accompanying the
advance-the column will break
Itself, become entangled and arrive
at its objective in disorder.
Staff work, in a word then, Is or
ganization. 1t is the work OF plan
ming in advance the movements of
all army units, of co-ordinatlng them
80 that every detachment when it
comes forward knows exactly where
1t Is going. what it has got to do to
get there, and what it will find when
1t arrives. That means that the staff
has studied the ground, the distance.
the distractions, knows the enemy
strength at that point and has fig
ured the exact relation of the posi-
ton when won to that of every
other objective assigned to other de-
tachments in the same general ad-
vance. We have an illustration of
this in the statement-which must
have struck many Americans ignor-
ant on these points as astounding
that previous to Pershing'c advance
at St Mihiel 10000 detail mans
of the region were distributed by
the staff, corrected up to"the day.
But tho immense labor of the
staff in preparing for an attack is
only a hint Of what 1t has to do when
the advance begins. Then every
thing must move up to keep in touch
with the front line. The signal men
must follow, stringing telephone
wires-they laid 5000 miles of 1t
and installed 5000 instruments in
the rear of the advance at st. Mihiel
the engineers must build roads
and bridges to bring up the guns
and ammunition and every element
OF the entire army organization must
be readjusted at once to the new
conditions. All this the staff must
do. 1t must keep its chain of or
unbroken, else every link
will suffer. Il must know what is
going on at every point, no matter
how distant, and must have pro-
vided for everything, including those
things that don't happen.
Staff work in this vastness and
intricacy is a development Of mod
ern war, almost it might be said, OF
this war. Napoleon did not know its