The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-03-07
BIC U. S. Guns
TO REACH ENEMY
20 MILES AWAY
New Army Schedules Heavily
Increase Artillery.
Big Guns son Undreamed of
Scale" To Be Sent Pershing.
REMODEL U. S. ARMY UNITS
Base Formation on 3-Trench
Warfare Evolved in France.
Six Divisions Make a Corps; 3
or More Corps a Field Army.

Washington, March BASED upon
the three-line method of trench war
fare evolved in France the war de-
partment, it was learned today, has
approved a plan of organization which
fixes six divisions as the strength of
an army corps.
Three or more corps will constitute
a field army and the immediate pur-
pose of the department is to complete
the organization of the first field army
in France in the shortest possible time
to give General Pershing the strength
to hold a fully Americanized sector
of the front. The plan leaves to Cen
eral Pershing the determination for
Der of field armies needed and also
authorizes him to recommend COM
manders for the higher units.
BY the six division army corps plan
each corps will occupy a front sector
with two divisions, while two replace
ment or reinforcement lines of two
divisions each will back them up. The
effect is to produce the line of depth
necessary for the type of warfare now
in progress. Z
Into Third Line First.
Replacement troops sent from tho
United States are fed into the war
machine in France at the third line.
They move forward IN regular order
as their training progresses, and arrive
at front line trenches to fill in casual
ties gaps only when they have been
thoroly seasoned
corps it has been found necessary to
place under a corps commander, in
addition to his six infantry divisions,
approximately 10000 men known as
corps troops. These comprise artil-
| lery units engineers and all types of
haf "a he
communication lines of their own
| corps. A similar organization of about
| 10000 men is necessary for each field
army of three corps. These field army
| troops maintain the lines from the
| advance base of the army back to the
sources of supply. In the case of Gen
eral PerShing's forces this line con-
| meets with the ocean transport serv-
ice Included in the corps troops are
many units of heavy artillery equipped
with guns ranging up to 10 and II
| inches in caliber both for fixed en-
| placements and for mobile artillery.
This comprises the artillery reserve of
the corps. The great general artil-
| lery reserve of the field army is un-
/ der direct command of the army com
| mander and included in his so-calIed
army troops.
Increase Big Guns.
The organization schedules show
! that General Pershing is to be
equipped eventually with artillery of
all calibers on a scale not heretofore
dreamed of. The proportion of artil-
lery to army rifles adopted by the war
| department is greater than that of
either the British or French armies
and the tendency of the department is
to increase the big guns. Included in
the heavy artillery assigned to corps OF
f1eld army commanders will be whole
| brigades of anti-aircraft gums. mobile
| howitzers of six. eight ten and even
twelve inch caliber; rifles of similar
size, including heavy long range naval
guns and probably as soon as they are
available, batteries of the monster
American 16-inch naval rifles recent
ly developed. With this array Of g,,ns
enemy depots, twenty miles or more
in the rear of his trenches could be
| kept under bombardment