Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-03-06
UNITED STATES ENGINEER
TROOPS IN FRANCE
Continued from Page 12)


used to say that the only sure was to
win a battle was to ''get there f1rstest
with the mostest" 1t was bad grammar
but sound doctrine. We have to get the
most men there in the quickest time and
have men with brains to win this war.
Everything else Is an auxiliary The
cost is terrific.
/ have carefully avoided telling you
anything of wthe wreckage | saw, | am
only going to tell one little incident
While coming in from the battle Of
Chemin des Danes, at q little station on
the road doctor rushed out and waved
to the car to stop and then hesltated
asked, What do you want?'' or rather
had somebody say it in French. He
replied that he had an officer who had
been badly wounded and he wanted tc
have him taken back to a hospital. TIL"
trip was about seven miles, We took
the officer in the car, and as We did 50
he was about to faint. When he saw
who was holding him he said, This
held by a general | said, Don't worry
about that. Tell us how it happened"
He said, well, we went up over the top.
and there was. just one roll on the ma.
chine gun and the captain was dead"
crying. for myself, but for, the captain;
continued, This is the fourth time 7
have been wounded. l will be back ir
the spring" But l could read the tag
and l knew he will not be back, because
he will have to sacrifice o ne arm.
incidentally we went through and
looked at the wreckaEe. The fight had
not been over more than two hours and
there were over thousand men back at
that hospital several miles from the
front. under the care of surgeons. Many
of them were Americans. Word went
forth that an American general was go
ing through, and one doctor from Amer
n n 10 sail
81 am operating on an abdominal case.
must talk to you. I want you to carry
the message back over to America that
we are not getting operating garments
enough. We have used f1fty-four today
and it is only noon and from now on we
will have to use bloody Ones" and, he
said, you know all the dangers from
that. say that the message is that
the Red Cross cannot work too hard and
| too zealously. Make up your minds that
your American boys over there are going
lutely no excuse for venereal troubles:
that is all bosh; a carefully handled di-
vision will not have it. 1t is the COM
manding officers duty to see that his
men are healthy. and that is being met
! splendidly across the water. Trust your
! boy there, If you have one; if not, tell
| your neighbor to trust his boy over there.
| He can be made safe against venereal
| against bullets; that is a risk of the
gun. Pneumonia and the bullet are the
only TWO tnlngS you need to fear. Pneu-
monia in that country, I am afraid, is
not preventable disease. It can be
reduced very much if we properly equip
and protect our men; but we must ket
them there my friends, and with con-
seriousness of the engineering art and
| science as evidenced by the military en-
| gineers of the French and British armies
| they will pave the way to ultimate sue
cess. Anyone who has studied the fight
| of Passchendaele Ridge and saw those
Australians. deliberately climb to that
summit in order that they might sleep
| somewhere where the mud was not deep
| enough to bury them realized the courage
| back Of that movement Anyone could
admire the French general who carried
| them to victory at Chemin des Danes
when he said to the army commander.
| This fight cannot come off on the 22d
| of October: there is still danger ahead of
| destroying our men; Nwe must have an
other day." that showed the care that
the general was taking of his enlisted
| men.
/ May say that the best meal I ate in