New Britain herald., 1918-08-14
BAKER LEARNS OF
 NEW YANKEE ARMY
Official Information From Per-
 Shin8 Of Progress Abroad

Baker has been formally advised bv
 General Pershing that the First Am eriCan Field Army had been created, 1 General Pershing retaining command
 of the army as we'll as of the entire eXpeditionary force for the present. The dispatch added nothing to de- tails of the army organization al- ready made known from Paris, how ever, MT Baker said.
 The announcement is regarded as having deep signi1icances at the war department mainly because it places the American Army in France on the same footing as the French or British forces there.
 Formation of the army is taken here to mean that the Americaniza- ton of a definite portion of the front has been completed. Supply lines, railway, bases, storage facilities, de- barkauon ports, and the like, creat- ed and operated by Americans, stand behind the First Army. The only statement of the location of this Am erlcan front given is that it is south of the Marne". Presumably this means a part at least of the long line from St. Mihiel to the Swiss bor- der where American troops have been put in at intervals during the last few months.
 The extent of that front has not been disclosed, nor has the definite strength of the army been given. The advices indicate that it comprises, however, five full corps, which means approximately 1,250, 900 men.
 The effect of the taking over of the line is to make definite beginning at apportioning the long front. The Brit ish hold the left flank, aided by the Belgians, from the sea to the june ture of the British Fourth Army and the French First Army in Picardy, where an offensive is being carried out at present.
 In that position the British are not only holding their share of the line, but stand between the enemy and the channel which would be his only road to England while the British fleet eX- ists.
 The French armies presumably are being concentrated wholly between the Picardy juncture with the Brit ish and the American left, beyond Verdun. They block the roads to Paris.
 
 mainder of the front to the Swiss bor- der, when the other American armies shall have been formed. The First Army undoubtedly now holds the bulk of that line, with such French help as is necessary. The whole line probably Is under General Pershings direct command even the French corps or divisions that are necessary until ad- ditional American troops arrive. The American Commander will hereafter direct all operations on his front. He has as much freedom of action on his own lines as has Sir Douglas Haig on the British front or General Petain on the French, for he stands on an equality with them. All three are under Marshal Foch for the major campaigns.
 As director of the army in the field, General Pershing will be well situated to weigh the qualities of the men he has assigned temporarily as Corps Commanders. From those five off, cers he probably will select the Com mander of the First Army later, and opinion here leans toward Major Gen. | Hunter Liggett, now commanding the 1 First Corps on the Vesle front as his l choice. It is expected, also, that Gen | eral Pershing will soon name his per 1 mancnt Corp Commanders, the ap- pointment carrying with it the rank l of Lieutenant General.
 General Liggetts corps probably is ] regarded as the mobile reserve of the 1 First Army and as such is being em- ! ployed on the French front. Should l a aggressive operations be undertaken l on the American front, however, this 1 corps probably would be used there, l by French and possibly l British mobile reserves sent by Gener- l al Foch. In that case, while General l Foch would map out the objects of 1 the action in a broad way, General l Pershing would command the joint 1 forces.
 This recalls the fact that the Amer ican sector includes what always has l been considered the logical road to | Berlin for French advances. It was across lines now held by Americans that the French struck in 1914 before the plunge of the German Army through Belgium localized the war in Northern France.
 While the enemy is still in North i ern France it may be that no major attack can be attempted through these The campaigns in P1cardy and at the Marne, however, are aimed at forcing him back until the oppor- tuntty comes to drive back at him, and 1t is regarded by officers here that it will be over the American nneS that the real thrust at Germany will De driven home