Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-03-08
GIANT GUNS
TO BACK UP
j.. s. LINES
Pershing Will Have Greater
Artillery Equipment Than
Either France or Eng
land; Eighteen Divisions
In Field Army.
TWENTY-MILE RANGE
FOR HEAVY WEAPONS

New York, March THAT
units OF the Rainbow division,
composed Of national guard troops
from many states, have already
been fighting in France is be.
iieved certain here today.
The name Of Corp. Travers OF
Freeport, N. ", Of the old Sixty
ninth New York, has been men,
toned among the wounded in ae-
tion. This indicates that some OF
the division has been IN the
trenches.
The Rainbow division includes
the 16sth Infantry, formerly the
Third Iowa National Guard.
Washington, D. c., March BASED
On the three-line method of trench
warfare evolved in France the war de-
partment, it was learned today, has
approved a plan of organization which
Axes six divisions as the strength OF
IN army corps.
Three or more corps will constitute
q field army and the immediate pur-
pose of the department is to complete
the organization of field army in
France in the shortest possible time
10 give General Pershing the strength
to hold fully "Americanized" sector
Of the front. The plan leaves to
General Pershing the determination
Of the number of corps and the num-
ber Of field armies needed and also
authorizes him to recommend COM
manders for the higher units.
MANY BIG GUNS
The organization schedules show
that General Pershing is to be
equipped eventually with artillery OF
all calibres on 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 as.
signed to a corps or field army will
Be whole brigades of anti-aircraft
guns; mobile howitzers Of six, eight.
ten and even twelve-inch calibre:
rifles OF similar size including heavy
long-range naval guns and probably.
as soon as they are available, bat
teries of the monster American six
teen-inch naval rifles recently devel-
oped. With this array of guns, enemy
depots twenty miles or more in the
rear of his trenches could be kept un-
der bombardment.
TRAINING is CONSTANT
BY the six division army corps plan
each corps will occupy front sector
with two divisions while two replace
ment or reinforcement lines of two di-
visions each will back them up. The
effect is to produce the line of depth
necessary for the type of warfare now
in progress. Repla troops sent
from the United States enter the war
machine in France at the third line.
They move forward in regular order
as their training progresses and ar
rive at front line trenches to fill in
casualty gaps only when they have
been thoroughly seasoned.
SPECIAL soRcES REQUIRED
70 fulfill the functions of an army
corps it has been found necessary to
place under 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
service battalions for work on the
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
General Pershing's forces this line
connects with the ocean transport
service.
Included in the corps troops are
many units OF heavy artillery equipped
with guns ranging up to ten and
twelve inches in calibre, both for fixed
emplacement and for mobile artillery.
EIGHT MILES OF TRENCH
American troops are now holding
something over eight miles of trenches
on the battle front in France. it was
learned today, although in an airline
their frontage is only about four and
half miles. This frontage is liable to
extension at any time TO the regular
trench allotment for an army corps.
Irregularity of the trench lines is
responsible for their eight miles OF
length. They are laid out SO that
Ranking fire may be obtained along
every part of the front. Strong points
containing machine guns jut out for
this purpose. The trenches also 70,
low closely any protective slope OF
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