Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1919-12-24
PRIMER ON WORLD
WAR IS COMPILED
OFFICIAL BOOKLET THAT TELLS
OF FIGHTING RECORD OF
AMERICANS ABROAD.
TWO IN THREE SAW ACTION
Twenty-Five of Our AZ Divisions Took
Part in Active Combat Service
Yanks in Thirteen Major Opera
tons.
BY JAMES p. HoRNADAY.

BY JAMES p. HORNADAY.
WaShington.-A sort of primer on
the world war, a summary that may be
used in public schools, has been com
piled by the war department. 1t shows
that two out of every three American
soldiers who reached France took part
in battle The number who reached
France was 2,0S4,000, and of these
100000 saw active service in the
front line. American combat forces
were organized into divisions, which
consisted of some $4,000 officers and
men. These were the largest on the
western front, since the British divi-
sion numbered about $4,000 and those
of the French and Germans about L.
600 each. There were sent overseas AZ
American divisions and several hun
dred thousand supplementary artillery
and service of supply troops. Of the
~ divisions that reached France -
took part in active combat service,
while the others were used for re-
placements or were just arriving dur
Ing the last month. of hostilities.
army in this war is largely the his
tory of these 20 combat divisions. Sew
en- of them were regular army divi-
siOns, IL were organized from the ma
tional guard, and II were made up of
rational army troops.
American combat divisions were in
battle for 200 days, from the 10Th of
a. = 1lu,s II xri
sion, after long training in quiet sec
tors, entered an active sector on the
Picardy front, until the signing of the
armistice. During these 200 days they
we're engaged in 13 major operations,
Of which IL were joint enterprises
with the French, British and Italians,
and two were diStinctively American.
In Thirteen Major Operations.
American troops saw service on
practically every stretch of the west
ern front from British lines in Bel
GUM to inactive sectors in the VoS-
ges. On October d, 1917 Americans
entered the line in the quiet Toul sec
ror. From that date to the armistice
American units were somewhere in
line almost continuously 1t is difficult
to cut up the year and % days which
interviewed into well-defined battles,
for in a sense the entire war on the
western front was single battle. 1t
is possible, however, to distinguish GER
tain major operations or phases of
the greater struggle.
Thirteen such operations have been
recognized in which American units
were engaged, of which L took place
in the western front and one in Italy.
Battle clasps will be awarded TO the
officers and men who participated in
these engagements. These battles and
the number of Americans engaged are
as follows: Somme, March p to April
6, 1920 men engaged; Lys, April 9
to 81, 500 men engaged; Aisne, May
q to June 5, 27,50O men engaged
Noyon-M ontdidier, June to Is, 27,O00
men engaged; Champagne-Marn July
Is to IS, $4,000 men engaged; Aisne-
Marine, July IS to August 6, 270,000
men engaged; Somme, August 8 to
November IL, $4,000 men engaged
Ypres-Lys, August 10 to November IL,
100000 men engaged ST. Mihiel, Sep
TENDER u to 16, 100000 men engaged
Meuse-Argonne, September 20 to Nov
ember IL, 100000 men engaged, and
Vittoria-V eneto, October "a to Novem-
Der 4. 1900 men engaged.
Census Machinery Ready.
The 10000 men and women who
are to begin taking the decennial
census Thursday, January 1, are
now receiving final instructions from
| the district supervisors throughout
| the country. The government has
! been hard pressed to obtain the serv-
| ices of well-equipped enumerators in
some sections of the country, but the
| force is now practically complete. The
| enumerators who will enter on their
duties January 1 will have only their
| weeks to complete the work laid out
| for them where their field is in a CITY
| or large town, and 80 days where their
| field of operations is in the country
! The country enumerators will have
| more time in which to do their work,
| because in addition to counting the
| people they gather agricultural stats
| les. One of the reasons for changing
| he date for beginning the census from
! April ] to January l is that the farm
| ers are usually busy in the early
spring. The government assumes that
! during the month of January its emu
merators viii find the average farmer
at leisure and in position to supply
| the information the government viii
desire Of him without interfering with
his duties.
The department of agriculture is. act
ing in an advisory capacity and as
sisting the bureau of the census in ae
quainting farmers with what win be
expected of them when the enumera
Ors call Attention has been called