Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-05-19

British and 1850 additional wholly
by American enterprise. Only one OF
these had been .delivered up to jan
uary /. 1919, but it is noted that the
work on, each program ON component
parts was so per cent complete when
the armistice was signed. Orders for
all but 100 of these tanks have been
cancelled
On November II sNty-four tanks
of the French siX-ton type had been
delivered and by January 81 of this
year 2g1. OF these six were shipped
atcoad. orders for 1000 Mark ! light
tanks were cancelled, as were orders
for 1905 three-ton tanks. fifteen of
which had been completed on Novem-
Der 1.
The history of the rifle production
including all of the considerations
which led TO the adoption Of the stand
ardized British Enfield weapon for
American use, also is fully outlined
This was another element of the ord
nance program that was, ScVerlv criti-
ciZed, but the department states that
ii sees no reason to change now its
view that the wiSeSt course was that
which was followed Army experts
Still hold that the Springfield rifle is
the best military weapon made but
it is declared the rifle program would
have been "hopelessly delayed" if it
had been attempted to equip the
forces with these weapons. 1t is reit-
Grated also that the Enfield rifle as
it was in production in American
plants when the United States entered
the war was an utterly inadequate
weapon. while as ia was modified. it
became second only to the Springfield,
Despite the delay due to modification
and standardization, all American
troops were equipped with modern,
efficient. Americana rifles before
they left the United States.
THE decision to modify the En-
field" says the report was one of
the greatest decisions of the executive
prosecution of the war-all honor to
Cen. John T. Thompson and the other
rifle experts who made it,"
The total rifle production in the
United States from the beginning of
the war up to November ., 1919, was
2.506. 307, Of which a little more than
100000 were Springfield rifles.
Pistols Great Weapon.
Considerable attention is devoted to
the production of automatic pistols
and revolvers for the troops. In the
colt AS" the standard army auto
matte developed as result of Philip
pine experience by the army and
which also was an invention by
Browning, the United States forces
had a weapon which all Europe could
not match for efficiency in action and
which brought terror to the Germans
when American troops reached the
front.
European countries failed to appre-
ciate the value of large caliber, hard
hitting weapon of this type and the
chief use of pistols and revolvers in
European armies had been as orna-
ments for officers uniforms, it is said,
rather than for active fighting.
THE result of Europes neglect"
the report says, was that the small
caliher revolvers of the Germans and
even of the French and English were
toys in comparison to the big Colts
that slapped the thighs of American|
doughboys.
With this weapon, it is stated. IAN
average soldier with average training
can hit what he shoots at. In almost
the first skirmish it proved its supe-
rior usefulness in trench fighting.
such incidents as that of the single
American soldier who dispersed or
killed a whole squad Of German bay
oneteers which had surrounded him
struck the enemy with fear of Yankee
proves with the pistol
This resulted in the addition of pis-
tolls to the fighting equipment of the
American troops at a rate that over
whelmed the supply. Every effort to
increase production was made. but the
army was forcedto resort to 45-cali-
Der revolvers TO supplement the sup
ply The actual rate of production
reache dust Just before the armistice
was ,993 pistols and 1898 revolvers
a day and the total numSer of the