The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1919-02-06
CHAUMONT LIVELY
AS ARMY Center
Little City, Picked for Pershing's
Headquarters, Is Now
Americanized.'
HOTELS ALWAYS CROWDED

Hurrying Officers Everywhere While
War Was on-Pershing Lived in
CastIe-Founded on Place Of
Strategic Value.
Chaumont, France.-This little city
of the Haute Marne is the home of
the general headquarters of the Amer
lean expeditionary forces.
Here lives the commander in chief,
and in the buildings of the French gar
rison are housed the officers of the
general staff and all the auxiliary Or
CARNATIONS that go with 1.-THE nerve
center of the army. A city of normally
about $4,000 inhabitants Chaumont lies
on the Eastern railway lines, 1853 miles
east Of Paris. 1t was formerly the
capital of Bassigny, and is now the
capital of the department Of the
Haute Marine.
Like most of the older cities of
France, Chaumont seems to have been
founded on a site of strategic value. 1t
crowns a high plateau between the
Marine and the SuiZe, and from the
walls and towers of the old city is a
wonderful view of the valley of the
Marine, the river here being hardly as
wide as the Marne canal that flows be-
side it between it's pOplar-bordered
banks. Northward over the narrow
vale of the Suize the view takes in a
wide sweep of rolling, fOreSt-crOwned
hills.
Removed From Paris.
General headquarters was removed
from Paris here in September of last
year, Chaumont being selected after
careful search Of available locations.
It lies in the center of what was the
American training area, every camp,
as well as the Toul sector, in which
the American forces first saw battle,
and all the lines from Toul eastward,
where we were located, being within
reach by motor.
The French post occupied as head
quarter offices is typical of French
garrisons. Three long, four-story red
tile-roofed barracks form three sides
Of a great quadrangle facing wide
avenue. A group Of lesser buildings
and the customary iron fence and or
namental gates in the remaining boun-
Diary. On both gate posts fly the Fri
color and the Stars and Stripes.
Sentries pace their posts on every.
hand, the quadrangle is filed with hur-
rying officers and orderlies and clerks,
hands flash in salute, bugles give their
almost hourly calls for the various mil
itary events and periods Of the day.
staff cars and motorcycles roll in and
out and now and then the sentry at
the gate stiffens even more rigidly and
brings his piece up with more snap
when great olive drab car, shining
like a yacht slides in, the scarlet tub
on the windshield with four white
stars signifying the commander in
chief.
Car Often UnheraIded.
Frequently the generals car ap-
proaches unheralded and so swiftly
that the sentry's cry of Turn out the
guard is too late and the commander
in chief is gone before the guard can
tumble from the guardhouse.
Until last spring General Pershing
made his residence in large villa
near headquarters. He soon found,
however, that so near the workshop Of
the army he could not have the quiet
and lack of intrusion necessary to his
growing responsibilities, and he moved
in May last to beautiful chateau
about five miles from the town. Here,
in great rambling castle, situated in
the Marine valley among groves and
wide sunlit lawns, he lived with his
personal staff. Connected by tele-
phone with every divisional corps and
army headquarters his own offices in
Chaumont, and with Paris, he did his
work there when not with the army
ChaumOnt itself has become almost
Americanized by the presence Of the
headquarters. Its little hotels are al
ways crowded with officers. 1t has
been very hospitable to the American
occupation. Nearly every home with
spare room is thrown open as bill
let for officers and many of the finest
residences have been taken over en-
tirely by the hundreds Of messes. In
many Of them the officers have INSTALL
ed electricity and bathrooms, and in
some cases central heating plants, and
with French servants, live comforta-
bly,, almost luxuriously as measured in
10
nate or lacking in rank take their
chances on whatever billet may be
found in the crowded town, where a
bed is always at premium.
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