The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-09-19
FIRST DIVISION
Continued From PAGE One)

and beat the enemE at his own
game. There were guns of all the
types used in France that could be
moved through tho streets. Machine
guns, big and little, bristlcd among
the rifemen: squat mortars to hu-l
bombs from the trenches; high
mounted rifles which peered sky
ward as though still in search of
enemy flyers. Some OF the. guns
We're horse drawn. some trundlcd
behind painting motor trucks or tract
ors. The show was as comolete as
the ingenuity of the War Department
could make il, q cross section Of the
American Expeditionary Forces.
But it was to the lines of khaki
clad, brown faced I"en themselves
that first interest of the thronging
crowds all along the wide avenue
turned. The home consng of this
first unit of Amer lean man power to
cross the submarine infested seas
was in marked contrast to its ST.
lent, mysterious unreported depart
u.e, and the men and women the
way seemed TO feel the significance
OF the spectacle. They recalled the
days when the nation waited in
wCrdleas anxiety To hear that these
same smiling, free -striding boys had
come safely to a French barber
those other dayc when the first word
filtered back that the boys had be
gun TO prove their courage in action
and .the slow coming lists that car
lied the names of the men who
sleep forever in France. So H
IT, mt Of . mi,
"75's" an unusual honor was accord
ca. The Sixth FIELD Artillery was
placed between the two infantry
bIigades instead of marching with
the rest of the artillery brigade be-
hind the infanIry, sol 1t was c bat
terry of the Sixth which fired the
first shot at the Germans on October
%, 1917. \ standard told the on
lockers that at last they SAW the
very guns whose thunder had carried
that first message of defeat into the
enemy ranks.
Markers Gave information.
Throughout The long line markers
were frequent telling what o9the
strange implements of war ii6kief
which they foated were usedDfer.
Among the watchers were thtusisds
uron thousands Of commandments
who have dealt for months With EIfds
less streams of papers tallSngilGT
bombs and guns and mortaEsr fof
motor machine shops, RohtDDn
bridges, machine guns, gas abroMH
ers. fame projectors and all TIM ptho
er complicated war equipment ,Qi IT 10
troops. Never before have those
workers at home seen all these topll
OF warfare in their own warlkff SetT
an education for them. eoty4.s
Up the avenue at the head ct the
'-iYisicn rode Major General eElpIlMIaf,di
r. McGlachlin, commanding. az ana
with him rode two former cchnptand-
ers of the division the first to go
and the last Of the divisions to come
home. They were Major General
William i. Sibeit, who took it to
France. and Lieutenant General Rob-
CRIT L. Billiard, who took it into ac-
ton and surrendered command only
TO take higher post. Marching
ahead of the formations, also, came
host of officers and men who saw
their first service with the First Di-
yision in France. later to go to 9TH
or units as instructors.
First Infantry Brigade.
Then came the First Infantry
Brigade, marching in the French
ytass formation, twenty -four men
abreast across the avenue. led by the
third Machine Cur Battalion with Its
motorized guns. The infantry march
ed in column Of fours, four compan-
Us abreast and with officers and file
ciosers ahead, leaving the men to
form a solid block OF bayonets for
each battalion. The sixteenth IN
fantry, veterans OF the bitter, fight
ing at Cantingy where France learn
Ell in what fashion America cnnid
and would fight and breathed free
again after months OF strain. led the
way. After lis lhree battalion blocks
had passed came The eighteenth in
fantry in similar formation followed
by the LIST Machine Gun Battalion OF
the brigade.
The Sixth Field artillery came
next, followed by the Second infan-
try brigade composed of the iwen
ty-sixth and twenty eighth Infantry
and the Second Machine Gun battal-
icn, then the long lines of '75's" and
tho motor drawn "155's" of the Isl
Artillery Brigade. The fifth and the
seventh Field artillery. The horse
drawn guns aud limbcrs of the fifth
rolled by three columns abreast and
the seventh pulled and painted alone
with its heavier guns In the same
formation
The regular trains of the divisions
followed, the 1st Engineer regiment
lcadins the way with the first En-
gineer train behind il to be succeed
cd by the second Signal battalion
Then came the almost endless Wag
on and truck trains of the amn,uni
ton, supply and sanitary trains and
tho first company, military police and
finally the hospital trains, the second
third, twelfth and thirteenth com
panies and Field hospitals.
There Were Additional Units.
At various points in the divisional
line and before the wallowing tanks
hammered ami clattered in an up
roaring conclusion to the five houl
spectacle, all manner of additional
uI,i;s, not par. OF the division itself
were inserted These included
starchlight trucks, ordnance machine
slope, units on motor trucks, sound
ranging devices for detecting the
position Of hidden guns. sound rang
,ers for spotting air raiders at night
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