Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1919-12-26

"1 appeal to the energy and the initia
tive of the commanders-in-chief and o.
their armies to make decisive the results
Obtained
ADVANCE On LAST DAY.
in consequence of the foregoing in
structions. our Second Army pressed the
enemy along its entire front. On the night
Of the 10-llth and the morning of the
18th the Fifth Corps, in the First Army,
forced crossing of the Mouse east of
Beaumont and gained the commanding
heights within the re-entrant of the river,
thus completing our control of the Mouse
river line. At 6 A. M. on the 18th notifi-
cation was received from Marshal Foch's
headquarters that the armistice had been
signed and that hostilities would cease at
II A. M. Preparatory measures had al
ready been taken to insure the prompt
transmission to the troops of the announce
ment of the armistice."
Under the heading of ordnance, aviation
and tanks. General Pershins gives some
first-hand information Of the actual equip
ment of the army with those much-dis-
cussed implements and shows the extent
which America was compelled to rely on
the Allies. He says;
Our entry into the war found us with
few auxiliaries necessary for its conduct
in the modern sense. The task Of the Ord
nance Department in supplying artillery
was especially difficult. In order to meet
our requirements as rapidly as possible,
we accepted the offer Of the French Gov
eminent to supply us with the artillery
equipment Of 75s. 1855 nm. howitzers and
1855 G. P. F. guns from their own factories
for 80 divisions. The wisdom Of the course
was fully demonstrated by the fact that,
although we soon began the manufacture
Of these classes of guns at home, there
were no guns of American manufacture Of
the calibres mentioned on our front at the
date of the armistice The only guns of
these types produced at home which reach
cd France before the cessation of hostilities
were 1903 75-mm. guns. In addition. "a
eight-inch howitzers from the United States
reached our front and were in use when
the armistice was signed Eight 14-inch
naval guns Of American manufacture were
set up on railroad mounts. and most Of
these were successfully employed on the
Meuse- Argonne front under the efficient
direction of Admiral Plunkett. of the navy.
PAYS TRIBUTE To AvIAToRs.
I'm aviation we were entirely dependent
upon our Allies and here again the French
Government came to our aid until our own
program could be set under way. From time
to time we obtained from the French such
planes for training personnel as they could
provide. Without going into complete
discussion of aviation material it will be
sufficient to state that it was with great
difficulty that we obtained equipment eve II
for training As for up-to-date combat
planes, the development at home was slow
and we had to rely upon the French. who
provided US with total of 2,676 pursuit
observation and bombing machines. The
first aeroplanes received from home ar
rived in May and altogether we received
1879 planes of the De Haviland type. The
first American squadron completely equip
ped by American production. including
aeroplanes. crossed the German lines on
August 7. 1918. AS to our aviators. many
OF whom trained with our Allies, 1t can be
said that they had no superiors In DARN
and fighting ability. During the battles of
St. Mihiel and Meuse-A rgonne our aviators
excelled all others. They have left rec
ord Of courageous deeds that will remain
a brilliant page in the annals OF our army.
In the matter of tanks. we were COM
PEELED to rely upon both the French and
the English. Here. however, we were less
fortunate, for the reason that our Allies
barely had sufficient tanks to meet their
own requirements. While our Tank Corps
had limited opportunity, its fine personnel
responded CALAMITY on every possible occa-
sion and showed courage Of the highest
order. We had one battalion of heavy
tanks engaged on the English front. On
our own front we had only the light tanks
| and the number available to participate In
the last great assault Of November was
reduced to 10 as a result Of the previous
hard fighting in the Meuse-Argonne
APPRECIATION Or MEMS WORK.
General Pershing closes his report with
the following Appreciation"
In this brief summary Of the achieve
ments of the American Expeditionary
Forces it would be impossible to cite in
detail the splendid ability loyalty and
efficiency that characterized the service of
both combatant and noncombatant indi-
viduals and organizations. The most strk-
ind quality of both officers and men was
the resorcefu energy and common sense
employed. under all circumstances. in hand
ling their problems.
THE highest praise is due the COM
manders of armies, corps and divisions
and their subordinate leaders. who labored
loyalty and ably toward the accomplish
ment of our task. suppressing personal
opinions and ambitions in the pursuit Of
the common aim, and to their stats, who
developed, with battle experience. into
splendid teams without superiors in any
army.
ITO my Chief of Staff, Maj Zen. James
C. Harboard, who was later placed in
command Of the Service Of Supply. and
Ma. Gen. James W. McAndrews ! am
deeply indebted for highly efficient service
in post Of great responsibility.
THE important work Of the staff at
General Headquarters in organization and
administration was characterized by excep-
tional ability and fine spirit Of co-opera-
ton. No chief ever had a more loyal and
| efficient body of assistants.