The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-04-11
CRANITEVILLE
Lieut.. John Miles Tells of Army of 0ccu-
patton and Location in Germany.


From Lieut.. John Il. Miles comes the
following interesting letter written on
March % from Hardert, Germany, con
corning the army Of occupations
with the Army Of Occupation in Ger
many: In the little town of Elscheid,
Is miles north and slightly west of the
city of Coblenz, Germany the headquar
tiers of the third or army of occupation,
is located the headquarters of the l20th
NJ. g. Bn,, the machine gun battalion of
the SD brigade, which constitutes one
half of the infantry personnel of the
sd division, which division has won for
itself a place among the premier combat
divisions of the American expeditionary
forces. | make this statement with not
the least idea Of casting reflection on any
other division in the A. +. T. or in the
United States, combat or otherwise, for
they all had their good and brave men,
Nor do /, on the other hand, wish to de-
tract one bit from the credit due the d-
vision in question, who, having been Civ
en- the privilege to display its proves,
made good
"At this time the 32d division occu j.
pies the center of the front line, hanked
on the right by the lst division, on the
left by the I'd division. All of these di.
visions are east of the Rhine and occupy
semi-crcular area north and east Of
the city OF Coblenz and all within radi-
us of 20 miles Of this city.
ABLY backed are these divisions bv
the Sd, 4th and 42d, who form the sup
port just west Of the Rhine. The reserve
IL IL I,r
sions All eight of these divisions have
played a commendable part in the de-
feat Of the German forces on the west
ern front
"Eot being writer Of ability, | have
rather wandered from my point, for
which oflense | trust you will forbesr
with me.
"As previously stated, Escheid houses
the headquarters and one company Of
the Goth NJ. G. Bn. Another company i
located at Kurtscheid, two miles dis
tant and the two remaining companies
at Hardert ! mention names OF towns
and organizations here not so much for
themselves as for a means of designa-
ton, for they are no different than
hundred OF more other towns or out
ia.
Having myself been an occupant of
the town OF Hardert since Dee. Is, 1918,
will use that for an example.
"Hardert is a town OF about 300 souls
the 20 houses Of which it boasts being
closely together and intermingled with
barns, sheds, etc, the streets seemingly
conforming to the convenience OF the in
dividual householder. Two companies,
about $50 men and 10 officers, are bill
leted in these houses and about so horses
in the various barns
Can you imagine the frame of mind
OF the average American housewife when
il is announced TO her that soldiers will
take up residence in one. or two, or
three, of her rooms probably including
the company paror Yet that Is what
the natives here must contend with and
better gracefully They are well-dis-
ciplined people, however, adjust them
selves 10 conditions, and military or
der with them is the supreme law. We
have had little or no trouble with them
in the occupied regions
"The buildings are all Of limestone or
a peculiar type of light pressed brick,
with slate or tile roofs and much more
permanent in their construction than
the frame houses of our small towns in
the States
I'VE are fortunate in this particular
town in having electric lights and good
water. Il is 'verboten' tforbidden) to
bury foodstuffs Of the Germans and tho
clippings have read from some Of the
Z. S. papers telling Of the Y, S. army in
Germany living on the fat of the land
is a pure fallacy.
There are no stores or shops in this
village and those things, with their
bright attractive windows, together with
places of amusement, are what the BOYS
over here miss most, not forgetting, Of
course, their mothers, wives and sweet.
hearts.
"The country hereabouts is hillv, like
our own Vermont, alternately sprinkled
with clearings and woods The former
are cultivated almost entirely and il
seems to be form of crime throughout
western Europe to waste anything which
serves as an enricher of the lands. The
woods are well kept up, well lined with
wide paths, the preservation of both the
woods and all their attributes being Of
the greatest moment. Streams flowing
naturally down the mountainous rayines
are artiicially distributed all over the
lands by means of numerous irrigation
bitches. In all these things the Ger
mans seem masters, but when ii comes
to the use of farm machinery, they do
not seem~to be on a par with us.
"The time OF the soldiers is now oc.
cupied as follows; The entire morning
is devoted to drill. In the afternoon one
hour of athletics is compulsory and the
rest Of the afternoon is optional Guard
duty, carried on by certain percentage,
is continuous Schools of various kinds
are conducted afternoons and evenings,