The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-02-19
Kansas Governor Charges
That Staff Departments 3
Did Not Back Fighters
SUPPLY SERVICE
CALLED INADEQUATE
Infantry of seth Division Sent Against
Machine Gun and Artillery Without
Proper Artillery Support Shortage
of Ambulance Equipment.

of Ambulance Equipment.
WASHINGTON, Feb l9.-Startling
testimony as to the failure of the staff
departments of the American expedi- /
tionary force to function in support of
line troops has been given to the
house rules committee by Gov. Henry
). Allen of Kansas in support OF res
olution for an investigation of the ac-
| tiyities and treatment of the 35th di-
vision in the Argonne battles. Invcs
| LEGATION of this matter is likely to be |
taken up in the next session of con-
.gress.
4 In the case of this division in the Ar |
gonne battles Governor Allen declared |
the casualties amounted in six DAYS to /
about 1000 men, of which 1888 were
killed in action.
| Due largely to poor staff preparation
and inefiiciency in the service of sup
Iphes, according to Governor Aliens
statement, these points stood out in the
i battle:
|
was sent against machine gun artillery
fire.
4 Shortage of horses and inferior horses
made it impossible to move the divi
sional artillery fast enough to keep pace
with the advancing infantry
In part at least because of this thn
American artillery barrage frequently
fell short or was walked into by the
infantry.
Air crafts were inadequate to Offset
: hostile craft or properly to direct Amer.
lean artillery FIRE.
: Communications were lacking in tele-
I phones, flares and other signalling ap-
paratus. Runners We're used where tel
ephone and other means of commune
; cation should have been available
Through shortage of stretchers. am.
! balances, first aid equipment and trans
portation wounded lay on the ground
for forty-eight hours without ade-
q quate clothing or emergency rations.
The day before the division went into
u its greatest hattie two of its general
officers were relieved
y 1.-THE Argonne Forest was the battle
! for which we had been preparing foi
= months yet when we came to ii we did
L not have the machinery, said Cover
ie nor Allen. 1T seemed to be part soi
that highly organized ineffieiency that
characterized the whole army over
there. Whenever YOU touched anything
1t fell down; all except one thing-th,
raw man fnaterial-and that was al
fright
ID One of the national guard officers re
lieved from command the day befor,
the Argonne fight began was Brig Gen
u c. 7. Martin, now adiutant general o.
:" Kansas. General Martin will testify 10
morrow.
The secretary Of war tried to SHOW
~ that the Thirty.ffth division had III
70 more casualties than number of othe
= divisions. Governor Allen testified
< sit should be noted, however. that th
81 six day Argonne battle was the only
= engagement of the Thirtv-ffth diyi
ne sion. while most Of the divisions use
~ BY the secretary in his comparison ha,
u been in numerous engagements.
. = General March has said. that IL
- airplanes were in use in the Argonn
- battle. If so ahev covered twenty
a. two nile front and many would be O
, the ground. There were no. enough a
/, any particular point TO do any eoot
ne The artillery did not arrive and W
fought with French ordnance. We wer
nc constantly buying broken down horse
u from the French Tor $500 each and los
ing them the next day because the
at were unfit 10 do the work
tn Gov. Allen read letter from a I.ier
80 tenant Colonel which stated:
50 . Our artillery failed US and did no
So support rs after the first few hours. W
50 fought the German artillery, maehin
20 guns, hand grenades, e,e., with on
1S service rifles only
~ Governor Allen read letters issued b
"A Major General Peter Il. Trauh, con
- maner of the division, stating that II
II 10th Engineers held position in Il
II line for several days. although il vs.
20 not supposed to be organized for i
IS fantry duty.
81 He read another letter. from IN Of
O. Ger who had been attached 10 ;ha me-
&c zeal corps of the Thirty-iift diyisie
60 until December, which said:
Ga "On September 2S a runner was sei
63 back with a message for God = sal
60 send US litterS. blankets and foo
% Word was returned that nothing co,r
So be done on account of a lack of tran
50 portation. At this time there were 6,
% men al the dressing station. Germi
10 airplanes were dropping bombs on L
esi- station. 1t was raining all the tin
av- The men had only summer undefwe