New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-01-05

vancing to the attack of the intrenched
Germans, exclaimed:
"No troops in the world ever went over
the top in prettier form than those Amer
leans. If their spirit equals their form
there will be stopping them"
We never worry about their spirit re-
sponded the American officer on duty "but
we have been worried at times about their
form and the inexperience of their lead
ers"
To ripen this inexperience, to add practical
working knowledge to the native initiative
of the National Guard and reserve officers
the great majority without actual com
bat service and so many with but the few
months of home training camps-was one
of the most disturbing problems of the
General Staff of the A. E. f. And it was
solved by the immediate establishing of
schools; by the brigadng of our units
with the French and British and attaching
our officers to their field stats; through
the sweat of blood and The innate qualities
of leadership of the boys themselves
In this process, the most promising of
the non-coms. G. c. sergeants) that led
their platoons into action were sent to the
college at Langres, where they were given
a chance to win second lieutenant's com
mission. 1t took non-com of fine quality
to get this privilege, and high standard
of excellence to secure him the one gold
bar he might receive after three months
schooling.
The officers thus developed out of such
experienced and prime material are max
ing, as might be supposed, the best in the
army; better as a class, naturally enough
than those coming freshly over from the
training camps at home-th though it must in
justice be said of the reserve officers in
general that they, too, made good
There appears to be marked difference
in the ready adaptability of the men,
whether to the artillery infantry, tanks,
aviation or engineers; but it is a curious
fact that of the regular army officers taken
from other branches of the service to the
artillery those from the cavalry show the
quickest aptitude Our men, in fact, seem
to take naturally to artillery and the speed
and apparent accuracy of their fire with the
famous French sosante- qunze (75) made
quite an impression on the French-and on
the Boche. So, also, our rife fire is rapid
and sustained, and in battle reported to be
very effective, though on the targets at the
training camps in the British area the
craftsmanship of our men was not so good
as that of the Tommes on the several
occasions saw them shooting together
With the bayonct, however, their work was
fully as good the British, and that's
saying lot, taking into consideration the
grim execution of the Canadians and the
Australians.
But the eagerness of the boys to "get
wise" their aptitude, the quickness with
withdrawing such arms of their own
they accommodated themselves to and
shifted from the British 1S-pounder and
Lewis machine guns to the French rs and
"Chau chat" that comparatively poor lead
squirter; their swing from the American
Springfield rife to the British Enfield and
back again to the Springfield, justifes my
faith in the average American to make the
utmost out of what falls into his hands.
Our boys had the advantage over the
French and British veterans of coming
fresh to the combat, unacquainted with its
terrors, unfamiliar with its trials And to
their everlasting credit it can be added
they were steady-though for the majority
their training had been brief, their battle
experience inland just as eager after they
had passed through the furnace of German
made warfare.
Fer the boys now had learned why they