The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1919-04-17

chine shop trucks that kept vehicles
in repair where the army was in
movement; the 10 equipment and
repair trucks that Owed in and out
among the battle areas and repaired
small arms and machine guns, per
sOnal equipment, canvas and leath-
er; the 563 gas tank trucks that car
ried gasoline to places where it could
not be stored with safety; the 800
water tank trucks that helped to
keep the trenches supplied with
drinking water.
1t recalls laboratory trucks for an
alyZing water and sterilizing trucks
for making it drinkable; radio
trucks that carried telephone and
telegraph apparatus wherever the
lines were broken or threatened or
new ones had to, &c, up; Photographic:
trucks that enabled the taking OF
many valuable battle pictures. Again
it counts as part of it's official, if not
operating family, the balloon winch
trucks employed to assist in balloon
ascensions and descensiOns; the re-
connaissance cars used by battery
commanders for reconnaissance
work; the staff observation cars used
for rough wear by the artillery.
1850 Ambulances in Use.
Dump trucks for hauling gravel,
engineer trucks, and many of a
special type whose names will ex-
plain the nature of their work, such
as dental office, rolling kitchen, field
lighting, foden disinfector, delous-
ing, motorcycle repair. fire, A-Ray,
wireless, telephone, telegraph, chem
ical, omnibus, wrecking, boom and
hoist--all these and more the Motor
Transport numbered in its ranks. In
addition, there were 5,57S so-called
T>A oIt. -
ent purposes, l,12l motorcycles and
and 9,729 passenger cars.
The Motor Transport Corps per
sonnet did not by any means operate
all these vehicles, but those it did
not operate it acted as guide, phil
osopher and friend to in the way of
all supplies and upkeep. The corps
men received, assembled, operated
ton in the S. O. S. In the armies
they exercised technical supervision
over motor transport
In the background. keeping all
these 1929 vehicles going, the
Motor Transport Corps operated
nine reception parks at base ports
St. Nazaire, Nantes. Bordeaux, LIE
Havre, Brest. Rouen, MarseilIe, La
Pallice and Rochefort; two overhaul
Pal ho al DlJoIl duu lAdIl 81 CD lullNIlOH-
ing in addition to regular overhaul
work as clearing houses and hos
pitfalls for motor vehicles on their
journey from ports to the armies;
"a service parks with the armies and
So in the s. O. S., and five other ov-
erhaul parks.
Struggles of Early Days.
At Verneuil was the great recon-
struction park for all machines OF
American make. Facilities here
were SO complete that any part of a
machine could be made that was
needed to put machine back in
commission. Machines of foreign
make were reconstructed at Romo-
rantin.
For months after motor vehicles
began to arrive in France at St.
Nazaire and Brest and the other
base ports, a great part of the work
of assembling, numbering. testing,
oiling and greasing and otherwise
whipping them into shape for serv-
ice had to be done out in the open
many cases hastily improvised shell
ter was thrown UP out of the crat-
ings that came from around the ma
chimes. When the machines were
fully ready they were placed in what
was termed. ready to issue yard"
the headquarters at Tours notified.
and finally, when the orders to move
came, sent out in conveys along reg
ular convoy routes carefully" laid
armistice $3.50 motor vehicles had
been conveyed from base ports to
the front-every one carrying an.
emergency load of supplies.
All machines for the front went
by way of DIXON or Langres, where
storage and repair shops rendered
particularly fine service in keeping
the vehicles fit to leave for the actual
to one Of these storage. parks one
night that a call went from hard
pressed unit in the lines for ITO
machines, and it happened that the
entire personnel was enjoying the
relaxation OF an amateur theatrical
performance. The commanding Of
ficer suddenly APPEARED in the midst
of an act and SAID. Boys. they need
10 machine before daybreak. What
do you say?" It broke up the per-
Torrance, but the machines left that
night.
Newfoundland? Yes, But
And a motor truck company is
generally thought of as invariably a
affair, isn't it? But
listen to this from an army report:
Throughout the St. Mihiel drive
this unit was almost continually I'M
der fire, working under handicaps of
darkness and mud, carrying shells
to ammunition dumps. running their
trucks without thought of danger to
themselves into places of extreme
danger in order to help some battery
change it's position, towing guns out
of the deep mud onto the road and
sticking with them until placed in
their new positions.
There can also be found the re-
port Of the eleven trucks that took