The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-11-12
TRICKS OF GAME
Of WAR COME To
LIGHT EVERY DAY
Germans Are Worried Because
of Belief Of Mythical Army
Which Operated in Land Of
Rhine Border.


WITH THE AMERICAN FORCES IN
GERMANY, Nov. II. (By the Associst-
ed Press,)-Tricks Of the~Eame Of war
are coming to light from time to time
as each side tells its story. One OF the
most successful of them was practiced
by American forces in the Meuse-Ar-
gonne battle last fall, when the last
great allied offensive was at its height
from Switzerland to the sea. An imag-
mary army conceived by n handful OF
American junior officers was thrown
into the field overnight and for days
five crack German divisions Just east
OF Nerdun in the Etain region, were
kept on their toes momentarily expect
ing an attack which never materiiised.
AT a dinner table In a Coblenz cafe,
overlooking the Rhine, an American in
telligence officer recently told the sto-
ry OF the creation Of the mythical y
army" as 1t was called. 1t appears
that the Germans were expecting an
attack in the Etain sector at any time,
n the Americans knew II; but al that
phase Of the game the First United
States army was devoting its energies
to driving the enemy out Of the Ar
gonne forest and the hill country on
on either side. So the mythical army was
created, IN preference to a real division,
requiring many men, to convince tho
German commander that IL would not
be wise to weaken the Etain front to
the benefit of the Meuse-Argonne front
where a desperate battle was proceed
ing,
Five fresh divisions had been placed
by the Germans on the Etain line. These
constituted their last and finest reser-
voir of available divisions. The Amer
leans realized that the minute the Ger
mans decided that this was not a dan
ger point, any or all Of the five divi-
sions could be withdrawn, replaced by
exhausted and fragmentary divisions
coming from the battle fronts, and that
the appearance Of fresh troops in the
line west Of the Mouse would have a
tremendous effect on the American Of
fenSive.
Assigned to Front,
The tx army was assigned to a front
from Bezonvaux to Fresnes, From the
morning OF Oct. 20 until Just previous
to the armistice this army "functioned. .
Capt. Charles II. Matz, Of Hubbard
Woods, IL. was commander-in-chief
Capt. William II. Dearden, of Spring
field, Mass, and Washington, D. c.,
was chief of staff. Lieut., John H. Gra-
ham, Of Lexington, Va, was chief of
troop movements" Capt, o, w, Nei-
tstration, and Lieut.. H. 7. Griswold, of
Old Lyme, Conn, was chief Of artillery.
The staff of the TX army" were all
members of the intelligence section Of
the First army and of course. before
beginning operations, had secured the
consent Of their chief, Col. Wiley
Howell.
The wireless and the telephone were
freely used to convince the Germans
that the Aemricans were preparing for
an attack in the Etain sector. To make
sure that the Germans would be able
to break into" the code used the
Americans furnished them with a sat
isfactory key.
One wireless station of the X army
was established in a elump of woods
near Verdun, and was christened
headquarters of the X army This
game, all orders to the army going
out from this place by wireless. Soon
after the station began working, the
Germans located its whereabouts and
frequently shelled the woods and vicin.
ity, apparently in hopes of breaking VI
the radio of this latest Of annoyances
The X army also had a portable radio
station, which moved about and rep
resented itself as a different station
every day or two.
The sector In which the X army wal
at work was directly under command
of the 33d French corps, and tire rowing
wireless station caused considerable ex
element among the French soldiers al
II sent messages to make the enem!
believe that several fresh American di'
visions had moved into the area. The
French, of the plans of the y
army staff. at times thought the AmerI
ans had lost all sense of reason and OF
several occasions so reported the wire
less plants.