The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1920-11-12

(Contlnued from Page One.)
In the battle Ct st. Mihiel $50 900
Americans were engaged. as comared
with about 100000 on the Northern side
in the battle Of Gettysburg. The ar
tillery fred more than 100000 shells
in four hours. which is the most i'm
tense concentration Of artillery fire re-
corded in history.
The Meuse-Argcnne battle lasted for
~ days. during which 100000 Ameri-
can troops were engaged.
The American battle losses Of the
war were $4,000 killed and $4,000
wounded. They are heavy when count
ed in terms Of lives and suffering, but
light compared with the enormous
price paid by the nations at whose sides
we fought.
When war was declared the United
States had S. training airplanes. Of
which 81 were classified as obsolete
and the other four as obsolescent.
When we entered the war the Allies
made the designs of their planes avail
able to us and before the end Of the
hostilities furnished us from their own
manufacture $500 service planes.
Aviation training schols in the Uni
ted States graduated $500 men from
elementary courses and 4,O2S from add
vanced courses. More than 5000 pilots
and observers were sent overseas.
The total personnel of the air scrv-
ice, officers, students and enlisted men,
increased from 1900 at the outbreak of
the war to nearly 200. 900 at it's close.
There were produced in the United
States to November 80, 1918, moer than
fra n nj ha N
$4,000 training engines.
The De Haviland-4, observation and
day bombing plane, was the only plane
the United States put into quantity
production. Before the signing of the
armistice 1927 had been completed and
1855 shipped overseas. The plane was
successfully used at the front for three
months.
The production of the 12-cHlindcr
Liberty engine was Americas chief
contribution to aviation. Before the
armistice 1854 had been completed.
1876 shipped to the e>pediticnary
forces. and 1925 delivered to the AZ
lies.
The first flyers in action wearing the
American uniform We're members of
the Lafayette Escadrille. who were
transferred to the American service in
December. 1917.
The American air force at the front
grew from three sGuaGrons in April to
As in November. 1918. On November II
the As squadrons had an equipment of
7+o planes.
OF 2,G9s planes sent tc, the zone of
the advance for American aviators s67,
or nearly ne-fourth. were of Ansri-
can manufacture.
American air squadrons played inn
portant roles in the battles of Chateau
Thierry, ST. NHhiel. and the Meuse- Ar
gonne. They brought down in combat
1855 enemy planes, while their cwn
losses of planes numbered only 351.
When war was declared, April 6,
1917. the United States had sufficient
light artillery to equip an army of
100000 men, and shortly found itself
confronted with the problem OF pre-
pairing to equip 100000 men.
To meet the. situation it was decided
ir jLIt 1914. /. ;tiiot our guns to
training purposes and to equip our
forces in France with artillery con-
forming to the French and British
standard alibers.
ii was arranged that we should pur-
chase from the French and British the
artillery needed for our first divisions
and snip them in return equivalent
amounts of steel copper and other raw
materials, SO that they could either
manufacture guns for us in their own
factories or give us guns GU, of their
stocks and replace them by new ones
made from our materials.
- no n,
her of complete artillery units produced
III american plants was more than
,,o0O, or equal to all those purchased
from the French and British during the
war.
The number of ROUNDS OF complies
artillery ammunition produced In AM
erican plants was in excess CT O,ooO
AS compared With 100000 rounds Sc
cured from the French and British.
IN the first 20 months after the dec
iaration of war by each country the
British did better than we did in the
production of light artillery. and we
.Neelled them in producing heavy ar
til,ery and both light and heavy ann
nunition,
So far AS tn. Allies We're concerned.
tine European war was in large meas
ure fought with American powder and
high explosives.
At the end of the war American pro-
auction of smokeless powder was 10
per cent greater than the French and
British production combined.
At the end CT the war the American
production Of nigh explosives was 40
nor cent greater than Great Brltaln's
and nearly double that OF France.
/. During the war America produced
10000 tons Of gas, much of which was
sold to the French and British.
In round numbers, We had in France
500 pieces of artillery. Ct which near
ly 500 were made in America, ana we
used on the firing line 1880 pieces, OF
which over 100 were made in America.
The prob ems of feeding and cloth
ing the army We're difficult because OF
the immense quantities involved rather
than because of the difficulty or man.
ufacturing the articles needed.
Dao,,;ro,,aots for some kinds of