The weekly Alaska citizen., 1920-01-19

elal HeisllnS, ln his special report to Secretary Baker, on the operations ot the American army in rance, says in effect, altno not in terms that the American army won the war,
 Tt was tnls spirit of ueternlnatiOh anlnatInl every American soldier, says General Persnlng referring to the Meuse-Arsonne Datue. that made Il Impossible Tor the enemy 10 nam tam the struggle until 1919"
 twenty American anu loui trencn ulvislons, say GeneraI fersn- ing, "nau engaged ana uecislNeiy beaten 4 German ulNIsIons, repre- sentlng 25 per cent oI the enemy entire divisional strength on the west ern front. Ol the enemy uiH!sions, 2U had been drawn from the trench front and l rom the british ltont Oi the 22 American divisions l- hau at various times during this peilou (Sept 26 to Nov II, l9lS) been en- gagged on other fronts than our own. The 1st army had suffered a loss oi about ll7,0O0 in killed and wounded; 1t had captured 26,000 prisoners, oi' cannon, 5000 machine guns and large quantities of material"
 With the Amencan army holding the heights dominating Sedan, the re- port sad, and the German line oi communications definitely sundered recognizing that nothing but cessa- ton Of hostiities could save his armies from complete disaster he ap- pealed for an immediate armistice (Nov. 6).'
 General feishlns , report IU1UMs Ill ueIali the growth ol the AlneIlcan overseas forces rom tue date ol Ills departure Mltn q small stau, May Zo, 1917, unui IL numbered more tnan 2,UUv,00U men. Every step ol or ganlzauon, every conference with the allied generals ana the important de- clslons reached are recorded
 The document, comprising d pamphlet ol about loo pages, or o5,OOo words, IS divided into three sections: Period of Organization, Opera tions" and supply, Co-ordnauons ana Administration.
 Summarizing the military situation which existed in the spring ol 1917, when the United States aligned with the allies, General Pershing said;
 In the months ending June 30, 1917, German submarines had ac- complished the destruction oI more than 3,250,0U0 tons of allied shipping. During three years Germany mad seen practically all her otfensives except Verdun crowned with success. Her battle lines were held on foreign soil and she had withstood every attack since the Marne. The German general staff could forsee now the complete elimination of Russia, the possibility of defeating Italy before the end of the year and, finally, the campaign Of 1918 against the French and British on the western front which might terminate the war.
 Financial problems of the allies exhausted and their armies had suf- fered tremendous losses. Discourage ment existed not only among the civil population but turnout the armies as we'll"
 Within one month of his arrival General Pershing recommended def nitely that 100000 men should be in France before May, 1918, it being evident that "a force of one million is the smallest unit which in modern war will be a complete, well-balanced and independent fighting organjza- tion." Plans for the future, the rec ommendation added, should be based on three times this force"
 The general was equally specific in choosing the ground for American op- erations. He says:
 Our mission was offensive and fl was essential to make plans for strik ing the enemy where a definite mili- tary decision could be gained. While the allied armies had endeavored to maintain the offensive, the British in order to guard the channel ports were committed to operations ir Flanders and the French to the DOT tion of the front protecting Paris Both lacked troops to operate else where on a large scale.
 ''To the east the great fortified district east of Verdun and around Metz menaced central France, pro. tected the most exposed portion oi the German line of communications that between Metz and Sedan, and covered the Briey iron region, from which the enemy obtained the greater part of the iron required for muni- tions and material. The coal fields east of Metz were also covered by these same defenses. A deep advance ooot nP Mof1 tho nxuro 70 he