The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-10-24

army did not exhaust our manufac- turing capacity for we furnished our various allies with 1000 guns, 1o,663 airplanes, and 800 tanks. This, after cnree and half years of war and in- vasion, we were able to lend the splendid American army that assist ance without which their entry into action might have been indefinitely delayed Not to mention the 2,500 of ficers the 25 instruction camps, and the 135,000 hospital beds placed at their disposal, we furnished the Amer jeans with 4,000 guns, 4,000 airplanes. 240 tanks. On the day of the armi- stice, of the United States army's war material then in line, France had manufactured 100 per cent of the 75s, 100 per cent of the 165s, howitzers, 100 per cent of the tanks, S1 per cent of the airplapes. 75 per cent of the long guns. All of the 65,00O,0 rounds of 75 and i55 shells used by the American artillery came from French factories. Of the 14,000.000 tons of supplies which they used in Europe, half, or 7,ooO.o0O came from France.
 Man Power
 Such was our material contribution. What of our contribution in man power? Despite her low sbirth rate, France did not hesitate before the mortality of war and-my means of Spartan system of mobilizatiop-al- ways kept her forces up to the max imum.
 S,7s1, 900 men In August, 1914.
 4,97S,000 men in July, 1915.
 4,677, 900 men In July, 1916.
 4,327000 men in September, 1917.
 4,143,000 men In November, 1913.
 In November, 1918, we had 362, ,000 more men in line than in 1914, and yet our losses from the beginning had been 2594,000 men--1, ,000 killed, TAO, 900 severely wounded, and 100000 prisoners Throughout the war @e bore the brunt Of the enemy's attacks on the western front. We held three- fourths of this front up to the spring of 1917. At that time the British army was facing AZ German divisions, the French army S2 Our line reduced about this time by 50 kilometers, was increased by another 80 kilometers after the German push on General Coughs army in March, 1918. Up to the war of movement In 1918, the German army always maintained its maximum density on the western front-t,293 battalions out of 1892 in November, 1914; 1,456 battalions out of 2,316 in February, 1917. and 1t was always the French sector that bore the brunt of the burden on the west ern front. If for example taking the first 35 months of the war (August. 1914, to August, 191D, and the number of enemy battalions In line, we figure the total German strength deployed as on the Belgiant front, 1t was s on the British front 22 on the Rus sian front and 35Aon the French front.
 French Genius
 I have told our industrial effort and our human sacrifice. There remains the story of our French genius. am not one of those small minded Frenchmen who believe that, in order to be great, France must needs be un- grateful. I have always said that France could not have won without her allies. And I have always count ed on our allies sense of justice to recognize that without France they could not have waged the war. Have I not the right to add that besides her contribution in war material and her contribution in man power. France houc llC cptSH0iu Ol Hck genius? The war full of surprises was pregnant with it's own lesson. Success came to those who from this lesson were able to unriddle their course of action. No cut-and- dried doctrine stood the test of events The doctrine of the war shaped itself from day to day in the turmoil of accum- ulated happenings, reserving the crown of victory to him who could coordinate it's ever changing de- mands.
 But whether for artillery strategic plans. barrage fire. plunging fire, liaison, range finding. signalling; whether for infantry. transformation of equipment specialization of mis- sions organization of terrain. accom- panying aviation, acceleration of re- liefs, attacks by infiltration, passage through the lines, defense by with drawai to second line positions- France, during the whole war. was the laboratory of the powers. Noth- ing was more natural; for under the cruel stress of defeat we had more deeply studied these problems. How
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