The Washington times., 1923-06-25
NEW DEFENSE
.PEANFOR j. 5.
PREPARED
General Pershing Author Of
Proposal Which Assures
ImpregnabiIity.
BY GEORGE E. DURNO,
International News Service.


A plan for American mobiliza-
ton defense has been perfected
by Gen. John j. Pershing, chief
of staff of the army, which cas-
sures the impregnability of the
continental United States in the
event of attack of any possible
hostile combination" it was
learned here today.
Approved by Secretary Weeks.
This plan, approved by Secretary
Of War Weeks, will be ready to
be put into execution with the COM
pletion of this summers training of
national guardsmen and civilians at
the summer camps.
General Pershing's defense pro-
ject for complete protection Of the
American coasts and border from
tiers; and there is no possible land
ing point or line of advance that
has been overlooked
Each of the divisions of the
regular army, each of the national
guard regiments. together with GER
tafrf{speciai units of the organized
resarVa.. has been assigned to the
defeise& aof specific sectors of the
coast and border lines; transporta-
ton conditions, have been studied
carefully in, order that there will
be- nos delay in rushing the troopa.
tot their position and every even
tuallty has been met in detailed
manner. ..z=s
One of the most unique features
Of the Pershing plan is in connec-
ton with the coastal defense. It
Is Splanned--and has been proven
practical-to lay down a barbed.
wire barricade in the surf to assist
IN 1.-THE repulsion and confusion OF
attempted landing parties. Should
1t become necessary, a wire en-
tanglement similar to those en-
Eployedsson the 'battlefields of France
scould be thrown around virtually
1.-THE entire country.
with such an initial organiza.
ttion assured" General Pershing ex-
splained, 1.-THE additional military
units required for the full prosecu-
ton Of serious war can be mobil-
Lied at once and brought to full
strength without disturbance or in
,terruption. With our territory thus
protected against landings in force
at the start and with the machinery
for further military expansion fully
Iorganized, our fleet will be free to
deal with the hostile naval forces
without concern as to possible in
Vasion."
Behind this first line Of defense, |
Pershing plans to mobilize and
train the ''citizen army which is
now receiving in the summer camps |
the rudiments of soldering.
I'VE shall thus be able deliberate. |
.ly to develop our military power to |
any necessary extent without risk
OF serious disaster through surprise
at<the outbreak of the war;" he
said, land without the necessity
of maintaining a burdonsome mill |
tary establishment in time of peace. |
Such a military organization causes
no menace to any other nation but |
assures the impregnability of the
continental United States in the
event of attack by any possible
hostile combination"
Need for such an establishment
was demonstrated strikingly during
the world war, General Pershing
declared. Had one existed the
termination of the war might have
been advanced many months.
1.-The character Of our military
resources as well as our attitude
toward other nations imposes upon
US an initial strategic defensive"
he said. But this does not in
volve renouncing a subsequent of.
fensive. Had the United States in
the spring Of 1917 possessed twenty
five or thirty divisions completely
organized and equipped-but only
sufficiently trained to meet the re-
quirements of this new plan-each
of these divisions would have been
advanced many months as COM
pared with the entirely new divisions
1t was necessary to create. 4
Each of these divisions could
have modified and proceeded at
once with the special training re-
quired by the European situation,
thereby avoiding much of the
cost of extensive concentration |
camps and railroad TRANSPORTATION.
Under such circumstances, the
period for the beginning of an
American offensive operations on a |
large scale would have been greatly |