The L'Anse sentinel., 1923-07-13
Uncle Sans Mechanical Ele-
plants Stage Show for
Staff College Students.

Washington.-Uncle Sans herd Of
mechanical elephants recent. showed
on at the army tank school. Camp
Meade. Nd, In a demonstration put
on for the benefit of some seventy Of
hcers and instructors from the staff
school at the army war college.
Half dozen Of the huge, lumber
Ing Mark VIII" giant tanks devel-
'oped during the war. but, too late
to share in the fighting, and a whole
flock Of the six.ton French type which
did get into action participated In Inc
show.
The demonstration is one VI the
series of educational exhibits for the
staff college students, all of whom are
experienced officers whose military in
struction is being rounded out to in
sure an adequate supply of general
officers and men with general staff
qualifications.
Tear Down Trees.
To introduce the student officers to
the possibilities Of modern tank war
fare, Col. S. ID. Rockenbach, COM
mandant of ele tank corps and school,
sent two of his huge 40-ton "Mark
W.T. monsters skirmishing through
the heavy woods on either side of a
narrow roadway. When the signal to
advance was given, the land battle
ships surged forward resistlessly.
tearing great swaths as they passed.
as though twin, narrow gauge cy-
clonse had cut parallel paths of wreck
age f9cough the woodland. Towering
trees went down before them like
reeds, the tanks grinding them re-
niorselessly under the steel-shod rum
hers. At times each tank was knock
fhg over half dozen trees at the
same time, literally roofing them from
the earth and numbering forward over
Srostrate trunks foot or more in
diameter. The sheer power of the
feared liberty engines overcame every
obstacle of ditch or bank or brush or
tree clump, and not an inch to right
or left from the selected course were
the monstefs forced to swerve.
Later a miniature tank attack was
delivered over the rough. sandy field
that is the playground of the school
herd Three mark Wis" led the
drive, their six-pounder guns roaring
and machine guns snarling as they
crept forward behind a smoke bar
rnge hurled from their guns. They
looked like crawling dragons, breath
ing smoke and flame as they shoul-
dered their way over bitches and sand
dunes 10 disappear over ridge be-
yond in clouds of dust and spouts Of
flying debris flung up from land mines
that gave a realistic battle picture.
Little Fellows In Wake.
Behind the big fellows came far
dung line of the little six-tonners,
splitting with machine gun and one
FOUNDER fire. A dozen or more Of the
twc-man tanks made up this line.
Colonel Rockenbach explained to the
visiting officers that what they had
peen thus far were tanks developed
1uring the war. He recalled that In
,he first requisition from General
pershing for tank equipment, the call
Aad come for the elements which
would make up q land fleet, the fight
ing tanks with auxiliary equipment Of
cross country, rOugh-going machines
10 bring up the artillery and supplies.
Since the war. he added, some prog
ress toward filling that requisition
had been made.
At signal the new type, the 15-ton
~medlum tank" Of the future, charged
out into the rough field. 1t fairly
raced over humps and hummocks at
12-mile gait, twisting and turning
like a motorboat. Behind II came a
.seventy- gun riding similar
mechanism and plungng about the
held at high speed regardless of holes
ar bitches. II travelled with equal
speed In either direction. Behind
these two came the cross-country