San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-11-29
Bv GEORGE BELL JR.
Commander Of the Thirty-third Division
in France.

Commander Of the Thirty-third Division
Copyright, 1925. by George Bell Jr.
Our 5Sth Artillery Brigade, COM
manded by Brigadier General Henry
ID. Todd Jr., consisted of the following
three regiments: The 122d Colonel
Milton j. Forman), the 123d Colonel
Charles G.. Davis), and the 124th
Colonel Horatio B. Hackett). when
finally organized as part of the Thirty
third Division.
Our artillery brigade left Camp 10
gan shortly after the main body oil
the division had gone overseas and ar
rived at Havre, France, June IL.
About a month before the departure
of the brigade one regiment, after hav-
ing trained for nine months as horse
artillery regiment, was transformed as
motorized artillery, and now began the
Job Of exchanging all horseshoers, far
Tiers, stable sergeants and the like for
chauffeurs and mechanics. Four hun
bred trained artillerymen were taken
away and sent to the infantry.
Finally the recently motorized rgi-
ment went overseas. But scarcely
had that regiment drawn its first
breath on French soil when It was re-
baptized as horse artillery, and when
the first trainload OF mares and stall
lions arrived late one evening, the
"chauffeurs" had to change roles and
went down to unload the animals. The
chaos and noise which resulted can
easily be imagined, and order was not
restored until the mares were taken to
one part of the town and the stations
20 another section.
OFFICERS inefficient.
The association OF the Fifty-eighth
Brigade with other divis' IS was not
always as pleasant as it could have
been had the concerned commanders
been efficient. In at least one in
stance it became plain to artillery Off
GERS that either the division commsn-
der or his chief of staff had not the
faintest idea regarding the role and
function Of field artillery in battle.
Our brigade had fired a rolling bar
rage a good part OF certain day
the exact date does not matter-had
moved forward and had taken a posi-
ton to protect the infantry IN the
event Of a night attack by the enemy.
The chief of staff was asked for the
location of the infantry line to enable
the artillerists to afford 1t the neces.
sary protection. To the amazement OF
all, the chief Of staff made reply that
the information was not necessary, as
the infantry had advanced all day and
was too tired to be asked to advance
during the night.
When he finally was made to I'M
derstand that a defensive barrage is
not a rolling barrage, he gave intor-
nation which was entirely wrong
Had the artillery relied on that in
formation and had it been called upon
TO protect its infantry, it would have
hit the front line of the friendly IN
fantry ard probably wiped out its
own men.
That same chief Of staff tele-
phoned a few minutes before nine the
following morning asking the brigade
for n rolling barriage, as his division
was to advance at nine sharp-actual-
" meaning within a few minutes.
When the highest scientific repre-
sentative of an infantry division was
told that rolling barrage could not
be procured in less than two or three
hours, he was quite surprised, and the
attack was delayed an hour in order
to secure at least some artillery help.
Incredible as all this sounds, we
record merely a sad fact. A surgeon
undertaking an operation on human
being without knowing anatomy and
Z without understanding the use OF the
instruments would be sent to prison
as a murderer, but in the American
army an officer is made a division
commander or chief of staff of d.
vision without knowing the functions
and use of artillery-ignorance which
is bound to result In the Unnecessary
killing Of hundreds.
MANY DEEDS OF BRAVERY.
Space forbids to recount countless
deeds of bravery produced by indi-
yiduals, units and by the entire bri-
gade. All in all, our artillery carried
out the same spirit of devotion to
duty that has characterized the rest
of the division.
OF interest to the reader may be
the fact that we were several times
transferred to different army corps,
which would be meaningless were it
not that it betrayed uncertainty in
the actions of that staff which is sup
posed to possess the superior wisdom
TO prepare orders with mathematical
precision as equations of military sit
nations. We were accustomed to this.
We held maneuvers, big and small,
partly as training exercises, partly to
break the monotony of outpost life,
and finally were ordered to Germany
as part Of the Army of Occupation. 3"
Early in December began our adj
vance towards Luxembourg. The
weather, as can be expected at this
time, was exceedingly disagreeable.
We had been compelled TO give up
previous to this march almost 80 per
cent of our transportation, for they
again had TO rob Peter to pay Paul.
and as a consequence the march was
slowly progressing affair Even on
this march orders reached us to re-
lieve a division doing guard duty in
certain Luxembourg areas.
BY the middle of December our
troops were about to end an ex-