Evening star., 1928-04-01

had made 1t necessary TO man tnem
with officers and men many OF whom
had never been to sea before. The
sub chaser crews contained probably
less than ] per cent OF graduates OF
Annapolis and less than per cent Of
reached the designated overseas oper-
ating ground was great tribute TO
American pluck. intelligence and
adaptability. That they were success
full in their subsequent operations
against the highly efficient enemy sub
marines Is even more creditahle, since
1t involved every element OF naval EN-
cheney. from the operation and MAIN
tenance of the individual vessels to
highly complicated naval tactics.
Men Paid Tribute.
"One captain In the Regular Navy
wrote of them in his official report as
follows
There are many details that might
be elaborated upon, such as the con-
stant employment at night In one OF
the most crowded marine traffic lanes
In the world. the dangerous character
of the coast: the severity of the weather
encountered; the wet condition of the
boats due to leaky decks. the almost In
tolerable gas fumes which in some In
stances gave rise to severe cases Of suf-
location: the frequent seasickness: the
almost total lack OF recreation and even
Of comfortable living conditions when on
rest periods. / confidently believe that
no other class OF personnel In the serv-
ice was subjected to such test of their
stamina and devotion Insignificant as
these little ships may appear in the
broad view, IL the prestige OF the United
States Navy could be conceived as rest
ing solely upon the qualities displayed
by them, 1t would not suffer"
Many details of successful attacks on
enemy subs IL contained In the history,
and information from Austrian sources
was TO the effect that two weeks after
arrival OF the American vessels. II was
impossible to compel an Austrian crew
TO take a submarine through the mine
barrage. and that the Germans were
able TO force their crews TO run the
risk only with the greatest diffeulty.
This was BECAUSE during practically
every passage submarines were bombed.
In common with several other American
projects, Capt. Knox says. the sub
chaser effort had scarcely gotten fair
start before the Armistice was declared.
Doubtless Germany saw the hand
more anxious 10 sue for peace before
decision OF arms couid be reached.
Air Force Increased.
The first Naval Air Force to land in
France consisted OF officers and SO
men. In June, 1917, and this had ex-
panded TO the time OF the armistice TO
100 officers, $4,000 enlisted men, 400
planes. so kite balloons and 3 dirigibles.
During this period II constructed upon
wholly undeveloped sites ~ operating
bases and made $4,000 flights. 5000 Of
them war flights. the whole covering
900 900 miles Of flying. almost wholly
over the area OF submarine operations,
and In bombing enemy naval bases. In
cluding those OF the submarines. This
work, Capt. Knox says, was OF inestini-
able value.
He says that the Marines we're the
frst American troops TO 90 into the
fighting and check the enemy at Bel
leau Wood. adding that this event de-
riyes Its importance principally from
its having turned the psychological tide
of all Europe. II marked the zenith OF
German confidence and success, and
the nadir of Allied dependency and re-
verses He then details other Marine
activities and tells of the other naval
work on shore. consisting OF the naval
battery OF big guns. 10 augment the
Army. as follows:
Meantime, the Naval Railway Bat
terry, under Rear Admiral Plunkett. had
arrived at st. Nazaire during July and
August. 1915. These Ave guns were OF
greater power and larger range than
any others on the Allied line They
were intended for the bomhardment OF.
enemy railroad bridges, tunnels, am
munition dumps and other obJcctives
beyond the reach Of ordinary artillery.
From headquarters at the artillery base
at Haussimont the guns were "farmed
out" as called for by the strategic stu
alton: but, In general, two batteries
operated with the French armies and
three with the American Army. A total
OF 762 shots were hred at the enemy
at ranges from $4,000 TO 10000 yards.
Wrecked Railroad Line.
"The first shot was against Terguier
on September . In support of French
operations During the next month two
guns were repeatedly In action In the
Laon vicinity. firing at ammunition
dumps and railroad yards. Here l76
shots were fred before the targets
passed into Allied hands. and were
found 10 have been seriously damaged
by the naval shells For example one
hit had been found SUFFICIENT To wreck
railroad line OF three tracks for y
distance Of 100 feet, tearing up the rails
shattsrlng the ties and blowing large
crater In the roadbed.
The most important work OF the
batteries was their bombardments dur
ing October and November OF LOnguyon,
M0ntmedy and CONTAINS and other CEN
ters along the German main line nf
communication west Of Metz To Sedan
The cutting OF this line was the princi-
pal objective OF the last great American
drive OF the war, In reporting the nnal
accomplishment. Gen Pershing wrote,
The stfategloai goal which WAS our
highest hope was gained We had cut
the enemy's main line Of c0mmunica"
ton and nothing but surrender or an
afmlhtice could save his army from
complete disaster
Weeks before the line WAS cut II had
been under bomhafdmenl by American
naval guns and for the FIRST time dur"
Ing the war casualties and tiaffic ln-
lerruptinns had occurred there. The
assigned targets were struck frequently
M0ntmsdy was set on FIRE. Railroad
trafilc was completely held up repeated
iy, not only during the actual firing but
for ar 10 hours afterwards, with
their main line OF supply thus impaired
the Germans could not exert their fuil
strength against our advancing tf00pA
In their operations the batteries
we're repeatedly shelled and bombed by
the Germans. Only minor damage was
done t0 our material Eight men were