AMERICA'S FIRST CONTINGENT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 12, 9 October 1917, Page 6

AMERICA'S FIRST CONTINGENT

FINE MATERIAL AND ARDUOUS TRAILING MOR'AL EFFECT IN FRANCE (( (By. M: H. Warner Allen.) "Koep Vho seas open, and we will brin an tne vuen you need to smash the Got mans. • 'Phis statement of United State policy was ma d o |, y an American officer an<z it expresses the ideas of the'iuei w -Qo havn already come across the sea as tho first representatives of a liepubli ■ that has a larger population than Franc and the British Isles combined. Thi United States is fortunate, since it troops aro being sen?, not like the Brit ish Army, in what was almost a forlon hope to check the enemy's niiJl on Paris but rather to enable the Allies to givi the coup de grace to an enemy who bai passed tho zenith of possible success, anc who is already hard besot: Consequent ly the Americans have not had to rust the whole of their sniall and finely train od Regular Army into action, and tbej have been ablo to swell the ranks oi that Army with recruits in such a waj that there may be a good leavening oi well-trained men among the recruits, and that there may be a supply of instructors for the raw levies. The new enemy Germany has to face is making her preparations dn the most businesslike lines, and amazingly rapid as has been the arrival pf an American contingent in France, there is no danger that undue haste will interfere with tho full and scientific, development of the vast resources of the United States. It would probably shorten- the war if a selected party of Germans could visit the American camp in France. It is a' pity thai the enemy cannot see the soldiers of thf United States becoming, as it were, the blood brothers of the French poilus. It is not only that, they have broughl the promise of material aid to sorelytried France. Their presence has already had an extraordinary moral cftccl both on the front and behind tho lines. It must bo remembered that Franco has lor nearlv three years had almost the ivhole of ner male population from nineteen to forty-five mobilised. If the life of the country was to be maintained it had become necessary that a certain proportion of men should be sent back to their ordinary occupations. The first relief was given by tho British Army, and already the nuthoriteis have- been able to pledge themselves to the demobilisation in the neat future of some of the oldest contingents. The coming of the Americans moans to Franco that with the support of the existing- British Army and of the potential American Army, even if the war continues for a year or more, her'burden will be lightened. The Americans aro learning war in the best possible school. Tie are rightly proud of their quickness and physical strength, if a little shy at mixing with men who have earned in actual war n renown equal to that of Napoleon's Grando Armee. The Americans I have 6een are splendid material. Big, looselimbed me& for the most part—all tho recruits are volunteers—they show remarkable apMtudo for- learning the art of modem Vvivr. I saw four recruits who had only had twenty-four hours' experience af tne machine-gun, manoeuvring with it 'A though they were out between the lines.with the Bodies in front of them, with V speed and skill that veteran troops might have envied. The three parts of the gun was swung up and carried as though they were a mere feather's weight.- The complicated machinery of the gun had no secret for them, and it was taken down and put up again in a minute or two. So, far as physical fatigue is concerned the training .through which the Americans are passing is no child's play. Their officers are determined to make' them as St as exercise can make them. Their General 6aid: "I am working them hard eight hours a day, and I reckon that no men in the world can do more than that every day without becoming stale." The Americans have also had any amount of route marching. When they left their transports they were naturally rr.ther out of condition, but, already, after a few weeks' training, they 'aro i bsolutely The most interesting part .of their training is that'connected with specialities. They are to fight in accordance with the latest methods, which have been tested on many a .battlefield, and consequently their whole formation, from the platoon upwards, has had to be altered. It says a good deal for the spirit in which tho Americans are going into this war that they began to adopt the system while they wero/still* on board tho transports. They have to learn how to throw the grenade, the hand-to-hand weapon of trench warfare, and there is little doubt that a nation whose national game is baseball will be ablo to pitch the grenade into the German trenches with ease and skill. Then there is the rifle grenade, which is shot over the heads of the grenadiers, and which can make an impenetrable barrage in front of a 6torming party. The fusil mitrailleur; or automatic rifle, is another weapon that requires special skill and training. In the hands of a first-rate soldier it is almost a'-portable- machine-gun, and its use will be an essential part of the American training. Recently there was a tronch digging competition, and all who witnessed it agreed that the Americans had quitted themselves well and had shown a readiness to dig that is Tare in troops who have not learnt by experience that cover is a matter of life and death. During the rest tho American colonel came trotting up. He was carrying a fly switch and his saddle, with its big l leather stirrups, added to the contrast between the soldiers of tho two continents. He was cheery. His men had a lot to learn and they were learning it quickly. They were all determined to make the most of the. experience of their instructors in order that they raej go into battle with the full advantage of everything .learnt in three years of war. A French crack unit has been assigned to the American troops in France, not merely to instruct them, but to exercise with them, and to teach them by close contact and example. These French Boldiers know everything about modern war worth knowing. I saw them at Souville Fort, near • Verdun, just after tho glorious capture of Douaumont, in which they played a- part worthy of their traditions. Later they fought on the Ladies' Way, 1 and now. they ore enjoying their, pleasant task of acting as instructors and friends to the American troops. Their officers are among the smartest officers in the French Army, and every man and officer is. on bis mettle to prove to the newcomers how good the French infantry is. I came upon an American battalion training with a French unit on the top of a hill. They were resting in the shade, and French and Americans were fraternising. The two battalions wero mixed together, and Joffre blue and American khaki blended together and faded awav into the foliage of the rood behind. They were talking together somehow or other, and the Americans woro learning through a weird- jargon of broken French and English what fighting on the Western front is really like. Tho two nationalities had lolled and sweated together, and it was clear that if tho Americans had a certain surprised respect for these simple Frenchmen who had learnt by experience all that there is to be learnt about modern war, tho Chasseurs were already proud of their pupils. Later on that corps will watch tho doings of the American firce, and will rejoice in all their exploits and claim a certain share in them as tutors and instructors. In the training camp it was interesting to watch the American with earnest faces clustering round the French noncommissioned officers who were explaining to them the mechanism of a ma-chine-gun. They obviously understood very quickly. The Frenchmen talked English fluently, and if ever a man was puzzled there was always an American who had understood and who could explain tho difficulty with a word. Never were men more keen to become practical soldiers, and even the old soldiers who already knew much of what the French wero showing were ever on the alert to pick up a "new fact. In handling the machine-guns the Americans had a valuable advantage in their great physical strength. The French had warned them, however, that they must not expect to become effective too soon, and they n-ust ■Un™ *» walk before they could run.