OCR Text |
Show RETURN OP Wl FJLRCES Demobilization of Expeditionary Expe-ditionary Soldiers Expedited Ex-pedited by Coming of Many Detachments. Pershing Reducing His Army to Strength of Thirty Divisions; Prisoners Pris-oners Surprisingly Few WASHINGTON, Nov. .Demobilization .Demobiliza-tion of the American cxpeditionacy forces, already In progress with the movement homeward of sick and wounded, will be hastened by the return at an early data of eight divisions of national guard and national arm troops, eight regiments of' coast artillery and two brigades of field artillery. ' This announcement was made today by General March, chief of staff, on receipt of dispatches from General Pershing. Total American casualties to November 11, when hostilities ceased, were 235,117. This includes. General March said, killed and died of wounds; died of disease, unclassified un-classified deaths, wounded, prisoners and missing. DESIGNATE DIVISIONS FOR SPEEDY RETURN. The divisions which General March said have been designated by General Pershing Per-shing to return as soon as tho sick and wounded have been moved to the United States are: National guard 31st (Georgia, Alabama and Florida ) ; o-lth (Nebraska, Iowa. South Dakota and Minnesota); CSth (Indiana, (In-diana, Kentucky and West Virginia) ; 39th (Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana). Lou-isiana). National army 76th (New England); S4th (Kentucky, Indiana and southern Illinois); Stith (northern Illinois, including Chicago) ; S7th (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and southern Alabama). The coast artillery regiments to be returned re-turned as soon as possible were announced an-nounced as the 46th. 47 th, 4Sth, 4IHh, 50th, 73rd, 7Uh and 7iSlh. The two field artillery brigades to b brought home arc the 6.".th and tho 163rd. Eighty-two aero squadrons, seventeen construction companies and several special spe-cial units from England will be brought home aw soon as transportation facilities are available, General March said. CASUALTIES SUSTAINED BY AMERICAN FORCES. Casualties sustained by the Americans arc tabulated by General March as follows: fol-lows: Killed and died of wounds, 35,154. Died of disease, 14,S11. Deaths unclassified, 2C04. Wounded, 173.G25. Prisoners, 2103. Missing, HfiO. Toliil, 230,117. While the total losses suffered by 'tha American armv in France at. first glance appea red to be almost double the total estimated bv officers here, as probable, analvsis of the table, it was pointed out, shows that anions the 17M"0 wounded are Included the names of thousands of men whose injuries were so trivial that -they nevpr were admitted to hospitals, and the record of their injuries was kept onlv in companv and regimental dressing stations. The final total of killed, died of wounds or disease, or on the unclassified unclassi-fied death list, the seriously wounded and tho prisoners and inlaying, officers believe, be-lieve, will work out not in excess of 125,000. NUMBER OF PRISONERS IS STRIKINGLY LOW. Thn official figures show also nearly double the number of deaths from disease that have been made public to date. No explanation has been forwarded hy General Pershing, but it is assumed that the unexpected increase is due to tho wide distribution of American and allied hospitals to which the men were sent, making it a slow process to assemble the 'tIi'o number of Americans taken prisoner prison-er by the Germans little more than 2000 is strikingly low, in view of Genera I March's announcement that a total "m round numbers'' of 41,000 Germans had been cap' "red by the Americans. Thq fact that the American armies have been ' moving forward continuously since it en-I en-I Hired 'the battle doubtless accounts lor the great difference. The 1 1 0 men reported as missing prob- (Continued on Page Tnree.) 1 HASTENS Ell OF M FORCES (Continued from Page One.) ably include others who will be found to have been captured, some whose bodies will never be recovered and others who have become lost in the ranks of the French or British forces. The classification classifi-cation also covers the unidentified dead always to be expected when great bodies of troops are engaged. Will Not Sneak In. General March said no report on the organization of the army of occupation had been received, but that the divisions designated by General Pershing for return re-turn were among those lie couid spare immediately. The order in which they will return has not been established, but the chief of staff pointed out that it would take considerable time to bring that number of men borne. lie also gave assurances that the war department had no intention of allowing the veterans of the battlefields of France and Belgium "to sneak into the country" unnoticed, but that timely announcement would tie made so that adequate receptions could be planned. Secretary Baker supplemented General March's outline of demobilization plans later by stating that General Pershing was reducing his army to a strength of thirty divisions and would further reduce it as conditions justify. At an average Btrength of 40.000 men to a division, which would cover all necessary auxiliary forces, this would mean that General Pershing Per-shing would retain 1,200,000 men in France from which the actual army of occupation and Its reserves would be organized or-ganized to provide against any possible emergency. Aero Squadrons Coming. General March showed that virtually all of the supplemental army corps and army troops are to be withdrawn. He said he already had authorized General Pershing to send back railway artillery, army artillery, gas troops and tank corps 1 units in addition to the divisional organizations. or-ganizations. Some of the divisions designated desig-nated by General Pershing are replacement replace-ment units which have been skeletonized by withdrawal of drafts to recruit divisions divi-sions in the line. The aero squadrons to return are numbers num-bers 92, 140, 15G. 167, 177, 1S7-S, 210-11, 21C, 219-20, 225-'2fi. 22S-234. 254. 256. 2f.fl-G0-G1-62-63, 265. 2B7-6S, 2S2, 306 to 310 inclusive. 314 to 321 inclusive, 325, 329 to 338 inclusive, 340, 349, 35G. 361, 371. 377-78. 470 to 473 inclusive. 475 to 479 inclusive. SI 2, S23-24. S31 to 834 inclusive, 836 to 839 Inclusive, 852, 868. 906 and 1107. The construction companies are numbers num-bers 3 to 19 Inclusive, with the exception of company No. 11 and three other special units. Cancellation of war contracts abroad has been loft In the hands of Assistant Secretary Edward R. Stettinius, now in France and designated as the special representative rep-resentative of the war department. On this side Major General Goethals will have charge- of cancellation of all supply contracts con-tracts and Major General Jervey of contracts con-tracts having to do with construction for tho army. Christmas Packages. Regarding the shipment of Christmas packages to the expeditionary forces. General Gen-eral March said the steamer Manchuria sailed from Hoboken yesterday with 16,000 sacks containing 565,000 packages. In addition ad-dition to the 2,000,000 packages which the armv will handle, authority has been given the Red Cross to send from 50,000 to 60,000 more for men who do not receive the packages sent to them or who have no one at home to remember them. General March disclosed that there are in France thirteen American tank battalions bat-talions equipped with the French light type of tank and four training companies equipped with the British heavy type. These are among the units which can be spared at an early date. They include the 301, 302, 303, 30(1, ;:25, 326, 327. 329, 330, 331, :32, 314 and 345th battalions and the 376, 377, 378 and 379th training bat-talipns. bat-talipns. General, March deferred answering all inquiries "as to the reorganization of the regular army until the bill which the general Maff is preparing has been approved ap-proved and laid before congress. He said, however, that there are only 30,000 men now in the army bound by the pre-war seven-year enlistment. He said they will be held to their enlistment contracts while the 700,000 men who volunteered for the duration of the war will be released ex-cepiwhere ex-cepiwhere they re-enlist. First for Germany. Tho American army of occupation may be the first of the major military forces moving toward the- Rhine to set foot on German soil. General Pershing reported today to the war department that his advance ad-vance had readied the line Ingelderf-Detzdorf-Remleh-Schangen, Duchy of Luxemburg, or just across the Moselle from Rhenish Prussia. Tonight or tomorrow tomor-row they will be moving toward Coblenz, the Rhine bridgehead assigned to the United States to hpld over German territory. terri-tory. In fixing Coblenz today as the objective of the American advance, General March furnished a clew to the military sltuulion that is to exist while the peace conference confer-ence proceeds at Paris. On the left the British army of occupation will stand along the Rhine with a spearhead thrown across the river at Cologne and spreading spread-ing like a fan on a thirty-kilometer circle. cir-cle. At Coblenz the Americans will occupy oc-cupy a similar position and at Mainz, still further up the river, the French will hold the third great highway into the heart of Germany. Thus three main roads to Berlin itself, each held by a strong, fully equipped army ready to sweep forward at a moment's mo-ment's notice, will be held open and constitute con-stitute a threat against which there can be no organized resistance. All of Germany Ger-many will stand at the mercy of the occupying forces. General Pershing's communique for Friday Fri-day says: "Headquarters American expeditionary forces, November 22.' "The Third army continued its progress through the grand, duchy of Luxemburg to tho lino liigeldcrf-Delzdorf-Remich-Schengen." History of Operations. The history of operations of the American Amer-ican army in France will be written with a detail never possible in any previous war. Provision for obtaining the most Intimate information of the action of each unit of -the army was made by the war department In ordering "war diaries" to be kept by designated officers for each unit. The information thus obtained. ob-tained. General March, chief of staff, said today, would furnish a day-to-day and hour-to-hour history of the war so far as the American expeditionary forces are concerned. "The historical public narrative," General March said, "will be so complete that it will be impossible for anybody to add to It. It will be a day-by -day and hour-by-hour record of all actions until demobilization." Krom official records so fnr available, General March save the following minimal mini-mal y of the activities of the 26th (New Kngland national guard) division in France: Best in Russia. "During April, May and June the 2Gth was on line in the Woevre (north of Ton!). On June 18 it took an active part in the opening of the allied offensive offen-sive near Chateau Thierry, Torey and Poiiresehes, but after a few days hard fish ting It was withdrawn. It participated partici-pated in the operation near St. Mlhlel on September 12-14. It then moved to the front north of Verdun, whore it was reported re-ported on October 23 in action on the heights east of the Mouse. Here it took part in the final drive of the First American Amer-ican army. When hostilities wero suspended sus-pended at 11 a. m. on November 11, the 26th division was actively encased In breaking down the enemy's defense near La in villers.'' t )f the 3:;ith infantrv (Michigan troops), now with the allied fmvrs, landed land-ed at A n-ban gel, Russia, he said: "We have the word of a British officer that the American troops are the befit troops there (In Russia). Wti should be very glad to have you carry this for the people in Michigan, They have done well." |