| Show a rl general ener 1931 19 in all sova ii I 1 a by the III ignots north h Amor A 1 leso I story of the th e A E fe world tend 11 habit 10 its 1 0 in part by bu gen john johnf pershing CHAPTER continued lafoch abat we beed need now ti to infantry specially especially th tha british on account of the present crisis that 0 ie Is why by the supreme war council it ait versailles recommended d that all tonnage tonn tige be devoted to that purpose for the time being I 1 bope hope that america ray tray send over na as much infantry as possible daring the next three month tin the other arms 0 to complete your divisions con can 0 come afterward hat do you think thin ir of that plan pershing I 1 chanut commit my belf tu to such a proposition if noth ing but infantry and machine gunners are brought over to the tile total of it will wa 11 be october or november No ember before the artillery and this inter auxiliary troops could arrive and we could not foresee the formation matton fo e made it a of in Aw american erlean army until acx olt ne patron spring fochi think your calculation Is rather pessimistic for we could beala bringing your other troops in august but without considering that point we e can furnish you with artillery and its personnel and ton su aport can have your division reconell recon etl sill buted beginning with october what would you propose in to this connection pershing 1 think we should lira it the transportation of infantry to may ilay and that the artillery and aux auxiliary illary troops should come in june they should not arrive more than a anth mentis later than the 1 cu infantry under what conditions ibi ibs iniste would you employ the american la in arch support supports fantry units elastic focha flaak decision slon cannot be ake ik in 1908 made on that that will on lilt city ut evidently depend upon the degree 1 of instruction of the units in the crisis that actually confronts the of the utah allied armies itis lvis effectives that ont nt station at we vve lack the method of employing I 1 bulum 7 these units Is a question to be han bul buletin etin died in due course and according flotation rotation and to their effic lenLy ts bulletin pershing I 1 would like to have udy of the conditions under which these thes e in 1 san units are to be employed determined cental farm now and 13 fix the time dur ing which alch the relents re ments and bri gades will III be used separately 61 ac foch make your proposition on au that I 1 then the details of M the system that was being followed where our divisions were in train ing with iab the french and the file plan I 1 power agreed upon with the british I 1 added that it was fully understood fript that if an emergency should arise library at awhile while our troops were in training y rare callec they would go into battle as part cripes dating i of the divisions with which they were serving tury perking refute refutes to content consent tt r fr general foch then said ie brooms 1 I do not doubt the excellence of the method but in the crisis S blue bird j through which we are passing I 1 re 4 turn to the decision of the supreme calin war council and I 1 ask you to trans i as imported port during may june and ana july about 1550 1650 only infantry and machine gun s brought in units will you consent r rading corn com ln no I 1 do not consent not made in I 1 propose for one month to ship the middle nothing but infantry and machine tury earth gun units and that the ober t ture e earlier arlier aral u and service of the rear troops centary pot to correspond staffordshire foch if you adopt the plan I 1 naury propose you would have by july 31 more american infantry i pershing lne you said just now RIC CO that you would furnish the arall ER lery and even artillerymen artilleryman artillery men which would be joined with our infantry UTAH k i to complete our divisions then why villy not consent to transport our antu intuition ilon artillery personnel along with our i applied to lD infantry fantry arto to perform loeh 1 I repeat that it Is the in a particular p fantry of which we ae have the great bation arises est need at this time I 1 would like ille er hand lm to have general bliss tell us the of knowing considerations which bich led ita to the decision taken by the war 1 I 1 whether it supreme council at versailles lal jai moral or bliss the collective lote note recommended to the united states to abill at send only infantry until the suu EAR LAKE ertme u war council should give in 21 to the cos cent n the cing cini tennis government of the united states in conformity with this note and with I 1 meals t the recommendation of secretary r baker consented to tufit plan ai As far for ai as the employment of the units on the front ii Is concerned the question should be decided by general according to agreement with the commander in chief to n hose irmy army they may be attached foch pear fears Dl cleaster easter I have been discussing this question of our units for the last eight months mont lie first with ith general ifrain and then with alth marshal wg haig the method 11 agreed greed upon leads naturally to the forma tion ot of constituted american divisions general foch roch said he wished to aw see divisions constituted and an american army formed as large as possible but the policy be he was vias then advocating would have made it impossible to form an american army without serious delay if ever continuing he said nut but do not forget that we are in the midst of a hard battle if it we do not take steps to prevent the ill disaster taster which Is threatened at present the american army may arrive IQ in france to ond find the british Brill sli pushed lato into the sea and the french driven back behind the loire while it tries in vain to organize on lost battle fields over the graves of al lied soldiers he lie ras as dured that it was fully understood that if it an emergency should arise white while our troops were in training with the british or french they would go into the battle battie and dy do their part I 1 then gave him the tile number to be shipped dur ing may and told him that it had been agreed between the british and ourselves to consider the ques tion for june later I 1 informed him that the british shipping au an thorit les now thought it would be possible within the next three month months to transport to france men our troops surprised with reference to the german at talk lick at on the twenty sixth division the night of april 2021 20 21 mentioned at the beginning of this chapter that point was as the focus of a german raid covering a three kilometer front extending west from the bols de Rem Remle leres it came come during a heavy tog fog and v was as a complete surprise to our troops who were considerably outnumbered was taken by the enemy but operation cooperation co was reestablished throughout the diva slon sion and the original front was recaptured on the following day in this affair we ue lost one officer 80 enlisted men killed 11 officers enlisted men wounded 80 30 of beers enlisted men gassed and five off officers leers enlisted men missing and prisoners CHAPTER the question of the shipment of american troops ond and particularly their allotment to the allied armies bad had assumed very great imbor tance in the lail minds rids of the allied leaders ic idem accordingly g a session of the su preme onnell was as called at Ab abbeville beville hay 1 1918 and premier clemenceau opened the meet ing bs by ref eTing fort forthwith bilth to the previous recommendation of the cou councils military representatives cs so to the disposition of american troops the military representatives he began expressed the opinion in their joint note no 18 that only infantry and machine gun units should be sent to france for the present since then the agreement between lord milner and general pershing signed at london april 24 1918 has intervened this agreement makes a change it had been understood at vcr ver sallies that america would send men per month which the french and englesi Engl s armies would share equally under the milner pershing agreement it appears none so go to france the I 1 trench rench have not been consulted we might suppose that in com bompensa pensa a n ta da tm A in tr awn ps 12 in june bould be given to france but it now rs they are als to join the british I 1 wish to pro fit test that this Is not 1 I am not discussing the figure of if men I 1 am prepared to accept that theae these rien go to the british in may I 1 im am asking to receive the same number of troops injure injune in june there are close to 1 on americans in france at present but only five divisions or about men can be considered as combatants that li Is not a satisfactory prop proportion lord milner aloie arc much incensed at al 11 a tate merit ment aich he considered quite unjust at Clemenceau has lias intimated he asserted that here was something lovs about the london I agreement I 1 bellegie that an explanation Is 13 necessary lie ile appears to believe that the agreement we signed Is a rei reversal ersal of the supreme atar ar councils deamon I 1 know only of a joint note embodying the rec of the tile military representatives but it ti 13 of no value without the approval of the governments ern ments I 1 besides il 11 Clemen cean seems to be under the impression that hallof the american troops were ere to go to france and the other half hall to england I 1 do not recollect any such decision all that general pershing and I 1 have urged Is that infantry and machine gunners should be sent to france we had bad no intention of depriving france of any american troop troops I 1 do not know that anything has been said re gardin gardlin their allotment on arrival in france we simply wanted to hasten their coming pershing a upholds independence in maling malling the agreement with lord milner I 1 interposed 1 I 1 had in mind bring ling troops as rapidly as possible po sible to meet the existing situation lord Is quite correct in stating that there was as no agreement as to the allocation of american troops either to the british or french armies there Is no agreement between my government and anybody else that a single american boedler shall be sent to either the british or french there Is in la existence an agreement between mr lloyd george and myself that six divisions should be brought to t brance ranee M clemen beau will remember thai that I 1 epode to him about going to london to ar range for the shipment of amerl can troops to I 1 ranee rance and that he approved because it would expedite their arrival I 1 also spoke to gen eral petain about ILI IL clemenceau Is insistent M clemenceau remembered my speaking of it it but disregarding his previous approval continued his objections saying we have been informed that nothing had been decided on at versailles but something hns has been decided on at london and france was closely concerned in this it was decided that six divisions should go to tre tte british well I 1 will ill not at aggue gue about that you an dounce to us artillery for the month of june where four are in alliance two of them cannot act independently athing ot hing has been provided for prance france in june the appointment of general foch as commander in chief Is not a mere decoration this post in voles grave responsibilities he must meet the present situation he must provide for the future 1 I accept what has been done for may but I 1 want to know what Is intended for june junei M Clemen cetru said the french had not rec received elved certain specialists they had asked for and also quoted from the conversation I 1 bad had held with general foch with ref arence to sending over troops in may and june mr lloyd george georget then h en said 1 I I am of M Clemen cenus ion the interests of the allies are identical we must not lose sight slight of that otherwise the unity of corn com mana man has no mea meaning nang we must W hat L b KA 1 f fw r ta A mon cause ahat Is the situation today the british army has bad had heavy city utah LOCATION AMERICAN DIVISIONS MAY 1419 18 nests birds pres 0 lors or con bruxelles numerals these would ire circled numerals those not in homes ir so li 0 so MILES n bremy pos 1 0 1 1 0 so kilometers arras 0 it ek will be r the beat why you Ari liens quentin f amilar it sedan story ii mn P 0 sons reims e city if 93 GERMANY a in this abdun metz meau chilon bar le duo ea fejt 11 actris 0 inanc 1101 M t tic 42 Y that so neu hateau opie OPI should exclaims a 4 hat alms its N chaum to depinal I 1 colm r 3 its place I 1 n anger for lent thing C E mul buse lisam tours ere the fair set in coun n expression fl iners 4 bilal iia A i 1 iii i ii fighting and has buffered suffered heavy loises lossel all available draff drafts have been bent sent to france and we shall bead send ill all who are available in hay may and june this would be the cage case even if oil all the americans who arrive artive in europe during these months should be assigned to the british army at present certain british dial have been so severely bandied handled that they cannot be reconstituted general foch mil ft remember the tile number yes ten I 1 foch answered As we cannot again put them in line mr lloyd george continued they mast most be replaced by new units the tile germans are now with the object of using up our if they can do this vilt hout exhausting their own on reserves they will some time leal deal us a blow which we shall not be able to parry in ili the tile meantime I 1 suggest that the decision for the allotment of the american troops for june be taken op up when that month arrives in may in fact either of our to no armias inay may be hard pressed that Is the one which ch should be re enforced it Is not desirable now to decide how troops arriving in june should el be allotted foch also cites frances france aced to this foch replied it la is undeniable that the british army Is now exhausted so to let it receive I 1 immediate m mod late enforcement re it in hay may but lately the french have had crave grave losses notably at and both during the last few days have been if fighting shoulder to shoulder so american aid Is 1 now needed almost as much for france as for great britain above this question of aid to the french or to the british Is aid to the allies ae e are agreed that tho american urmy army Is to enforce re the british army nt at once in june we too shall need infantry and machine gun U units so let os us make the agreement for june at once by baying saying the fame same shipment of irfan try and machine guns as its for may if there is tonnage available ve e devote it after that to the elements necessary for filling up the american divisions I 1 am sure that general pershing with his generosity and bis his breadth of vie view will grant the fairness of this view and nill extend for june the agreement decided upon for may whereupon mr lloyd geo deo A gave support to the principle arv log ing that british recruits would nit not be available until august and he understood in der stood it was the same for france when both would be able to furnish their own recruits he ile then asked that the may program be extended over ever june julie la in which al U clemenceau joined pershing Per thing insists on own army la in I 1 said 1 I do not suppose that we are to understand that the american army is to be entirely at the dis dosal of the french and british commands bf clemenceau that of course this was not the intention continuing I 1 said speaking for my government and myself I 1 must insist upon our intention to hae haie our own army the principle of unity of command must prevail in our amitay it must be complete under its own corn com mand I 1 should like to have a date fixed when hen this will be realized I 1 should like to make it clear that all american troops are not to be with ith the british as there are 11 e divisions with the french now and there vi |
