Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 193, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1917 — HOME-READING COURSE FOR CITIZEN-SOLDIERS. [ARTICLE]

HOME-READING COURSE FOR CITIZEN-SOLDIERS.

Staff Branches of the Service. Three staff branches which all directly touch every soldier are the medical department, quartermaster corps and ordnance department. The medical department works along two distinct lines: First, it tries to keep everyone in the army in good health, and for this purpose keeps close watch of the cleanliness of camps and buildings, of the quality and cooking of food, and the like; second, it provides ambulances, hospitals and medical service for the proper care of sick or wounded men. The medical department includes the dental corps, the hospital corps and the nurse corps. Its officers are experienced physicians who have passed rigid examinations./ Its enlisted men are chiefly engaged in the difficult and often dangerous work of rescuing the wounded and transporting them to field and base hospitals. The medical department of the American army is regarded as one of the best in the world. A soldier may feel assured he will receive every possible ’ attention in case of need. The quartermaster corps is the business manager of the army. It furnishes food, clothing, and most kinds of equipment'; provides horses and mules; arranges for transportation; takes charge of money, buys supplies, pays troops, and keeps on hand stores of supplies. The officers of the quartermaster corps must be able business men. Many of them have held important business positions. The enlisted men of the corps are skilled in such occupations as blacksmithing, painting, driving teams and trucks, baking bread, and the like. Of the same general character is the work of the ordnance department, which furnishes the pins, ammunition, and other supplies needed for fighting. Several times during the present war whole armies have been forced to retreat or have suffered severely because of the lack of ammunition. The~ quantity of ammunition used daily is enormous. During the French offensive of June, 1917, 12,600,000 shots were fired from artillery guns. In the actual theatre of. war the ammunition service is under the control of the field artillery. • Bringing up supplies of ammunition to troops and to batteries in action is one of the most essential of all duties on the battlefield. The wagons or trucks carrying ammunition must be driven when necessary within easy reach of the firing line. Sometimes there is an opportunity here for the display of resourcefulness and courage far above the ordinary requirements of the service. At the second battle of Ypres in April, 1915, the Third Battery in the Third Brigade of the Canadian Field Artillery galloped into position within a few hundred yards of the German front, where they did gallant work fighting against overwhelming odds to hold back the enemy’s onslaught. After a time it became necessary to bring up high explosive shells. One of the Canadian gunners tell how they were brought: \ “The ammunition wagon containing them came galloping across the open field under a heavy fire, the men lashing their horses .and yelling like mad. The horses were simply crazed. Some of them had been hit with bullets and when they neared our guns the men could not stop them. It looked as though they would go right on to the German lines. There was only one thing to do: The rider of the leading horse drew his revolver and shot them dead. They went down, with the other horses and men and the wagon rolling over and over them. With the high explosive shells we tore the trees to bits and left the whole place open; then our infantry, quickly following up the advantage, drove the’ Teutons back.” When the three fighting arms and the nine staff corps are all brought together under one control they form what we may call “the fighting team.” This is the team in which you and every other soldier must be ready to play your part. The smallest Unit in which all of these of the service is represented is known as a division. Under present regulations an infantry division is made up of three infantry brigades; one brigade of field artillery; one regiment of cavalry; one regiment of engineers; one battalion of signal corps; one squadron pf airplanes; together with field trains and combat trains carrying rations, baggage, ammunition, and all kinds of supplies. A division, therefore, is in itself a complete small army. When at full strength it includes 28,334 officers and men. A field army is made up of a number so such divisions. !