While thus engaged the sapper troops were subjected to the fire of enemy artillery seeking to prevent the advance of the supporting guns, and, further, they were working within the zone of combat of enemy aviators, the rattle of whose deadly machine guns, as they plunged at low altitude toward a busy working party, was as much to be dreaded as the high-explosive bombs which they dropped.
Behind the combatant Engineer troops, extending through the service of supply to the base ports and across the ocean to the United States was an organization of technical noncombatant supply and administration.
The work of these production, construction, and supply departments of the Engineer service in France was organized in the American Expeditionary Forces under the administration of three divisions of the office of the Chief Engineer. These were the division of military engineering and engineering supplies, the division of construction and forestry, and the division of light railways and roads.
ENGINEERING SUPPLIES.
The division of military engineering and engineering supplies was charged with the procurement, standardization, and distribution of all classes of supplies used by Engineer troops. During the 19 months of warfare this division handled 3,225,121 tons of supplies, storing them and distributing them from immense depots aggregating 25 acres of covered storage and over 756 acres of open storage. This service was further charged with the current investigations into new developments of the art of military engineering, and with the development, operation, and administration of certain technical branches of the American Expeditionary Forces, such as electrical and mechanical troops, water-supply troops, searchlight regiments, etc.
At its seven storage depots in the base, intermediate, and advance sections, this division had in service 23 locomotive cranes, mostly of 15 tons capacity and capable of handling an enormous amount of freight and material at warehouses and cars. The following table of principal items of engineer material shows the kinds and quantities of supplies which were received in France for issue through this division up to December 15, 1918:
| FROM THE UNITED STATES. | |
|---|---|
| Item. | Tonnage. |
| General machinery | 45,454 |
| Iron and steel products | 242,226 |
| Hardware and hand tools | 26,780 |
| Railway rolling stock | 343,888 |
| Railway motive power | 144,066 |
| Lumber | 39,086 |
| Track materials and fastenings | 488,793 |
| Automotive transportation, etc. | 22,127 |
| Horse-drawn transportation | 7,967 |
| Building materials and supplies | 98,671 |
| Liquids | 7,067 |
| Explosives and accessories | 952 |
| Unit accountability | 7 |
| Engineer supplies | 52,106 |
| Miscellaneous office supplies | 2,239 |
| Floating equipment and accessories | 10,093 |
| Material and tools for locomotive and car repair and erection shops | 10,407 |
| Total United States | 1,541,929 |
| FROM EUROPEAN SOURCES. | |
| Tools and equipment | 462,027 |
| Machinery | 13,146 |
| Office supplies and equipment | 1,781 |
| Auto and track supplies | 464 |
| Track and ties | 115,438 |
| Locomotives and cars | 8,649 |
| Water supply, machinery | 6,210 |
| Water supply, supplies | 48,416 |
| Electric service, machinery | 2,342 |
| Electric service, supplies | 4,083 |
| Construction materials | 188,830 |
| Boats and barges | 5,940 |
| Motorcycles and bicycles | 12 |
| General engineer supplies | 581,149 |
| Cement from American Expeditionary Forces mills | 54,860 |
| Barracks | 263,590 |
| Bunks | 9,892 |
| Latrines | 2,143 |
| Miscellaneous | 49,200 |
| Total European sources | 1,818,172 |
| Total United States and European sources | 3,360,101 |
To facilitate the procurement of supplies in the existing world markets, this division established in Paris a purchasing board, having branches in England, Switzerland, and Spain. When the war ended this board had accomplished the tremendous task of buying over 1,800,000 tons of engineer supplies, with a total value of $205,242,728. In addition to this material, our own country furnished over 1,500,000 tons, with a value of $248,993,322. France sold to us through this board 1,234,968 tons, valued at $134,393,870, and England 396,000 tons, valued at $56,145,818. In Switzerland, purchases consisting principally of sectional barracks and technical equipment, totaled 96,867 tons, with a value of $14,643,410. Purchases from Spain amounted to only 797 tons, with a value of $59,630.
Much work was done in standardizing supplies of all classes, so that quantity-production methods could be used in their fabrication, thus promoting economy and stimulating the rapidity of supply.