History of the World War

by Jr. Francis A. March; Richard J. Beamish

[Illustration: Photograph]
Photo from Underwood and Underwood. N.Y.
A LETTER FROM HOME
In thousands of France's little stone houses this scene has been
duplicated. In the towns and villages soldiers were assigned or
"billeted" to the houses of the inhabitants with the result that a
deep mutual respect grew up between the two nationalities.

During the year, the most important in the history of the country both from a military and civil standpoint, there have been four heads of the General Staff: Major-General Hugh L. Scott, from the outbreak of the war until his retirement, September 22, 1917; General Tasker H. Bliss, from that date until May 19, 1918; Major-General John Biddle, Acting Chief of Staff at periods during the absence of General Bliss in France, from October 29, 1917, to December 16, 1917, and from January 9, 1918, to March 3, 1918. I assumed the duties of Acting Chief of Staff on March 4, 1918, became Chief of Staff May 20, 1918, and have continued on that duty since.

It was evident, as the war progressed, that the General Staff was acting under an organization and in accordance with regulations which were not only unsuited to the duties and responsibilities confronting it, but were wholly out of date and were not suited to any General Staff organization. Successive revisions of the orders under which the General Staff was acting were made as events demanded, until the experience of the year crystallized the organization of the General Staff into that set forth in General Order No. 80 of the War Department. This order divides the work of the General Staff into four primary divisions: 1. Operations; 2. Purchase, Storage, and Traffic; 3. Military Intelligence; 4. War Plans. Each of these divisions is under the direction of a director; who is Assistant Chief of Staff and is a general officer.

OPERATIONS DIVISION

The Operations Division is under the charge of Major-General Henry Jervey, United States army, as Director of Operations and Assistant Chief of Staff. This division is a consolidation of the former Operations Committee and Equipment Committee, which pertained to the War College under the previous organization. The Operations Division has had charge of the increase in the personnel of the army during the year. On June 30, 1917, the Regular army consisted of 250,357 officers and enlisted men. On August 5,1917, 379,323 officers and men of the National Guard were drafted into the Federal service. There were a few special drafts of small numbers of National Guardsmen into the Federal service after August 5, 1917. During the period covered by this report this division handled the calls into service of men obtained under the draft, the organization of these men into divisions and units necessary for the army, and turned over for shipment overseas up to November 8, 1918, 2,047,667 men. The grand total of men in the army from returns for the period ending October 15th is 3,624,774. This force was organized into divisions, the proper proportion of corps, army, and service of supply troops, and of replacement camps and training centers for Infantry, Field Artillery, and Machine Guns in the United States. Central officers' training schools were organized at each of the replacement camps. Replacement camps and training centers for the various staff departments were also organized. Development battalions were organized at all division camps and large posts and camps for the purpose of developing men of poor physique and the instruction of illiterates and non-English-speaking men of the draft. During the fiscal year 5,377,468 officers and men were moved by railroad to and from the camps.

The Operations Division has during the year also handled all matters connected with the adoption of new types of equipment, fixing allowances for various units, the preparation of tables of equipment for them, and the distribution and issue of equipment, and the determination of priorities of such issue.

It has supervised and studied the needs of camps and construction work therein, and this work in general has been characterized by marked ability and devotion to duty.

PURCHASE, STORAGE AND TRAFFIC DIVISION

The Division of Purchase, Storage and Traffic is under the charge of Major-General George W. Goethals, United States army, as Assistant Chief of Staff and Director of Purchase, Storage and Traffic. This division was organized by merging divisions previously created, and which had been called "Storage and Traffic" and "Purchase and Supply." The new division thus organized was subdivided into Embarkation Service, Storage, Inland Traffic Service, and Purchase and Supply Branch.

Embarkation.—At the outbreak of the war the Quartermaster's Department had charge of the transportation of troops and supplies and continued to exercise these functions until August 4, 1917, when they were transferred to a separate division of the General Staff, specially created for the purpose, and designated as the Embarkation Service. As already noted, this was subsequently merged with the Storage and Traffic Division.