Many of the American soldiers crowded down to the wharf to greet the last ships of the expedition and the American vessels in the harbor, which had made up previous contingents of the force, joined in the welcome. The late arrival of the supply ships was due not only to later departure from America, but also to the fact that the vessels were slower than those which had come before. The delay caused little anxiety, although it worked temporary inconvenience to the troops, who had been waiting for materials with which to work.
Probably the happiest man in port was Rear Admiral Gleaves, commander of the convoy. From the bridge of his flagship he watched the successful conclusion of his plans with characteristic modesty and insisted upon bestowing the lion's share of credit for the crossing on the navigating officers of his command.
ADVANCE PLANS BRIEFLY SKETCHED.
Sketching briefly the advance plans whereby all units of the contingent had to keep a daily rendezvous with accompanying warships, he said, that, thanks to his navigating officers and despite overcast skies, which made astronomical observations impossible, each rendezvous had been minutely and accurately kept by each unit. The orders he issued at the outset, which comprised scores of details, were observed, the Admiral declared, with such exactness that the contingent units and convoying warships invariably met each other within half an hour of the appointed time.
A big contributing factor in the crossing, according to officers of both branches of the service, was the hearty co-operation between the army and navy. From the time of the departure until the landing there was not the slightest suggestion of friction, and co-ordination played its part distinctively in the success of the expedition.
The startling fact of the entire journey across the sea was that the Navy had won its first victory in driving off attacking submarines. The news of the fight was given out by the Navy Department and the Committee on Public Information, with the announcement of the final landing of the troops and the safe arrival of the supply ships.
The announcement, sponsored by Secretary Daniels, of the Navy, shows beyond the shadow of doubt that the Berlin Admiralty had been "tipped off" that the American expeditionary force was on its way, and had carefully planned to send the transports to the bottom of the Atlantic.
Realizing that an attack might be expected in the war zone, and that every precaution would be taken to ward it off, the Germans moved far out from land, in the hope of catching the American gunners napping. They were fooled. Uncle Sam's jackies were at the guns when the fleet of submarines stuck their periscopes above the waves and trained their torpedo tubes on the lines of transports.
WAVES COVERED WITH SHELLS.
The torpedo boats and other craft opened up and covered the waves with shells. The Germans soon lost at least one submarine and, having had enough of the fight, they disappeared. As the little destroyers dashed straight at the submarines and shot under water explosives in their wake as they submerged, the transports dashed through the night at top speed without having been scratched.