The Centennial at the Grass Roots: Steve Miller Documents Camp Meade, Part 1

Steve Miller
at Cantigny, France

My friend, regular contributor, and former SAC Air Force and traveling mate Steve Miller is simply the best at in-depth photographic studies of WWI subjects.

Recently Steve visited Fort Meade, MD, which was built during the war as one of the cantonments to train America's new army. In those days, it was known as "Camp Meade, of course." All the photos are Steve's, except the first old image which I found at National Archives.

Part 2, will  appear in tomorrow's edition of Roads to the Great War.

Camp Meade Nears Completion, 1917

Many Units Passed Through Camp Meade on Their Way to France

Photos of Some of the Units, Including the 79th "Lorraine" Division

The Hello Girls of the Signal Corps in Paris

Camp Meade Has Always Had a Strong Connection with the Signal Corps
Here Is Some Captured German Communications Equipment from the War

There Are Many Remembrances of the War Around Fort Meade

Today Fort Meade Has an Outstanding Museum

Tomorrow We Will Look at the Museum's Collection

Why Did They Attack Shoulder-to-Shoulder in 1914?

Depiction of a French Attack at Charleville, 1914

Canadian Historian Rob Engen commented on this in our September 2009 issue of Over the Top:

A.  The Generals Didn't Quite Comprehend the Lethal Firepower of the New Weaponry

From the midpoint of the 19th century on, technological developments increased the lethality of the battlefield many times over, even if armies were slow to appreciate the transitions. Machine guns and rapid-fire artillery in particular created "fire-swept zones" on the field that made a frontal attack extremely dangerous.

Cadavers of Attacking German Soldiers, Battle of the Marne, 1914

B.  The Generals Had Their Doubts About Their Conscripted Soldiers

There was also legitimate concern [by the general staffs] about whether dispersion and the necessary delegation of small-group tactics could prove at all effective. Skirmishing was, correctly, seen as a form of warfare that required well-trained and disciplined soldiers and junior officers who possessed a great deal of imagination and personal initiative. The French tactical problem was that after 1870 an average of 70 percent of their army was made up of first-year conscripts. The industrial age's creation of mass conscript armies made it difficult to envisage such green troops ever being sufficiently trained to conduct effective small- group actions, with the resultant fear that, come actual battle, they would be torn apart when they conducted such actions badly.

As historian Hew Strachan put it, "Nobody in France ever really doubted the necessity of open order, but many did question the quality of the French soldier's training. The solidity of close order had helped to compensate for the conscript's lack of skill." So as the immediate lessons of 1870 faded, the proponents of mass and the frontal attack, such as Colonel Ardant du Picq, began to move French tactical doctrine back in  their direction. The notorious French infantry regulations of 1884 and 1895 enshrined this, commanding that attacking units should advance coude à coude ("elbow to elbow") not breaking formation to take advantage of cover, but assaulting en masse to achieve the maximum shock effect, and ride the wave of high morale, with rifle and bayonet. This was enshrined as a way to sustain the offensive (which was exaggerated to be all important in war), stoke the fires of morale and moral superiority of the French soldiers, and make good on the conscripts' otherwise questionable

training.

Desert Anzacs Reviewed by Bruce Sloan

Desert Anzacs: The Under-Told Story of the Sinai Palestine Campaign 1916–1918

by Neil Dearberg

Glass House Books, 2017

Neil Dearberg has based Desert Anzacs on research, analysis, more than ten years of travel and living throughout the Middle East, plus 15 years of military service. He has presented a part of WWI history of which many of us know little. As he points out,

Anzacs went to Gallipoli and exposure to incompetent British generals and a determined Johnny Turk. Evacuated to Egypt, they would once more face incompetent British generals and a determined Johnny Turk as they crossed the heated sands of Sinai.

Two Australian Lighthorsemen Pause at Mt. Meredith in the Bleak Sinai

The troops continually faced the hesitancy of the British War Office—until Allenby. After devastating failures at the Dardanelles, Kut in Mesopotamia, and stalemate in France, British morale was "rock bottom" while Turkish morale was "stratospheric". Moreover, in defending the Suez Canal, General Murray split his forces into smaller, isolated pockets forward of the canal, thus ensuring that they would be defeated—until the appointment of Henry Chauvel.

General Henry Chauvel, an Australian, became "commander of Anzac, British, and dominion soldiers, the first non-British officer ever to do so." This was "an unheard-of honor that horrified traditional caste-conscious relics of the empire." The battle of Romani would be the first bright spot in 1916 for British arms, after which the combined forces chased the Turks east into Beersheba and Gaza, on to Palestine and Jerusalem. Then, in 1918, after two failed "raids" across the Jordan River (More than "raids", these were failed campaigns, whitewashed for the War Office), and coordinating with the Northern Arab Army, Amman was captured.

A three-pronged attack, including "the great ride", "the greatest cavalry operation of all time,", or "the greatest mounted ride in history", by nearly 30,000 horsemen of the Desert Mounted Corps, faked out the Turks and ensured victory and a northward chase to Damascus and beyond. The spoils were 75,000 prisoners (Turkish soldiers along with numerous Germans, including staff officers), more than 360 guns, 800 machine guns, 3,500 transport animals, rolling stock, trucks, a wagon loaded with gold and silver, plus other booty.

This three-week operation was the culmination of three years of work in which the Suez Canal was saved, major contributions were made to the Arab forces and their support of Sharif Hussein's revolt, the Holy Land was reclaimed after 730 years of Muslim control, and a springboard was provided for victory in the west.

The Sinai campaign "showed that Australians and New Zealanders continued the spirit of mateship, pride and national identity, begun at Gallipoli." However, while praising the "other ranks" and many of the lesser British officers, the author is devastatingly firm in his disdain for most senior British officers until Allenby. After all, he IS Australian.

Bruce Sloan

Recommended: Turning the Pages of Patriotism with the American Library Association

From the New York Historical Society
by Tammy Kiter

Soldier amidst newspapers. Letter dated January 7, 1918.  Salvator Cillis Papers.

Thoughts of World War I do not necessarily conjure up images of soldiers reading for leisure. Rather, we tend to recall seeing photographs of brave young men engaged in trench warfare and scenes of the horrific aftermath of brutal battles. But through the efforts of the American Library Association, thousands of U.S. servicemen and Allied forces were given an opportunity to step away from the training camps and battlefields and into the pages of a book, magazine, or newspaper sent from the home front.

Founded in 1876, the American Library Association (ALA) is the oldest and largest library organization in the world. The War Department’s Commission on Training Camp Activities extended an invitation to the ALA to provide library service to soldiers and sailors in America, France, and several other locations. In 1917 the American Library Association established the Committee on Mobilization and War Service Plans, later known as the War Service Committee. ALA was among seven welfare groups associated with the Commission; together, they were often referred to as the “Seven Sisters”. The other partner organizations were as follows: Young Men’s Christian Association, Young Women’s Christian Association, Salvation Army, Jewish Welfare Board, Knights of Columbus, and War Camp Community Service.

ALA’s Library War Service programs were directed by Librarian of Congress, Herbert Putnam, and later by Carl H. Milam, who earned the nickname of “Mr. ALA”. At the time of the Library War Service’s inception, ALA had a membership of only 3,300 members and an annual budget of just $25,000. Yet, through the dedication and perseverance of both library employees and American citizens, they were able to accomplish amazing feats during a tumultuous time in U.S. history. In a guide published by the ALA War Service, the author notes that “previous wars had shown us how to equip and administer commissary departments and canteens, but they taught us little of present day value as to what the men would need in the way of literary or intellectual equipment.” He goes on to state, “Not only do the students in khaki call for more than the soldiers in blue and gray, but more is demanded of them in return.”

American Library Association War Poster

Every library in the United States was urged to participate not only as a collection site and repository for donated books, but as a source of promotion and publicity for the campaign. Librarians were encouraged to join the “Dollar-a-Month-Club” whereby they contributed their own money to the cause. Library staff catalogued books and placed a War Service label in the front cover and circulation card in the back. Volunteers were solicited to sort, pack, and ship the materials to military members at home and abroad. Citizens were invited to place a one cent stamp on the cover of their magazines and place them in the local postbox to be mailed to our servicemen. 

In a 1918 letter Salvator Cillis, a soldier at Camp Upton, Long Island, writes: “You have no doubt seen the little notice printed on all the periodicals, about when the reader gets through to put a one cent stamp and it will be sent to soldiers and sailors. Well in one corner of our barracks there are several piles of them…” His accompanying sketch (page top)  brings the scene to life. Cillis continued to send heartfelt, humorous letters with sketches home to his friends and family, even during his time in the trenches.

Continue reading the article here:

http://blog.nyhistory.org/turning-the-pages-of-patriotism-with-the-american-library-association/

Caricature at War

Sorting through my hard drive filled with images I came upon a folder titled "Caricatures."  Below are the image contained in that folder. According to the online WWI Encyclopedia, the term “caricature”, is derived from the Old Italian word caricare which means “to exaggerate” and “to attack vehemently”. Thus the normal task of a caricaturist is to attack and to ridicule society and government, usually in an exaggerated or distorted way. Illustrative caricatures are usually more aggressive than [written] articles. The press and propaganda agencies of all the nations (including neutrals) deployed caricatures as an instrument of combat. However, not all the specimens presented here are derogatory toward their subject, and I hope you find some of them amusing. They are arrayed in rough chronological order.

Tirpitz as Neptune, God of the Sea

Jack Tar Lloyd George Reads John Bull the Riot Act 

The Kaiser Imprisoned by Burial Crosses

A Prim Miss Woodrow Wilson Must Choose Between the
Dove of Peace and the Eagle of Preparedness

A Fork-Tongued Snaky Woodrow Wilson as Viewed in the German Press

From All I've Read About General Edmund "The Bull" Allenby, 
This Placid Portrayal Seems to Miss Its Target

Clemenceau, Soldier of the Rear Area, Rooting-Out Defeatists from
Their Connection to the Front

Germany's View of the Allies' Leadership, About Early 1917

Multi-Themed White Russian Cartoon Featuring Trotsky

This Is a Postwar Painting from the National Gallery That I Think
Captures Something Essential About Pershing's Character

How the Kitchener's New Army Was Recruited & Prepared for Battle

When war was declared in August 1914, many believed it would be "over by Christmas." Horatio Kitchener, however, suspected differently and set about creating his "New Armies" to fight in the long term.

At the start of the War, the Army consisted of just 700,000 soldiers, a tiny force compared to the mass armies of France, Germany and Russia. Lord Kitchener, then British secretary of state for war, instigated a mass recruitment campaign, calling for 100,000 new recruits to bolster British forces. He wanted to transform the nation’s small, specialist-trained force into a mass civilian army.

Showing Up to Volunteer

In the wave of patriotism that followed the declaration of war, his tactics worked. However, these new volunteers needed to be trained, and it soon became apparent that existing barracks across the UK simply would not suffice.

Initially, public buildings such as schools, churches, and warehouses were used in response to the need for more adequate training spaces. Eventually, with the assistance of the Royal Engineers, purpose-built training camps were developed and original barracks expanded, including Shorncliffe in Folkestone.

Meeting the Sergeant

While at the training camps, new recruits were put through their paces with physical fitness training, as well as marching and drills. There was no set program in place for training, so each squad could have a very different training experience.

In a letter sent from one training camp, a soldier writes:

I don’t know whether you get any Swedish drill or not but we do, and my word is it hard when you are not used to it. Our squad have had it twice and there are plenty of sore muscles amongst us.

Lance Corporal Frank Bentley, Grenadier Guards, to his brother, 1915

As well as the skills to fight, new recruits learnt the basics of survival on the front line. Cooking, for example, was taught to all trainees, as revealed in another letter:

I had cottage pie for supper yesterday and am going to have another tonight. I suppose you wonder where I got it. Ah! I made it (some cook; What!).

Private George Walters, Middlesex Regiment, to his mother, 1915

Although not traditionally a male pastime in the early 20th century, the ability to cook up a hot meal would be vital—for nutrition and for morale—while on active duty.

As soldiers began to specialize in a particular role, for example in the infantry as a machine gunner or a bomber, they would receive more expert training. When the time came to travel to the Western Front, soldiers would also be given basic training in wiring, gas defense, and first aid.

Mass Exercise Formation

Although training continued after going on active duty, for many soldiers it simply could not prepare them for the horrors that they were to experience on the front line. While tactics taught at training camps evolved with the war, the thousands who did not return paid the highest price for the steep learning curve experienced by all sides in the conflict.

Source:  Text and Images from the National Army Museum Website

My AEF Battlefield Guide

Since 1991, I have been leading First World War battlefield tours to the Western Front, Gallipoli and Italy, and this will be my last year doing so.  By far, the greatest interest for my groups has been in the American battlefields.  Also, over the years I have received hundreds of inquiries through the Internet as to how to visit the site where a family member, a Doughboy, airman, Marine, or sailor served and how to gain information on what happened where they fought.   What I decided to do for the subscribers of my publications OVER THE TOP,  ROADS TO THE GREAT WAR, and the ST. MIHIEL TRIP-WIRE was consolidate and organize all the information I have gathered over the years on the battlefields of the American Expeditionary Forces into one document. I hope you will consider purchasing it.  It is a distillation of all my research and on-site explorations on the subject, organized in a way that I believe is easy to follow. Here are some details about the work and how to purchase it.

The Battlefields Covered:

• Cantigny
• Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Vaux
• Second Battle of the Marne
• Flanders: Mt. Kemmel
• Frapelle
• St. Mihiel Salient
• Meuse-Argonne
• The Hindenburg Line & Beyond
• Blanc Mont Ridge
• Flanders-Lys
• Other Notable Operations

Sample Section

Specifications:

• 28-page, full color, large 8½ x 11 inch printable PDF Document, readable on desk tops, laptops or P.E.D. devices
• 10 major battles and 5 notable smaller operations covered
• Each main section includes: quick facts, then and now photos, maps, details about the battle, and key sites to visit with GPS coordinates.
• Delivered electronically

Price: $14.99

How to Purchase

Include your Email Address for Delivery

How Did "Punishing Serbia" Work Out for Austria-Hungary?

Recall, this is what set off the whole bloody chain of events in the summer of 1914.

Conrad von Hötzendorf

The Plans: General Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Austrian Chief of Staff, was delighted in 1914 at the opportunity to punish the Serbs; it was something he had long advocated. He was far less enthusiastic about fighting Russia. This led to indecision at the start of hostilities. His heart was in his Balkan strategy that involved invading Serbia with three of his armies while placing the remainder of his forces on guard against the feared Russians. However, when the Russians declared war, Conrad was presented with an immediate threat of invasion through Galicia and Poland. The Russia-centered alternate strategy involved a stronger defense in Galicia and a thrust to cut off enemy forces in Russian Poland.

Austrian Prisoners of War

What Happened: Belatedly shifting his forces to the north for these tasks, Conrad weakened his advance into Serbia. Poor railroads ensured that the tardy shift of units northward was a confused mess and boded ill for the ensuing operations against the Russians. Serbia—fighting for its homeland and experienced from the earlier Balkan Wars—repelled three invasions. They used the mountainous terrain cut by numerous rivers to great advantage, winning decisive victories in August and in December, pushing their opponents out of their temporarily occupied capital, Belgrade, and then beyond the frontiers. Austria-Hungary would need help from both Germany and Bulgaria to rout the Serbs in October 1915.

Eyewitness: A Yank Doctor Assigned to Tommy's Trenches

By Dr. Ben Gallagher in the outstanding memoir: 
The Cellars of Marcelcave: A Yank Doctor in the BEF

"Think of the stick man, check off his body parts, remember what’s most important. Keep the airway clear, stop the bleeding, clean out the wounds, be methodical. Stabilize and move on, stabilize and move on. Be in charge. Once the patients are stabilized, get that tetanus antitoxin in them, then double check everything. Splint still in place? Has the tourniquet been on too long? Has the artery started bleeding again? Is the wound really cleaned out?" 

Col. Burroughes interrupted my mental exercise and took me to the front line. As the communication trench neared the actual front most line, it struck me that this was the business end of the Western Front. All the supplies, hospitals, ships, reserve areas, kitchens, communication wires—all that, was to serve and maintain this, the front line: the point of contact with the Boche, the Hun, Jerry. Thinking back on all I’d seen before, it struck me there had to be 20, or 50, or maybe 100 people behind us for every one fighting soldier right up in the front line. Inefficient business, war is. And was it smelly; the stench of the Front was pervasive and horrible.

In the last stretch of communication trench (that trench connecting the reserve line of trenches with the front line), There was a dugout on the right with the worst smell of excrement coming out of it. A man emerged holding a large bucket of human feces just as we passed by.

“‘Scuse me.”

“Of course” wasn’t about to get in his way.

“Shit wallahs, Gallagher,” Col Burroughes told me. (He never called me anything but Gallagher, never Ben, never doctor, never lieutenant. In the hierarchy of the British Army, I was below Burroughes, so I was addressed appropriately. There was nothing personal in it, for Burroughes was all kindness to me, but the forms of address in a hierarchy are etched in stone.)

“Shit wallahs. The ‘wallah’ part of it is an Indian term, I think, for “carrier” or something. The ‘shit’ part I think you know.” Burroughes was pointing to the man carrying the bucket of shit. By now, this man had walked some distance away, down the communication trench. Passersby were giving him a wide berth, as wide as you can give in a trench.

“What do they do, exactly, Col. Burroughes, these shit wallahs?” The answer seemed pretty obvious, but I didn’t want to look uninterested. This was my first day in a trench and I didn’t want to look like a know-it-all.

“Keep the trench clean. Clean as they can, anyway. Men can’t just be crapping anywhere. They use a bucket in this dugout here,” he pointed to the smelliest dugout on Earth, above it was a sign, “Rose Hips and Jasmine Lane.” The British sure came up with the funniest names for places. Rose hips and jasmine did not come to mind when one smelled that dugout! “The shit wallahs—we have two per battalion—carry it away and dump it.”

Looking around the crowded, narrow trench, I couldn’t imagine where, exactly, “away” was. Just then, a second fellow emerged holding another bucket of excrement. This was proving to be my lucky day.

“Colonel, Leftenant,” he gave us a quick salute with his...unoccupied...hand. “That’s a good question you’ve got there, Leftenant, where to put the, uh, digestive byproducts, you might call ‘em.” The shit wallah was rolling back on his heels, enjoying his moment in the sun—a real orator, addressing one of the great questions of our time. And all the time holding that bucket. Jeez, Louise.

“Well, it all depends on whether Jerry’s got a stunt up his sleeve, or whether we’re putting on a show.” His free hand gestured to the left, and the right, indicating the great dichotomy of thought on this issue. “If we’re expecting a visit from Jerry, we throw it out in front of our lines, so he gets a nasty surprise. And if we’re the ones putting on the show, we throw it behind our lines, to encourage our lads to go forward. Har, har, har!” The man was a genius. Someday surely he would be prime minister.

Burroughes had to smile at the shit wallah’s explanation.

“Very well, soldier; carry on.”

The shit wallah saluted and headed back down the communication trench, still laughing.

We bid “Rose Hips and Jasmine Lane” a fond farewell and got into the front line. My heart caught a little in my throat. This was it. The front line. THE FRONT LINE.

For years I’d followed the progress of the war in the newspapers. I’d read Guy Espy’s [sic] book Over the Top. They’d even shown us newsreels of some trench scenes. But to be in the front line, to actually BE in the front line...the reality proved somewhat anti-climactic. The atmosphere was work-a-day, with little drama about it.

The Battle of the Lys 1918 Reviewed by Bryan Alexander

The Battle of the Lys 1918

by Phil Tomaselli

Pen and Sword, 2011

Portuguese Prisoners of War Taken April 1918 

Taking advantage of the end of war with Russia, and anticipating large American armies to arrive by mid-summer 1918, General Ludendorff orchestrated the Kaiserschlacht around several campaigns. Operation Michael was the centerpiece—an attempt to crack British lines and split that nation's forces away from the French. Several other attacks were planned initially as spoiling distractions from Michael, including Operation George, a drive to push the British back to the Channel ports. Yet as Michael turned into a bloody tactical victory rather than a strategic breakthrough, Ludendorff changed George into the smaller-scaled Georgette, shifting the direction of the German attack, and hoping now to seize Ypres and in so doing demoralize British forces.

Tomaselli chronicles the experience by focusing largely on the British First Army's endurance in the face of a powerful assault, although he initially devotes some time to Portuguese units. The German attack targeted that nation's Second Division, one of the few Lisbon sent to the Western Front, assessing accurately that they would break under enough pressure. As the Portuguese retreated west they exposed British flanks, which then were defeated and/or retreated as well.

Chaos threatened, leading to friendly fire incidents (70). Rolling up the line north and south of the breakthrough ended when several units desperately and successfully defended Festubert and especially Givenchy to the south. The Germans then bypassed these strongpoints and pressed their initial gains to the north hard, but that drive gradually stalled in the face of fierce British resistance and French reinforcements.

(Click on Map to Enlarge)

The Battle of the Lys 1918 relies heavily on primary sources for accounts of the fighting, which can be very illuminating. We get a sense of classic British understatement from lines like "Later we were drawn back to the main line of resistance and had the unpleasant experience of having our own 18 [pounder artillery] firing at us at point-blank range" (87). The author gets into this tone at many points, such as

One German patrol, hot on their heels, took cover behind some boxes on the approach to the bridge, not realizing that they were full of Mills bomb hand-grenades. The British concentrated their fire on the boxes themselves, much to the Germans' discomfort as they began to detonate! (99; punctuation in original)

Some of the primary sources are contemporary photographs, which are very good. They include portraits of soldiers, fortifications, trenches, terrain, weapons, and units. This is a strength of the book. Photos become contemporary in the book's final chapter, which offers a guide to any reader wishing to explore the Lys battlefield in person.

Tomaselli makes a case for Lys being underappreciated in context and interesting on its own terms. Throughout the book he emphasizes that the British high command had little impact on the battle; instead, "[t]his was very much a soldiers' battle. There was very little useful input above brigade level…a number of factors handicapped the artillery, there were no tanks and the Royal Air Force made little contribution" (8, 9). This is persuasive, overall. Attention to Lys gives a more balanced view of the spring offensive.

However, several limitations hamper The Battle of the Lys 1918. To begin with, the book is overwhelmingly concerned with the British Army. We barely see the Portuguese as they exit. Germans barely play a role (one scant quote on p.132, for example). There's a British order of battle (appendix 1) but nothing for Germans. This one-sidedness severely limits our understanding, especially given the different experiences (the Germans using artillery and Hutier tactics, for instance). We don't learn much about German command decisions, and the battle's end is a bit cryptic.

Moreover, for a book so crammed with illustrations, this one does a very strange job with maps. It continues the recent fascination with contemporary maps, which can be useful objects for period flavor (pages 31or 35 for example), but usually don't help the modern reader. They also lack explanatory notes, often including sources or translations. The book has several line maps located oddly (in later chapters, and on the back cover), but those are uneven, lacking many features mentioned in the text, and sometimes drawings blot out their own labels (85).

Earlier I mentioned first-person accounts as a strength of the book, yet they can be overdone. For example, one excerpt from some text authored by two King Edward's Horse lieutenants runs for ten pages, or roughly 6% of the entire book (104-114). It's a decent text, but surely this is excessive.

One further complaint—while the Battle of the Lys ran from 9 April through the 30th, the book focuses only on 9–12 April. The remainder of the campaign is treated in a six-page sketch. Therefore, this is really the first part of the battle, perhaps the most dramatic, but only a handful of days before the first week was done.

Overall, a respectable yet flawed effort to draw attention to an important and understudied part of the spring 1918 offensive.

Bryan Alexander

100 Years Ago Today: The Sinking of the SS Tuscania with American Troops Aboard

SS Tuscania

The liner Tuscania was delivered to its owners, the Anchor Line, at the beginning of 1915 for the joint service with Cunard from Glasgow to New York via Liverpool. Its maiden voyage on 6 February of that year was on this route, on which it traveled for the rest of its career. In September 1915 it helped rescue passengers for the Greek Line's ship Athini which had caught fire in the Atlantic.

Tuscania first undertook trooping duties in September 1916, carrying Canadian troops from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Liverpool. In August of the following year she brought 1,236 men of the 16th U.S. Engineer Regiment from New York to Liverpool, and two more successful voyages followed.

Tuscania left Hoboken, New Jersey, on her final voyage on 24 January 1918 carrying 2,013 American troops and a crew of 384. She joined Convoy HX-20 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and proceeded to cross the Atlantic bound for Le Havre. On 5 February the convoy was sighted seven miles north of the Rathilin Island lighthouse by the German Submarine UB-77 under the command of Lt. Cdr. Wilhelm Meyer. At 5:40 p.m he fired two torpedoes at the Tuscania, the first of which missed, the second scoring a direct hit. By 7:00 pm. all the ship's lifeboats had been launched, but approximately 1,350 men remained on board. The convoy's escorting destroyers assisted in removing these but were hampered by the continuing presence of the UB-77 in the area. The Tuscania finally sank at 10:00 p.m., over four hours after being struck, with 230 people lost. (One estimate indicated 201 of these were American troops, the remainder crew members.)

Tuscania was the first ship carrying American troops to be sunk, and public opinion in the USA regarded its loss as an outrage. In 1920 the American Red Cross erected a monument on the Isle of Islay, where many of the victims were buried before their transfer that year to the American War Cemetery at Brookwood [England] or to their homeland.

Some Quick Facts

      Data on Tuscania: 

         Gross Tonnage — 14,348 tons

        Length —549 ft.; Width — 66.5 ft.

        Builder — A. Stephen & Sons, Glasgow

         Launch Date — 3 September 1914

        Passenger Capacity — 271 in 1st cl.; 246 in 2nd cl.; 1,900 in 3rd cl.

        Captain — Peter McLean, OBE

        Sunk — 5 February 1918 by UB-77, Lt. Cdr. Wilhelm Meyer, Commander

      AEF Units Aboard: 

         20th Engineers, Companies D,E,F. [Forestry Battalion]

         107th Engineer Train

         107th Military Police

         107th Supply Train

         100th, 158th, 263rd Aero Squadrons

         Replacement detachments for 32nd Division

         Fifty-one casual [replacement] officers

Source:  The Doughboy Center

Super Bowl for the AEF: A Roads Classic

The First World War had its own Super Bowl! The divisions and large bases of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe had their own football tournament. The championship game between the 89th (Midwest Division) and the 36th (Texas-Oklahoma National Guard) divisions was played on 29 March 1919, before a crowd of 15,000 at the Paris Velodrome that included General Pershing.

Just like today's Super Bowl it had pre-game hype:

Click on Image to Expand

Stars and Stripes Article, 28 March 1919

The field was muddy, but the football played was of the highest order. In the first quarter the 89th worked the ball to the one-yard line and on the fourth down tried for a field goal, but the slippery ball went wide. After neither side had gained much advantage in close play in the middle of the field, Mahseet delivered a terrific punt that carried more than fifty yards and passed the safety man of the 89th, who let it roll over the line for a touchback. On the first play, the ball was passed badly to Lindsey, who fumbled and the ball rolled over the line. McCuller fell on it for the first touchdown of the game. Mahseet missed goal. The quarter ended without further scoring.

It had star players:

Click on Image to Expand

Bob Higgins  of Penn State and George "Potsy" Clark of Illinois Were Notable Players on the 89th Division Squad; Clark Would Be the Star of the Championship Game; Both Would Later Have Distinguished Coaching Careers

Between halves, in addition to the usual scorching talks from the coaches, General Winn spoke to the team. Many of the players afterward said that his appeal to their pride in the division, his encouragement of their efforts, was one of the most effective of such appeals that they had ever listened to. Certain it is that something was instilled into the team between halves that called forth reserve powers that had not been displayed before.

Beginning the third quarter, Lindsey returned the Indians' kick-off 41 yards by one of the most brilliant runs of the game. In three plays on the line the 89th gained first down. The 36th then stiffened and a punting duel followed, in which a blocked punt gave the 89th the ball on the seven-yard line, but a fumble by Clark lost the chance to score. Finally a pretty forward pass to Clark and a run netting 22 yards put the ball within striking distance. Lindsey and Gerhardt dropped back as if to try for a field goal. Gerhardt received the ball, shot it back to Lindsey, who passed it far down the field to Clark. Clark received it almost on the goal line and stepped across for the first touchdown. Clark kicked a difficult goal, and the 89th, amid a bedlam of cheering, went into the lead, not to be headed again.

Click on Image to Expand

AEF Champions — 89th Division

The final score was 14 to 6, the 89th, as usual, coming from behind and emerging with the victory after it had seemed that the game was lost. Before the close of the game, General Pershing came upon the field, personally greeted the players and congratulated them on their splendid game and fine spirit. Paris was not dull that night.
Sources:  The Kansas Collection; Library of Congress

The "Carriers" of Jutland

In mid-1916, the war’s major sea battle was fought, the Battle of Jutland. The Admiralty was highly conscious of the advantages of air support for the fleet. Two ships—more seaplane tenders than aircraft carriers—were to sail into battle with the Grand Fleet and its accompanying Battle Cruiser Squadron. Earlier in the year, the former 20,000-ton Cunard liner Campania was converted by the British to carry seaplanes and was assigned to Adm. Jellicoe’s Grand Fleet. May approached and nearly ended before the German High Seas Fleet, now under Adm. Reinhard Scheer, made a definite move to encounter the Royal Navy. Jellicoe was ready. Advised in advance that a squadron of German battle-cruisers had been ordered to Norwegian shores for a show of force, he ordered Adm. Sir David Beatty, leading a similar but larger British squadron, to intercept.

HMS Engadine

HMS Engadine, operating with Beatty’s squadron, launched a seaplane for reconnaissance at 15:30 on the 31st. The pilot reported three enemy cruisers and ten destroyers taking a northwesterly course. Fifteen minutes later, the German ships changed course to the south. The pilot tried to flash this signaI by searchlight, but his message was not received. One of the ships of the squadron noted the alteration, however, and the ships shifted in time. Thereafter, poor visibility and rough water kept Beatty’s plane on deck.

The two squadrons clashed and, even though outnumbered, the German ships under Adm. Franz von Hipper, sank two of Beatty’s vessels. Scheer’s High Seas Fleet crested the horizon, and Beatty led his remaining ships on a strategic retreat, north toward Jellicoe.

On the day before, Campania had conducted a series of successful gun-spotting training flights, returned to her Scapa Flow anchorage about five miles from the main fleet, and awaited orders.

At 17:35, a signal was flashed to all ships of Jellicoe’s fleet to stand by to get under way. At 19:00 the order to raise full steam was given and two-and-a-half hours later, Campania was ready. At 22:54, the “proceed” signal was flashed—but Campania did not receive it. Several hours passed before her C.O. realized that the rest of the fleet had gone. She sailed two hours and fifteen minutes later. Even though she was slowly overtaking the fleet early in the morning of 31 May, she was ordered to return to Scapa Flow, as she lacked an escort and German submarines had been reported in the area. Until 02:00 the following morning, Jellicoe assumed his aircraft “carrier,” Campania, was in company. Thus, Jellicoe's Grand Fleet at Jutland fought without benefit of aerial observation.

HMS Campania

At battle’s end, each fleet had lost several ships, but the British suffered more heavily in tonnage—by almost double. In post-battle retrospect, the Battle of Jutland could easily have ended in a triumphant victory for the Allies, had Jellicoe had the advantage of Campania’s plane to report movements of Scheer’s ships. The German fleet had no seagoing aircraft. This, combined with lessons already learned in previous sea encounters with the enemy—especially in countering U-boats—strengthened more than ever the British Navy’s dedication to the perfecting of the aircraft carrier.

Source:  "Decisions Out of Jutland," Sean MacDonald, Naval Aviation News, Mar 62

The Centennial at the Grass Roots: St. Louis, Missouri

Ceremony Marking the Temporary Closing of the Soldiers Memorial in 2016

The Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, has been turned over to the Missouri Historical Society. A two-year, $30 million renovation is planned that will honor military service, veterans, and their families. The memorial will reopen in 2018.  Besides supporting the restoration, the Missouri  Historical Society's Museum at Forest Park is fully supporting the Centennial commemoration of the war.  They have already presented an exhibit, "World War I: Missouri and the Great War."  Further, their staff is doing a wonderful job of writing commentary on facets of the war in their Blog and placing period photos online. Below is a selection of some interesting images that I've never seen before. All their material, archives and Blog, plus information on the Soldiers Memorial renovation can be accessed at:  http://mohistory.org/memorial

William H. Danforth, Founder of the Ralston-Purina Company, 
with a Souvenir of His Service as a YMCA Volunteer in France

Instructional Poster for the Troops

Robert Prager was lynched in 1918 by several Collinsville, IL,  men
who believed him to be a German spy.

Sailors Discharged in St. Louis After the War

St. Louis Browns Player and Future Baseball Executive Branch Rickey,
Who Served with the Chemical  Warfare Service in France

The Four Minute Men of St. Louis

The Archives Hold a Collection of "Gold Star Cards" for
Each Missourian Who Died in the War

Missouri National Guardsmen Who Would Serve with the 35th Division in France

A photo from Villingen prisoner of war camp: John Franklin Hardesty (lower left)
was born in Winfield, MO, and served as a surgeon with the British Army during
World War I.  Hardesty was captured by German troops at Amiens in March 1918
and held at Ratstatt and Villingen prisoner of war camps for eight months. 
Hardesty helped naval Lt. Edouard Izac of Cresco, Iowa, (standing on right)
and several other escape to Switzerland. 
Izac later received the Medal of Honor for his service.
(Late addition thanks to aviation historian Steve Ruffin: The man in the beret in the middle is Harold Willis, the only member of the Lafayette Escadrille, who was shot down and taken prisoner.)

A Missouri National Guard Recruiting Poster