HUGH FIGURES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17216, 19 January 1918, Page 10

HUGH FIGURES

TRANSPORT 01'' AN ARMY. AMKIUOAN TROOPS AND TIIJS TONNAGE PROBLEM. In an article entitled "Come On Willi, tho Punch,'' Mr George Puttullo writes in the Saturday livening Post most informingly Upon uliat tiio maintenance of an American army, half a million strong, m Prance, will actually mean. lie says:— "How great a force the United States orpocts to have in France next spring I don't know —and it I did know, of course, they wouldn't let me toll. But the least we mu.it have i.s half a million men, and 1 have been able to learn the requirements of a force of that .size. Whatever figures may be eased down your throat in this article aro rot the guesswork of a correspondent, but tho calculations of military experts, based on tho expcricnco of our Allies since 1914.

"Prom tho timo this is published there will be round 150 days in which to transport that army to Prance. Suppose we havo 150,000 men already here by then — thero may be inor:, there may bo less; it is conjecture on my part —a force of 350,000 has still to bo transported. That means 2330 men a day for every day of the week. If a day be missed, then 4660 men on the next. Wastage of personnel, which comes to about 5 per cent, a month, need not yet bo considered.

"Where will they be landed in France? All equipped ports are already taxed to their utmost capacity. It will be impossible to make arrangements with either British or French to use those assigned to their needs —they cannot spare a foot of harbour Tho American forces roust have ports of their own. Four at leiist will be required. They don't exist at this writing— that is to say, there aro none with facilities faintly approt»ching our requirements. So the oorts must be built."

In the figures he gives, Mr Pattullo deals only with the requirements of 503,000 men; and, indeed, there is little or no suggestion in American papers that more than this number will bo in France by next summer. When a million men have crossed the Atlantic twice the quantity of supplies, etc., he .mentions will bo needed, and by the timo 2,000,000 men arc in France his figures will have to be quadrupled. To keep such an army going no less than 1000 largo ships would be needed constantly crossing the Atlantic to supply it with food, coai, and ammunition; say 5,000,000 tons of shipping exclusively devoted to this task, and always subject to submarine attack! As he points out, though 3500 miles away from its base, the American army _ in Franco has to bo absolutely self-sustaining. Owing to the condition of France and Great Britain, everything needed will havo to bo transported across tho Atlantic. "If you havo ever seen a port built, you will appreciate what that involves. Channels must bo deepened, docks put in, storehouses, railroad terminals, and sidings constructed. All this on a scale to accommodate 25 ships in port everyday, for we shall require 250 ships to keep our halfmillion army going. That number will bo necessary to provide tho tonnage; 25 must be unloading in port all the time. A thousand American locomotives will bo required to make up our Allies' wastage and to meet our own demands. That is only the initial requirement. In addition to tho locomotives, 40.000 cars must, be brought over as fast as they can be sent. The American type of railroad car wijl not do. It is too big. French bridges aro not constructed to carry such, and they will not pass through the tunnels. Whereas our cars carry 30 tons, the French arc -built to carry 10 tons. So the oars must he made suitable to French roads. In addition to these a force of 500,000 would need a thousand cold storage cars.

" When supplies are unloaded they have to bo stored. Existing storage facilities in the French towns could no more handle tho volume of the army's needs than a country schoolhonso could accommodate a Democratic convention.

" In the way of new buildings our specified army would require four quartermaster depots, ea.cli of 2COO yards length/ by 1000 yards width; four engineer depots of tho same dimensions; four ammunition depots, each 2000 yards by 1000 yards, built at intervals of a mile or more for safety; and several signal corps depots, each 500 by 250 yards. Barracks have to be built, laundries and bathhouses and disinfecting plants, bakeries, repair shops, etc. The timber alone would fill 15 large vessels, but it is proposed to fell it in Franco, not ship it across tho ocean. For forestry purposes, therefore, no less than 15.500 men will have to bo brought from the United States. More than 51,000 tons of coal will have to bo sent over the Atlantic every month for the heating of billets and barracks, and for cooking purposes, or 2,650,000 gallons of oil. France has been waging war on 625,000 tons of coal less a month than her normal ply"The quartermaster department of our half-million army will require 100,000 labourers—stevedore battalions to unload the ships, ordinary labour battalions and such. This department takes care of food, clothing, fuel, transportation, supplies, salvage, pay —whatever there's tho slightest doubt as department should tackle a given job they wish it on the quartermaster. If you don't believe it ask the first quartermaster you run across. Ho will admit they do all the work of tho army.

" For work on railroads and wharves wo must bring over eloec to 49,000 men. Tho forestry depai-tment, as mentioned above, needs 15.500 men; tho signal corps demands 12,500 specialists—telephone linemen and electrical experts, —and miscellaneous labour adds 12,000 men to these figures. The grand total for labour is 159.C00 men, and that is a conservative estimate."

It has been calculated that a soldier eats five pounds of food daily, which figure includes all the boxes in which the food is transported. Therefore, a half-million army and its necessary auxiliaries would eat 2500 tons of food every day. Excluding tho labourers, tho doctors and nurses, and the specialists, the army of 500,000 men would 'get through 'the following supplies: — " Thirteen million three hundred and fifty thousand pounds of beef a month; 3,375,000 pounds of bacon, 1,375,000 cans of fresh roast beef, hash corned beef, corned beef, and salmon; 13,350,000 pounds of flour, 2,266,000 pounds of hard tack. It may bo an eye-opener to frugal housewives to learn that in the same period the army would use 150,000 tins of baking powder. ' "Other.items of issue aro corn meal and beans; potatoes —they will eat 14,830,000 pounds of spuds monthly.; baked beans, rice, tomatoes, primes, apples, peaches, jam, coffee, tea, sugar, condensed milk, salt, lard, butter, lard substitute, oleomargarine, svrup, and spices. The British Tommies are strong on tea, but the quantity drunk by American soldiers is insignificant compared with 'their consumption of coffee. Whereas 40,000 pounds of .tea will suffice half a million of our men for a month, they will use in the same period 1,046,600 pounds of coffee. " When you include rock salt and soap— of which thev use 600,000 pounds every 30 days, not counting hand soap,—candles, matches, and housewifes, tho stuff of regular issue begins to loom a sizable pile. The one item of sugar alone amounts to 3,000,000 pounds monthly. With shipping so scarce, the army may yet come to French standards. They aro mighty stingy with sugar over here." Every soldier starts out with two uniforms, three suits of underwear, two pairs of shoes, blankets, poncho, overcoat, and other equipment.. " But those articles speedily wear out, especially under the hard usage of trench life. So it takes 1,150.000 pairs of breeches, 323,000 woollen coats. 1.050.000 pairs of overalls, 210,000 pairs of rubber boots, 1,070,000 shirts, 1.4711,000 pairs of leather shoes, 504.000 blankets, 1,890,000 pa : rs of socks, 1,373,000 fatigue and service hats, 3.444.000 suits of underwear, 210,000 overcoats. 168,000 ponchos, 113,400 slickers, 523.400 shelter-halves, 418,200 cots, 15,400 pickaxes, and so on to tnake good the wastago every six months. All of which has to come from 'the United States. _ It must be in storage over here before spring." Not less than 403,000 horses and mules will bo needed. As the forage ration per animal is 151b a day. that, works out at 90.000 tons per month, which lias to bo transported across the _ Atlantio by ten steamers, making two trips a month. Concerning tho medical department, Mr Pattullo says: "For a force of half a-million men the United States must supply 56,500 doctors, nurses, orderlies, and such—what is known as the sanitary personnel. Five thousand of these are doctors and surgeons; the others must all possess specialised training. 'The medicos estimate their requirements of hospital beds as slightly less than one bed to every fourth man, or in the neighbourhood of 122,000 iron beds for this army. To every bed co six or eight sheets, two pillows, four pillow cases, and three blankets. One largo hospital ward will contain 40 beds. It has been proved in this war that economy is attained bv large hos-pitals—looo-bed institutions The British have established hospitals many times larger than that, and they say it. pays. Numbers of such huge hospitals will be organised at, various places throughout Franco for the American forces. Tn addition to thoso they will need two evacuation hospitals at tho front for every 25,000 men

engaged then; and each of these must have 1000 beds. Also there are four field hospitals for (■very '<25,000 men—each with capacity for 200 patients; and four ambulation companies

"The quantities of medical supplies to be provided are staggering. They total 94,000 ions for half a million men, and an additional 20,000 for replacements in the first six months. They will use gauze by millions of yards. "About tho only thing it would bo safe for mo to say about the aviation department, with any hopo of getting by the censor, is that for a 500,000 men army tho air service would need 68,000 experts. As it takes about a ton a month, per man to sustain the service, we arrive in one jump at 58,000 tons more. One thing they, will let me tell, and that is the minimum number of machines that would bo needed on the line for such an army. It is ZOOO.

"How would you like the job of transporting supplies for all these departments, when once they vvero landed at the ports? One day's rations have to go un every day. Of course, heavy reserves of food are maintained, but they never allow them to become depleted. That means transporting 2500 tons of food daily. Then 6000 tons of forago has to bo moved for the horses and jnules; all sorts of supplies and equipment: and tho worn-out stuff and the sick must bo brought back." The conclusion he finally comes to is that the whole, business depends upon shipping. "It all boils down to a raco between the submarine and Allied construction."