HOW AMERICA DID IT

Otago Witness, Issue 3376, 27 November 1918, Page 38

HOW AMERICA DID IT

AMAZING FEAT© OF TRANSPORTATION DESCRIBED. TESTIMONY BY SIR JOSEPH , MACLAY. Fair Play of August 8 contains the following interesting account of an interview with Sir Joseph Maclay, the British Shipping Controller, on the subject of the transport of the American army:— When Lord Vincent was questioned as to the possibility of England being invaded diuring the Napoleonic War, ho refused, as First Lord of the British Admiralty, to give a guarantee that troops could not land, but to his timorous questioners, ho always added with a grim smile, "But they won't come by sea." The folly of the German naval authorities in the early months of the last year consisted in their positive assurance that even if America raised an army on the Continental scale —which no one in Germany believed she would do—that army could; not be transported across the Atlantic. Germans appreciated the difficulty of moving hundreds of thousands of troops a distance of 3000 mile 3 in face of an intensive submarine campaign and then keeping them supplied with all they required, and they were positive that piracy would so impede the movements by sea the American military power could never make itself felt to any appreciable extent on. European battlefields.

A STUPENDOUS TASK. " Probably no one who is not familiar with the shipping problem can appreciate the character of this transport movement," said Sir Joseph Maclay, the British Shipping Controller, when asked his opinion of tho mobilisation of American man-power in Europe. "It is the biggest thing of the kind that has ever been attempted," Sir Joseph Maclay added. "We are not a little proud of the manner in which, we transported and maintained our army in South Africa, but in the light of the American movement it must be confessed that the achievement was a comparatively modest one. If I remember rightly, we moved only about 300,000 men from first to last, and we had the whole of the British mercantile marine to draw from, and there were no submarines. Over a million troops have been moved across the Atlantic during the past year or so in face of an offensive by sea waged by the enemy with as great determination. and persistency as he has fought on the western front, and simultaneously we have been moving British and colonial soldiers 'to all theatres of the war and keeping them supplied. Only those who have access to official records can appreciate the character of the enemy's efforts to arrest these varied transport movements, and particularly of the American forces destined for Europe. He has been able to combine his original purpose and his original plans for attempting to starve out England with his new plans for attacking the transports. Every submarine at the command of the Germans has been sent to sea manned by the most experienced officers and men. The whole German people were led to believe that piracy practised with the utmost ru'thlessness would ruin this ambitious transport scheme. What has happened. Over 1,000,000 troops have been carried across the Atlantic, and the lives of less than 300 soldiers have been lost. On the average about 60 per cent, of the American soldiers have" been carried in British ships, and, as I will explain later on, the proportion is steadily rising. The extent of the contribution of" British tonnage should be considered not as an isolated act, but in association with the world-wide activities of the British merchant navy, which have gone on simultaneously. The time has not > come when the narrativo can be given in full; but it may be remembered that while the American soldiers have been travelling to Europe the 7,000,000 British, Dominion, and Indian troops engaged in six theatres of war—France, Flanders, Italy, Salonika, Palestine, Mesopotamia. Persia, and Egypt, to say nothing of the garrisons in Malta, Gibraltar, and elsewhere, have been supported with reinforcements, munitions, stores, and food, and their sick and wounded carried. In some cases the fresh men had to be brought from Canada. South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Nor is that all. A large volume of shipping has also been required, and that not in home waters only by the British fleet, the ships of which are largely dependent on mercantile tonnage for fuel, stores, and even food. The situation, naval and military, chancres from day to day. and an attempt has to be made to vary the organisation of the merchant fleet to meet it. It was all fchesfl responsibilities were already being borne that plans had to be made to help carry the American troops." HOW IT WAS DONE. "And how was this transport miracle achieved," Sir Joseph Maclay was asked. "Well," he replied, "it has only been rendered possible by the efficient organisation on the American side, which has been rendered with both hands. As to the first point, co-operation was necessary between the military authorities and the railways in carrying troops to the ports and between the people running the ports and the shipping authorities. The American genius for organisation has once more been exhibited in a new sphere, and it has succeeded in spite of all the difficulties created by the war. If the American railways had not been operated, with success the whole transport movement might have failed, because it was essential to quick transportation that the troops should be ready for the ships. That meant economy of tonnage, and economy was very necessary.

" The United States possessed only a comparatively small number of ships suitable for transports, but the liners in the American ports seized from the enemy proved of immense service. It must be one of the ironies of the war, -viewed through German spectacles, that so -many German ships should have been employed! in carrying American troops to fight German soldiers in Europe. But when every suitable ship under the American flag had been taken into the transport service, the.tonnasre was quite inadequate to need. That is where we came in—willingly and wholeheartedly co-operating to ensure the success of the 'movement of troops. After the German offensive onened in March we had to make a big effort. I may add that 638.000 troops were carried! in the months of April, May, and June. 331.000 of which were accommodated in British ships. We are all working to promote a common cause, aud are not out to pat ourselves on the

backs for what we are doing. But I might add, since the fact might not be well known, that we were only able to face these responsibilities by sacrificing for the time being, not only British, but Imperial interests. Ships which under normal circumstances are engaged in the trades between the British Isles and: the Far East, Australasia, and India, have had to be withdrawn from service, and we have been compelled to sacrifice to a large extent the communications between the Mother Country and the dominions in the Southern Seas. I cannot epcak too highly of the manner in which the peoplo of the dominions have bowed to compelling circumstances. It has really been splendid. But there is more in it even than that. This concentration of shipping has meant the severing of trade associations built up during long periods of years. Every business man will understand the character of that sacrifice, for there is no saying when those abandoned services can be resumed.. That statement may suggest the character of the sacrifice which tho British people are making in order to facilitate the transpoi-t of American troops."

BIG SIDE ISSUES. And then Sir Joseph Alaciay turned to anotner aspect of the transport movement of wliicii iittie has been said. "It is no good," lie added, "bringing over troops to Jiurope unless those troops can be kept supplied with all they require. There is always a temptation on the part of those who are unfamiliar with military matters to think of an army in terms of men only ; but an army requires an enormous volume of material—guns, aeroplanes, wagons, ammunition, food, and stores of all kinds. In June, for instance, half a million tons of stores for the American troops were carried across the Atlantic. Horses, in particular, present a very great difficulty, as can be readily imagined, and an enormous number of horses have to be carried. And that brings mo back to the point which I wish to emphasise—the army which is transported has to be kept supplied with all it requires from week to week and day by day. Consequently, the larger number of troops transported the greater the burden on tonnage required to supply the army's needs. The matter can be reduced to a very simple formula. Roughly speaking, every IGOO men landed in France is equal to 5000 tons of stores in a year. "From the shipping standpoint three classes of armies are engaged in this war. There are such armies as those of Germany, Austria, and in some measure France. The German army illustrates my point best. It has a continuous line; it is connected with its source of supplies bv railways, and it can mova its military impedimenta from the factory behind the lines .swiftly as well as cheaply, A'arying the supply arrangements with ease, in accordance with the changing military conditions. In the second class comes the British army. The English Channel, with a varying breadth of 20 to 50 miles, lies between it and its main base of supply. < That means that the British authorities are compelled <*o maintain behind the lines larger supplies than the Germans are compelled to maintain. In the third class comes the American army. It is about 100 times removed from its base of supply as the British army, and that fact exaggerates the difficulties of the tonnage problem, because not only must large reserves be nraintained of military material and food, but provision must be made on a large scale for extensive workshops and hospitals, and so on. I believe that the American army now has in France a railroad with more miles of track and a heavier equipment than the Erie railroad. Those who are familiar with shipping matters will appreciate what that means in tonnage. But that is not all, for there is no more remarkable feature of this transport movement than the success with which the Americans have transformed some of the French ports. The v have brought them up to the highest standard familiar on the United States seaboard. The reorganisation scheme, involving immense quantities of material, has been carried out with wonderful success. I may mention the case of the Leviathan, formerly the HamburgAmerika liner Vaterland. as an illustration of the rapidity with which ships are now turned round, which means economy of tonnage. This enormous vessel recently reached a French port with 11,000 men on board. What happened? These troops, almost equivalent to a whole German division, were disembarked. 4000 tons of coai were taken on board, and in 48 hours the Leviathan was on her way back to the United States. French transportation, railway and port transportation, in large areas of that countrv is now being brought permanently up to the American standard." Finally, ' in discussing this transport movement, Sir Joseph Maclay bore testimony to the cordial relations which were being maintained between the responsible authorities on the two sides of the Atlantic. "This wonderful transport movement could not have been _ carried out if everyone concerned, British and American, had not worked together with a single eye to efficiency. Our common language has, of course, been of enormous advantage, and has enabled us to placo at the disposal of the Americans all the knowledge and experience we had obtained in tho earlier period of the war, in transportimr and supplying British, Dominion, and Indian troops. Our military problem was from the first a tonnage problem. Our troops are all supported from # the sea, whether they come from the United Kingdom. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Afrioa. or India. I sometimes think that perhaps even the British people do not fullv realise the shipping problem which our military intervention on the Continent involved." All that we learnt in this respect we have placed at the disposal of the American authorities. They have proved good learners. I cannot say too much in praise of the man designated by the American Government to manage this matter. Tho younger business men of the United States represent a fine type. Our officials have been oleased to work with them._ The two organisations—British and American — have in consequence dovetailed together with a success which even I hardly anticipated. Tho smoothness with which trains, transports, and dock authorities have worked together is attested by the rogularitv with which troops have been landed. In that connection it should not be forgotten that the movement of the American arm? began after the Germans had been attacking and sinking shipping for many months, and consequently the volume of tonnage available had been considerably reduced. This transport movement has only been rendered possible by efficient administration, enabling the best possible tise being made of the vessels .available. In that connection I

should perhaps add that the transport of troops has been worked in association with the movement of material; ships bearing material have also been able to carrytroops. But that is not a point which need be stressed. It is merely a detail, which explains in some measure how it has been possible at one and the samo time to carry this great army and maintain the military supplies of the Allies and ship the immense stores of food, which, owing- to Mr Hoover's admirable administration and the self-denial of tho American people, have been available for meeting- the needs of the Allies in Europe. It is only possible to appreciate the success of tho trans-port movement if a broad view is taken of the whole problem of sea carriage, which has been thrown upon a reduced volume of shipping."