There are in Europe altogether including a regiment and some sanitary units with the Italian Army and the organizations at Murmansk, also including those en route from the States, approximately 2,053,347 men, less our losses. Of this total there are in France 1,338,169 combatant troops. Forty divisions have arrived, of which the Infantry personnel of 10 have been used as replacements, leaving 30 divisions now in France organized into three armies of three corps each.
The losses of the Americans up to November 18 are: Killed in action, 36,145; died of disease, 14,811; deaths unclassified, 2,204; wounded, 179,625; prisoners, 2,163; missing, 1,160. We have captured about 44,000 prisoners and 1,400 guns, howitzers and trench mortars.
The duties of the General Staff, as well as those of the Army and corps staffs, have been very ably performed. Especially is this true when we consider the new and difficult problems with which they have been confronted. This body of officers, both as individuals and as an organization, have, I believe, no superiors in professional ability, in efficiency, or in loyalty.
Nothing that we have in France better reflects the efficiency and devotion to duty of Americans in general than the Service of Supply whose personnel is thoroughly imbued with a patriotic desire to do its full duty. They have at all times fully appreciated their responsibility to the rest of the Army and the results produced have been most gratifying.
Our Medical Corps is especially entitled to praise for the general effectiveness of its work both in hospital and at the front. Embracing men of high professional attainments, and splendid women devoted to their calling and untiring in their efforts, this department has made a new record for medical and sanitary proficiency.
The Quartermaster Department has had difficult and various tasks, but it has more than met all demands that have been made upon it. Its management and its personnel have been exceptionally efficient and deserve every possible commendation.
As to the more technical services, the able personnel of the Ordnance Department in France has splendidly fulfilled its functions both in procurement and in forwarding the immense quantities of ordnance required. The officers and men and the young women of the Signal Corps have performed their duties with a large conception of the problem and with a devoted and patriotic spirit to which the perfection of our communications daily testify. While the Engineer Corps has been referred to in another part of this report, it should be further stated that the work has required large vision and high professional skill, and great credit is due their personnel for the high proficiency that they have constantly maintained.
Our aviators have no equals in daring or in fighting ability and have left a record of courageous deeds that will ever remain a brilliant page in the annals of our Army. While the Tank Corps has had limited opportunities its personnel has responded gallantly on every possible occasion and has shown courage of the highest order.
The Adjutant General's Department has been directed with a systematic thoroughness and excellence that surpassed any previous work of its kind. The Inspector General's Department has risen to the highest standards and throughout has ably assisted commanders in the enforcement of discipline. The able personnel of the Judge Advocate General's Department has solved with judgment and wisdom the multitude of difficult legal problems, many of them involving questions of great international importance.
It would be impossible in this brief preliminary report to do justice to the personnel of all the different branches of this organization which I shall cover in detail in a later report.
The Navy in European waters has at all times most cordially aided the Army, and it is most gratifying to report that there has never before been such perfect cooperation between these two branches of the service.
As to Americans in Europe not in the military services, it is the greatest pleasure to say that, both in official and in private life, they are intensely patriotic and loyal, and have been invariably sympathetic and helpful to the Army.
Finally, I pay the supreme tribute to our officers and soldiers of the line. When I think of their heroism, their patience under hardships, their unflinching spirit of offensive action, I am filled with emotion which I am unable to express. Their deeds are immortal, and they have earned the eternal gratitude of our country.
No one doubted the efficiency of the navy or of its capacity to carry on its operations in a way worthy of the traditions of the American Navy. What the navy did during the war, and how it did it, is summarized in the following report by its chief.
In conformity with instructions contained in the reference, the following preliminary statement is herewith submitted in regard to United States naval activities in Europe. This preliminary report relates to our naval activities in Great Britain, Ireland, and France, visit to the last named having been concluded on November 1, 1918. A complete and detailed report will be submitted later and upon completion of the current tour of inspection and observation.
In view of the fact that United States naval activities in Europe are chiefly matters of cooperation with the allied navies, and that the cooperation amounts practically to consolidation where effected with the British Navy, this preliminary report is arranged on that basis in several parts:
It could hardly have been foreseen to what extent United States naval activities in Europe would accumulate, and it is a fact that it has been a growth by accretion rather than by system. The resultant fact is that the supervision of the commander of United States Naval Forces in Europe is of great and varied scope and continues to increase from week to week. Despite this great extent and varied character of our naval activities in Europe (as evidenced by the list given in par. 2 above) and the fact that their growth by accretion has made a highly centralized control more or less inevitable, the results speak for themselves—all of our naval activities are cooperative in character and all of them give every evidence of performing useful and appreciated work wherever found.
Cooperation with the allied navies in general is effected by means of the Allied Naval War Council, which meets monthly or as may be deemed advisable. The membership is composed of the several naval ministers and naval chiefs of staff and of officers specifically appointed to represent them in their absence. Vice Admiral Sims is the United States naval representative. The secretariat of the council is composed of British officers and personnel, with officers of the allied navies designated for liaison duties therewith.
The Allied Naval Council has advisory functions only and has liaison with the Supreme War Council, with a view to coordinating and unifying allied naval effort, both as regards naval work only and as regards unity of action with military or land effort. Proposals made by the several allied navies are considered and definite steps recommended to be taken in the premises. As well the naval aspects of military (land) proposals are examined into and passed upon. Conversely military (land) aspects of naval activities are referred to the Supreme War Council for consideration.
The Allied Naval Council has had, in common with the Supreme War Council, until last spring the handicap of being only advisory in function. The conclusions are recommended to the several Governments for adoption, but there is no common instrumentality for carrying into effect measures which require cooperation or coordination. This state of affairs in the Supreme War Council has been remedied by the appointment of an allied commander in chief in the person of Marshal Foch.
There can be no doubt but that the Supreme War Council has met and that the Allied Naval Council continues to fill a great need as a sort of clearing house for the necessarily varied proposals of the several Governments, most of which require cooperation on the part of some other Government, and certainly it should be continued in being until a more forceful control of allied naval effort can be agreed upon and brought into effect.
The United States naval staff representative in Paris is the United States naval liaison officer with the Supreme War Council, and a member of the staff of Vice Admiral Sims is the liaison officer with the secretariat of the Allied Naval Council. The United States naval staff representative in Paris is also liaison officer at the French Ministry of Marine and is at present naval attaché as well.
The naval attaché to Italy, Capt. C.R. Train, maintains naval liaison
with the Italian Ministry of Marine and keeps in touch with the United
States naval activities in Italian waters.
Inasmuch as the British are predominant in naval activity, it is natural to find that a major part of our naval activities are in cooperation with them and controlled by them. In fact, the British have been in position to carry so much of the "naval load" of this war that our first and our principal efforts have been toward taking up a share of that load.
Cooperation has in many cases been carried to such an extent that the coordination necessary for efficiency has developed into practical consolidation. It is pleasing to note that while consolidation is all but a fact, our own naval forces have in every case preferred to preserve their individuality of organization and administration and, as far as feasible, of operations; and that a healthy and friendly rivalry between them and their British associates has resulted in much good to the personnel of both services.
The largest single group of naval activities wherein cooperation is effected with the British is that in Ireland, all of them being under the jurisdiction of the commander in chief, coast of Ireland, who has been and is Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, whose cordial appreciation of the work of our forces has gone far to stimulate the personnel coming under his direction. The chief of staff, destroyer flotillas, and the officer in charge of aviation in Ireland are designated by the British Admiralty as members of the staff of Admiral Bayly.
Battleship Division Six, Rear Admiral T.S. Rodgers, is based on Berehaven, Ireland, in readiness for the protection of convoys in general and of troop convoys in particular. Arrangements are in effect for the supply of their needs as to fuel and stores. While lack of destroyers has operated to restrict their training underway, they are in good material condition and their efficiency is being maintained by utilizing all available facilities.
Submarine Detachment, Lieutenant Commanders Friedell and Grady, is based on Berehaven, Ireland, and maintains a submarine patrol off the west and south coasts of Ireland. Their service is hard; they have had a great deal of work at sea and have cheerfully met every demand made on them. Despite their relative isolation, they have maintained themselves in readiness with the aid of the submarine tender Bushnell, whose limited facilities have been utilized to the utmost. Their performances and condition of material and personnel reflect great credit on all concerned.
(a) The destroyers based on Queenstown, Capt. F.R.P. Pringle, are the original United States naval force in European waters—a distinction which is an ever-present spur to cheerful efficiency under any and all circumstances and produces results which must be a satisfaction to their superiors.
(b) Despite the fact that the requirements of supplying personnel for new destroyers has resulted in large changes in the original experienced destroyer personnel, this has been accomplished in such a manner as to maintain the operating efficiency of the force at or near its original high standard.
(c) Aside from unavoidable casualties, the force is in good operating condition. The systemization of supply and repairs developed and maintained by the destroyer tenders Melville and Dixie effect the readiness of destroyers for sea with commendable promptness and with a view to the comfort of destroyer personnel during their short stays in port.
(d) Within the last few months means have been found to systematize and supervise the training, particularly with regard to the carrying out of gunnery and torpedo exercises, which, under the press of keeping the sea, had somewhat lapsed in favor of the necessary development of escort work and of depth-charge tactics.
(e) All of the activities at Queenstown—the torpedo repair and overhaul station, the training barracks at Passage, the repair force barracks at Ballybricken House, the general supply depot at Deepwater Quay, the hospital and barracks at White Point, as well as the activities afloat—were well underway and gave an impression of purposefulness in "getting on with the war" in that particular corner of the world.
(f) On account of the restricted facilities for liberty and recreation, a special and most successful effort has been made to furnish healthful and interesting diversion in Queenstown itself by means of the Enlisted Men's Club, wholly of and for the men, which is second to none in results obtained in promoting contentment.
Subchaser Detachment Three at Queenstown, Captain A.J. Hepburn, had only recently arrived, but arrangements for their employment were well in hand, and they were expected to begin operations as soon as the means of basing them had been perfected. The need of a suitable tender was apparent, especially for the upkeep of those units whose working ground would be at some distance from the main base. The personnel gave evidence of a strong feeling of eagerness to get to work and of readiness to face the hardships that going to sea in small craft entails.
United States Naval Air Stations in Ireland, Commander F.R. McCrary, consists of seaplane stations at Whiddy Island, Queenstown (also the main supply and repair base), Wexford, and Lough Foyle, and a kite-balloon station at Berehaven. None of these stations was in operation in mid-September, except that Lough Foyle was partially so, but all were about ready to begin operations and would do so upon the receipt of the necessary planes or pilots or both, all of which were en route. A great deal of the construction has been done by our own personnel, some of the stations having been entirely done by them.
(a) Battleship Division Nine of the Atlantic Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Rodman, has constituted the Sixth Battle Squadron of the British Grand Fleet under Admiral Sir David Beatty for nearly a year.
(b) When this division was sent abroad it had, in common with other units of the Atlantic Fleet, suffered in efficiency from the expansion of the Navy, which required reduction in the number of officers and transfers of numbers of men to furnish trained and experienced nuclei for other vessels. Upon reporting in the Grand Fleet, it immediately took its place in the battle line on exactly the same status as other units of the Grand Fleet. The opportunities for gunnery exercises are limited but drill and adherence to standardized methods and procedure as developed in our own naval service have brought this division to a satisfactory state of efficiency, which continues to improve.
(c) It is pleasing to record that the efficiency of this unit in gunnery, engineering, and seamanship is deemed by the British commander in chief to be in no way inferior to that of the best of the British battle squadrons. In fact, it is perfectly proper to state the belief that our ships are in some respects superior to the British, and perhaps chiefly in the arrangements for the health and contentment of personnel, which have been very thoroughly examined into by the flag officers, captains, and other officers of the Grand Fleet. These ships have also been the subject of much favorable comment in regard to their capacity for self-maintenance, a matter which has been given much attention in our own Navy of late years.
(d) Service in the Grand Fleet is noteworthy by reason of the fact that the fleet is at never less than four hours' notice for going to sea, so that liberty is restricted and whatever is necessary in the way of overhaul and upkeep of machinery must always be planned with a view to assembly in case of orders to sea.
The Mine Force of the Atlantic Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Strauss, is an independent unit, except that the mine-laying operations are under the jurisdiction of the commander in chief of the Grand Fleet, who has to choose the time when arrangements can be carried into effect to furnish the necessary destroyer escort and heavy covering forces. The arrangements made at home prior to the departure of the mine force appear to have been well considered and thoroughly developed. The mine-laying operations themselves give an impression of efficiency which can only come from thorough preparation and complete understanding of the work. The assembly of mines in the bases has been somewhat changed by the necessity for certain alterations in the mine itself, most of which are due to difficulties inherent in the application of the operating principle of the mine. Here, as elsewhere, the cheerful readiness of officers and men to attack difficulties and to surmount all obstacles is producing results of magnitude and importance of which all too little is known even in the Navy itself.
The Cross-channel Transport Service was brought into being to render indispensable assistance to the British in ferrying United States troops across the channel from England, in whose ports over half of our troops were landed from British ships. At the time of inspection late in September four United States vessels were in service, and four more were expected in the course of a few weeks. The vessels in service were superior in capacity to British vessels engaged in the same work and combined with the efficiency of their naval personnel made them the subject of favorable remark by the British transport authorities.
Subchaser Detachment One, based on Plymouth, Captain L.A. Cotten, had been operating for some time. A very compact and efficient base was in process of completion and should, with the aid of the subchaser tender Hannibal, amply suffice for the requirements of a larger number of chasers than that now available. This base is to be expanded into a United States naval base, of which Rear Admiral Bristol will be in charge. The upkeep of chasers is effected entirely with the resources of the base; operations are initiated by the British commander in chief at Plymouth. A great deal of development work in listening devices is being carried on at and from this base. The work of the subchasers from this base has proved their usefulness up to the limit of their sea-going capacity.
(a) United States Naval Aviation in England is carried on by cooperation in two British commands.
(b) The United States Seaplane Station, Killingholme, Commander K. Whiting, is under the vice admiral commanding on the east coast of England. It has been in operation for some time and does escort of coastal convoys, escort of mine layers in the southern part of the North Sea, and some reconnaissance work in the direction of the Dutch coast.
(c) The Northern Bombing Group, Captain D.C. Hanrahan, is under the vice admiral commanding at Dover, whose jurisdiction extends to naval aviation units in northern France in the vicinity of Calais and Dunkerque. The day bombing squadrons are manned by marines; the night bombing squadrons by the Navy. There has been some delay in the acquisition of suitable night bombing planes, but their delivery will find all in readiness to go immediately to work. The British prescribe the objectives and designate the available free flying time; the operations themselves are carried out by our own personnel. The seaplane station at Dunkerque has operated successfully under the handicap of limited and difficult water area in which to take off and to land.
(d) The Assembly, Repair, and Supply Station at Eastleigh was
brought into being primarily for the Northern Bombing Group because of
the difficulties of transportation to and from the general aviation base
at Pauillac. It also does necessary work for Killingholme and for the
air stations in Ireland. This base, when visited, was in process of
completion and gave every evidence of purpose and capacity to meet all
requirements likely to be made of it.
Aside from the cooperation effected by the force commander with the French Ministry of Marine through the naval staff representative in Paris on matters of general policy, actual cooperation is carried on by Vice Admiral H.B. Wilson, commander United States naval forces in France, whose headquarters are maintained in Brest.
It is deemed worthy of special remark that whereas practically all cooperation with the British is effected by operating as units under British control, cooperation with the French is arranged on a basis that leaves to the United States naval forces a very large measure of initiative. This is particularly true in regard to troopships destined to French ports, which are provided with escort and routed in and out wholly from the Brest headquarters which is kept fully informed as to routes and positions of British-controlled convoys and as to locations of submarine activities and has to so adjust routes on and off the coast as to keep clear of both. Three out of eight escort units are provided by United States vessels for the coastal convoy system, which is operated by the French. Unity of purpose and sympathy of understanding have combined to make the handling of cargo convoys on and off the coast a matter of ready adjustment to the general conditions obtaining in regard to destination of cargo ships and availability of escort vessels.
At the end of the fiscal year United States naval forces in France are stated to have been escorting troops into France at the rate of 134,000 per month. Since May 1, 1918, the number of troopships and cargo-vessel convoys east and west bound have averaged more than 1 a day, and the number of ships over 200 a month. No convoy of troopships has failed to be met by destroyer escort before entering the area of submarine activity, and no passenger intrusted to the care of the United States naval forces in France has been lost.
(a) The destroyers based on Brest are controlled directly from headquarters at Brest and are at present maintained in readiness for service with the aid of the fleet repair ship Prometheus and lately also by the destroyer tender Bridgeport. Additional repair shops on shore are in process of completion.
(b) Arrangements are now in hand for the carrying out of gunnery exercises including torpedoes, the need of which has been recognised but had hitherto been deemed impracticable on account of press of work.
(c) The United States naval repair facilities here as well as elsewhere on the coast of France have to be made use of not only for the upkeep of the United States naval vessels based on the coast, but also for necessary repairs to troopships and cargo vessels, whether naval, Army, or Shipping Board, the guiding idea being to keep the ships moving.
(a) Coastal Districts in France.—The north and west coasts of France are divided into districts which correspond with the French prefectures maritimes, and the district headquarters are in every case located in the same place as those of the several prefects maritimes. These headquarters are communication and operating centers and provide naturally by arrangement as above described for full and ready cooperation with the French district activities.
(b) The principal ports have assigned to them a port officer whose function in regard to all United States ships is to expedite their "turn around," and in addition, where vessels carrying United States naval armed guards are concerned, to inspect the armed guards and adjust such matters as are beyond the capacity or authority of the armed guard commander.
(a) United States Naval Aviation in France includes all that the title implies, except the northern bombing group mentioned above, and aviation matters are immediately in the hands of Captain T.T. Craven, aid for aviation on Vice Admiral Wilson's staff.
(b) There are eight sea-plane stations, three dirigible stations, and three kite-balloon stations, all of which are operated by district commanders in cooperation with the French naval air services in the several corresponding prefectures maritimes. There is also an assembly, repair, and supply base at Pauillac for the general service of all air stations in France and a sea-plane gunnery and bombing training school at Moutchie, both of these activities being directly under the headquarters in Brest.
(c) Of the eight seaplane stations, five have been in operation for periods varying from 12 to 3 months, and the remaining 3 are now about ready to begin.
(d) Of the three dirigible stations, only that at Paimboeuf has been in operation for any length of time, and is to be used also for training and experimental work. The station at Guipavas will shortly be in operation. The station at Gujan has been delayed to let material go to other stations which it was deemed advisable to complete first.
(e) Of the three kite-balloon stations, only that at Brest is ready for operation. Test and experimental work have been carried on here since August, 1918, in connection with destroyers and yachts. The station at La Trinite is nearing completion and that at La Pallice is progressing rapidly. The utility of the station at La Trinite seems to be somewhat in doubt, as the original purposes for its establishment have undergone some change due to alterations in the methods of handling convoys, coastal as well as on and off shore.
(f) The assembly repair and supply station at Pauillac is under the command of Captain F.T. Evans, under whose forceful and able direction the station has progressed rapidly to completion and is deemed ready to undertake any and all demands that may be made on it.
(g) The training school at Moutchie, under the command of Commander
R.W. Cabaniss appears to have a thorough system of instruction, founded
on sound bases, and includes study and lectures, as well as ample,
practical work. Endeavor is made to keep in touch with and to adopt,
where deemed advisable, the best British and French methods. Some of the
devices in use for training are ingeniously adapted to the simulation of
the conditions obtaining while flying.
Liaison with the United States Army in France is carried on by maintaining a naval liaison officer (Commander R. Williams) at the Army general headquarters, chiefly for the purpose of rendering assistance in effecting cooperation as to the handling and routing of troopships and of cargo vessels consigned to Army account.
Trans-Atlantic Radio Station.—The erection of the trans-Atlantic radio-transmitting station at Croix d'Hins, near Bordeaux, is being done by United States naval personnel under the direction of Lieutenant Commander G.C. Sweet. The French authorities are putting in the foundations. The personnel is well taken care of and the work of construction appears to be progressing favorably. It is hoped and expected by those in charge that a four-tower unit will be ready for operation about March 1, 1919.
The 14-inch Naval Railway Battery was built and equipped by the Navy and manned by naval personnel for service in France with the United States Army. It arrived in France in July last under the command of Rear Admiral C.P. Plunkett and was ready for service during August. A part of the battery has been operating with the French against Laon and vicinity, and is understood to have rendered what the French consider very valuable service against the enemy. The entire battery is now with the First United States Army, but data as to what it has accomplished are not yet available. This test of our naval guns of late design and large caliber in long-range firing and the opportunities given to naval personnel to study and observe the artillery work on the western front are considered to be of great value to the service.
A United States Naval Pipe-line Unit has completed important service in the construction of a fuel-oil pipe line across Scotland, and is understood to have been asked for by the French to do some work of the same kind for them.
(a) There are yet to be inspected and observed the following activities, which have not so far been mentioned:
United States naval base at Cardiff, Subchaser Detachment Two, based on Corfu, Captain C.P. Nelson, United States naval air stations in Italy.
(b) It is not deemed practicable to visit the United States naval
forces based at Gibraltar (Rear Admiral Niblack), nor the United States
naval forces based on the Azores, because of difficulties of
transportation, as is also the case in regard to the U.S.S. Olympia in
northern Russia.
(a) The establishment of United States naval aviation in Europe has been one of the most difficult and involved tasks which have had to be undertaken and brought into effect. Captain H.I. Cone arrived in Europe for this work about October 1, 1917, and has continued in charge of it ever since. He maintained headquarters in Paris until about August 1, 1918, when he removed to London and was designated as aid for aviation on staff of the commander of United States naval forces in Europe.
(b) There were arrangements to be made with the French and the British as to locations for stations that would be best adapted for cooperation. There were further arrangements to be made as to the procurement of sites or the taking over of the stations already in operation or in process of construction. The Navy Department had also to be communicated with, largely by cable, as to design, quantities, and shipments of material, which upon receipt had to be allocated with a view to completing certain stations as soon as possible while not delaying the progress of the general scheme any more than could be helped.
(c) Delays and mistakes in the shipment of aviation material probably caused more trouble than any other one thing, for when material once arrives in a European port it has been, and still is, a very difficult matter to arrange for coastwise transportation.
(d) Taking into consideration the necessary scope of the project, the
difficulties inherent in providing for establishments on foreign soil,
and the delays which the magnitude of the undertakings caused in the
production and shipment of material (and personnel) from the United
States, the state of progress is considered highly creditable to Captain
Cone and to his assistants.
(a) It was satisfactory to note that in practically all cases—whether our own naval facilities provided reading, writing, and amusement facilities for the personnel or not—the Y.M.C.A. was in evidence. Their arrangements were, in many places, all that could be expected in the way of cheerful and comfortable quarters; and, in those places where the facilities were not so good, inquiry usually revealed the fact that a suitable building was either under way or soon would be.
(b) In at least one place the Knights of Columbus were found established in a commodious building with all in readiness to duplicate the character of the work generally associated with Y.M.C.A. activities.
(c) All assistance of this character, from whatever source, has been
gladly taken advantage of by the officers in charge, and is much used
and appreciated by the men.
It is deemed worthy of note that the arrangements and facilities for caring for the sick and injured Navy personnel are almost more than ample. In many of the naval-base hospitals the majority of the patients are, consequently, of other services—both the United States and the allied. The provisions of the United States Navy in this respect are so complete in their facilities and so efficient in their readiness as to excite the admiration of all the foreign services, military as well as naval.
As has already been said at the beginning of this report, cooperation with the British and the French had been the chief method of work for the United States naval forces in European waters. That cooperation has been effected with such cordial appreciation and the few minor difficulties have yielded so readily to sympathetic understanding that all zeal displayed was in the common interest of "winning the war" that there is and can be nothing but reciprocal praise for each other's efforts, which will be of lasting benefit in future when the present compelling community of interest is no longer operative. The United States and the allies know each other better individually and collectively and are and will continue to be the greater and better friends for the experience that has come out of the cordial cooperation and coordination required by the common interest in this war.
There is ample evidence on every hand, from the north of Scotland to the shores of the Mediterranean, that officers and men of the naval service, regular and reserve alike and together, have "turned to" on the work in hand, inspired by the guiding idea of doing all in their power, however humble the task, of "helping to win the war." Officers whose preference is for duty at sea, men who came over with a view to doing battle with the enemy, one and all, have done and are doing the work that comes to hand, even to the digging of ditches, with a will and with a cheery readiness for more of the same kind, for anything that will help to "get on with the war," that is an inspiration to all who work with them and of vast satisfaction to those over them who will know what their preferences in the matter of war employment are. They are a credit to the service and to their country.
Furthermore, this large body of men, which occupies the position of the advance guard of the Navy, as a whole have so conducted themselves as to earn the highly favorable comment of the citizens in whose country they found themselves and whose guests they are in some measure. It is believed that it may well be said that the men on duty in Europe, far away from home ties and influences, will return to their own country unharmed by the temptations and pitfalls which their relatives and friends may have feared. They are a fine, upstanding lot of men, and their adaptability and efficiency have been so apparent as to fully warrant the oft-made statement that the men of the United States Navy, which includes the Marine Corps, can do anything, anywhere, and at any time.
On May 31, 1918, the President Lincoln was returning to America from a voyage to France, and was in line formation with the U.S.S. Susquehanna, the U.S.S. Antigone, and the U.S.S. Ryndam, the latter being on the left flank of the formation and about 800 yards from the President Lincoln. The weather was pleasant, the sun shining brightly, with a choppy sea. The ships were about 500 miles from the coast of France and had passed through what was considered to be the most dangerous part of the war zone. At about 9 a.m. a terrific explosion occurred on the port side of the ship about 120 feet from the bow and immediately afterwards another explosion occurred on the port side about 120 feet from the stern of the ship, these explosions being immediately identified as coming from torpedoes fired by a German submarine.
It was found that the ship was struck by three torpedoes, which had been fired as one salvo from the submarine, two of the torpedoes striking practically together near the bow of the ship and the third striking near the stern. The wake of the torpedoes had been sighted by the officers and lookouts on watch, but the torpedoes were so close to the ship as to make it impossible to avoid them; and it was also found that the submarine at the time of firing was only about 800 yards from the President Lincoln.
There were at the time 715 persons on board, including about 30 officers and men of the Army. Some of these were sick and two soldiers were totally paralyzed.
The alarm was immediately sounded and everyone went to his proper station which had been designated at previous drills. There was not the slightest confusion and the crew and passengers waited for and acted on orders from the commanding officer with a coolness which was truly inspiring.