ter
departure from America, but also to the fact that the vessels were
slower than those which had come before. The delay caused little
anxiety, although it worked temporary inconvenience to the troops, who
had been waiting for materials with which to work.

Probably the happiest man in port was Rear Admiral Gleaves, commander of
the convoy. From the bridge of his flagship he watched the successful
conclusion of his plans with characteristic modesty and insisted upon
bestowing the lion's share of credit for the crossing on the navigating
officers of his command.

ADVANCE PLANS BRIEFLY SKETCHED.

Sketching briefly the advance plans whereby all units of the contingent
had to keep a daily rendezvous with accompanying warships, he said,
that, thanks to his navigating officers and despite overcast skies,
which made astronomical observations impossible, each rendezvous had
been minutely and accurately kept by each unit. The orders he issued at
the outset, which comprised scores of details, were observed, the
Admiral declared, with such exactness that the contingent units and
convoying warships invariably met each other within half an hour of the
appointed time.

A big contributing factor in the crossing, according to officers of both
branches of the service, was the hearty co-operation between the army
and navy. From the time of the departure until the landing there was not
the slightest suggestion of friction, and co-ordination played its part
distinctively in the success of the expedition.

The startling fact of the entire journey across the sea was that the
Navy had won its first victory in driving off attacking submarines. The
news of the fight was given out by the Navy Department and the Committee
on Public Information, with the announcement of the final landing of the
troops and the safe arrival of the supply ships.

The announcement, sponsored by Secretary Daniels, of the Navy, shows
beyond the shadow of doubt that the Berlin Admiralty had been "tipped
off" that the American expeditionary force was on its way, and had
carefully planned to send the transports to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Realizing that an attack might be expected in the war zone, and that
every precaution would be taken to ward it off, the Germans moved far
out from land, in the hope of catching the American gunners napping.
They were fooled. Uncle Sam's jackies were at the guns when the fleet of
submarines stuck their periscopes above the