ons down,
a second month in quiet trench sectors by battalions, and a third month
after it came out of the trenches when it should be trained as a
complete division in war of movement.

SCHOOLS OF INSTRUCTION.

Very early a system of schools was outlined and started, which should
have the advantage of instruction by officers direct from the front. At
the great school center at Langres, one of the first to be organized,
was the staff school, where the principles of general staff work, as
laid down in our own organization, were taught to carefully selected
officers. Men in the ranks, who had shown qualities of leadership, were
sent to the school of candidates for commissions. A school of the line
taught younger officers the principles of leadership, tactics, and the
use of the different weapons. In the artillery school, at Saumur, young
officers were taught the fundamental principles of modern artillery;
while at Issoudun an immense plant was built for training cadets in
aviation. These and other schools, with their well-considered
curriculums for training in every branch of our organization, were
co-ordinated in a manner best to develop an efficient army out of
willing and industrious young men, many of whom had not before known
even the rudiments of military technique. Both Marshal Haig and General
Petain placed officers and men at our disposal for instructional
purposes, and we are deeply indebted for the opportunities given to
profit by their veteran experience.

AMERICAN ZONE.

The eventual place the American army should take on the western front
was to a large extent influenced by the vital question of communication
and supply. The northern ports of France were crowded by the British
armies' shipping and supplies while the southern ports, though
otherwise at our service, had not adequate port facilities for our
purposes and these we should have to build. The already overtaxed
railway system behind the active front in northern France would not be
available for us as lines of supply and those leading from the southern
ports of northeastern France would be unequal to our needs without much
new construction. Practically all warehouses, supply depots and
regulating stations must be provided by fresh constructions. While
France offered us such material as she had to spare after a drain of
three years, enormous quantities of material had to be brought across
the Atlantic.

VAST PREPARATIONS NECESSARY.

With