New-York tribune. [volume], August 25, 1918, Page 8, Image 28

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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THE TANK CORPS LINES UP ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF GETTYSBURG
Tank Corps Instructors Hand Pick Their
Men for Physical Powers and Fatigue
Capacity From All Ranks
THF news of the "tank" victories
of the last six weeks and the of
ficial assurance that the tank.
once somewhat discredited, is sudden?
ly raised to a high place in the order
of Hun killers was nowhere received
with more joy than among the few
thousand "treat 'em rough" boys in
the American tank camps, Visions of
themselves clattering ahead of the
doughboys and scattering Hun regi?
ments over the landscape became very
real. Those already in training see
themselves as the vanguard of thou?
sands of American tanks leading a tri?
umphant, if bloody, procession to Ber?
lin.
"Give us tanks enough, only give us
tanks enough, and then?oh boy!"
said one of the officers.
And they all feel that way. For the
tank corps is the native home of en?
thusiasm. No man is in it who could
be scared out by stories of privation,
mutilation or sudden death. All are
volunteers, and many, very many, are
men who have given up big jobs, and
even commissions in other branches, to
get inside the clattering monsters.
Many men now in the tank corps have
actually refused commissions in the
corps itself, for the tank officer seldom
rides in the tank, and many of those
who enlist are men whose supreme am?
bition is to see a German machine-gun
nest through the sights of tt-.eir own
Brownings.
Few Endure
The Physical Test
At the present rating all men who
enlist in the tank corps must be be?
tween the ages of twenty-one and thii
ty-one, regn-tered in the draft, and in
some class other than 1 that is. in a
deferred class. It is absolutely essen?
tial that they be physically fit. Men
are constantly being weeded fron
"Black Tom" service and Sent to the
ordnance or some other departmen*
which requires less strenuous physical
endurance. There is a tremendous
strain 07 a ni" 's nerves, his fatigue
capacity and his energies in one of
these thundering tanks, whose machin
1 ery alone?without taking into account
the rapid tire of its guns under attack
produces a heat like a boiler roo::
and an uproar so great that order
cannot be transmitted verbally, bu
must be conveyed from orfe man to an
other throuph a most carefully worked
out system of signs and signals.
Although men with mechanical train?
ing are wanted 'his is not essential to
acceptance in the eorp\ It is me"?
?ary that a man be, tirst of al!, a sol?
dier, or the stuff of which soldiers are
made-?a man prepared to meet the
roughest sort of conditions without so
much, as the flicker of an eye. Th?3 is
no branch for the squeamish individual
with nerves. The noise, the fumes, the
terrific vibration and the intense ner
vour strain of tank fighting are now
well known f?.ct-. The jolts and jar;
o-" subway travel ar- as nothing com?
pared to fhe irregularities of travel in
one of these iron caterpillars, a? it tips
across trenches, craters and shell holes
and tears its way through wire entan-;
glements, uprooting trees and throwing
down the walls of houses. And yet, as
or.',- man writes, "in spite of their ele?
mental strength and apparent clumsi?
ness they are. in the hands o.' skilled
driver?, as decile as trained elephant"
nnder their own mp.houts." Grotesque
Jy abnormal and ungainly in appear?
ance, they appeal to the humorous in
an ;nfantryman, an'' he charges m :h
wake of his lumbering guide with a
I ehuckle at its effect upon the enemy.
"And every German bullet that clangs
against ,'?:? steel sides is one less
aimed at our men. Each silvery star
splashed on its side is the signature of
j one that has not drilled its way through
the body of an infantry soldier."
The two large American tunk camp.:
are in Pennsylvania -a preliminary
camp at Gettysburg and a finishing
camp at Tobyhanna and here the men
are taught something of almost every
branch of service except flying, for
the tanks are shock troops, cavalry ami
artillery combined. The enlisted men
are put through infantry drill, light
I artillery practice, master the manual
J of arms, learn to handle a rifle, ma?
chine and rapid fire guns and the re
i volver?the latter, by the way, being
: the only personal defensive arms car
; ri'-d by a tank man in actual combat.
! All the intricacies, stubbornnesses anil
I eccentricities of an engine are studied
i and absorbed, and the name of every
1 part?even the most minute and seem
; ingly unimportant? -must be learned
i and learned so well that a man awak
ened from his sleep and confront?e
I with a small joint or valve could in
? stantly call it by name. A man mus?
| know how to take a tank apart, guns
. engines and all, and put it togctbe:
i again in the dark.
There are long hikes and drills, ex
i ercises that stretch muscles a mat
A ^HIGH-GRADE HUM-CHASER
A big French tank in action on a wooded battlefield.
never knew he had and wished he'd
been made without, and "stunts"
planned to test a man's mettle and fit
him for the rough and tumble servie:
he is going to sec on the fighting
front
One man, itching to get his handd
en the Huns, and aching after a day
of vigorous training, burst into verse
with the following
LAMENT
Oh. we came to join the Tank Corps
And light the bloody Hun,
But if this is the dog-gone Tank Corps
Wei!. I'm a l'on of a gun.
It's "l'ail out with your rifles. On the
double quick."
And we doublt* time around the lot
until we're fairly sick.
Then it's "Get ready for inspection
change your clothes and shine
that gun."
Above?A formation not in the military manuals. Below?A group of tanK fighters before the monument that stands on the place where Lee's
invasion reached its highest point.
And if this is the bally Tank Corps, j
Why, I'm a son of a gun.
When we've se.lied on the bunk,
After mess is put away;
Then it's "Got those full packs r^ady,
We'll hike the rest of the day."
And we sweat and swear in the broil?
ing, bust? ring sun.
And if this is the whooping Tank
Corps,
Wei!. I'm a son of a gun!
Another man, caught after the first
wee!; of trailing fin?! askn! what, he
thought o.f it, grinned arid 'lowed as
how ii was great, ?hough most of his
time had been spent in unloadhiar wood
from the flatcars standing at one side
of the large training field and piling it
up for winter use. "But the boy.-," he
added, "are the best lot ever, and the
old battlefield :. bully place to be in.
Here at Gettysburg, where the Civil
War vets fought such a bully scrap
under these old trees that saw the
thing to a finish, heard Lincoln's ad?
dress and now shake themselves ir
jolly satisfaction over the way the boy?
take to their training even the wood
pile well, it's inspiration. And tin
tank corps is the place to be in, believi
me! There isn't a thrill going that thi
Black Toms aren't going to have ;
share in 'over there." Already wo'v,
had a dispatch saying that several liuu
dred men in tin American Tank Corp
aie at the front with Porshing and th
first American army, r.nd from now 01
che 'treat 'cm rough' boys are goinj
to be heard ?rom! "
His enthusiasm was contagious, and
several of the men at camp who have
actually been in service in the fight?
ing line had graphic stories to tell of
the work done by these uncannily hu?
man machines, which worm through
any obstacle and create such havoc
among the German army, in one in?
stance the nun of a tank found them?
selves cut off from the artillery and
their machine disabled. Temporary re?
pairs, however, sent, it gasping toward
the foe, nose down and oblivious to the
shells raining about it. The men inside
stuck to their guns and spit lead bullets
at the opposing Germans, who soon
broke into confusion and took to flight.
Fifty of them, however, were captured
by the tank, unaided and handicapped
by engine trouble. The corps, hot, be?
grimed and almost exhausted by the
-".rain of s?. .eral hours' intense fight?
ing, rounded their fifty prisoners to?
r/ether, star.e ' them ahead of the tank
did proceeded to the rear, the tank
ii 'having more or less like a lame duck,
but elatteringly triumphant.
At another time a tank and its crew
??und themselves in a stormy position
inside the enemy lines, with no way of
escape. Shut up in their movable fort?
ress the men kept the tank advancing,
hacking up and turning about for all
the world like a cat with its back up,
all the while shooting l'nv at the Ger?
mans who surrounded it and v. ere
'.vying to pierce the armor and get at
the men inside. This kept up for five
hours, until the infantry arrived and
rescued the outfit. Stories such as
these are innumerable, and the man
who has known the inimitable zest of
waiting for the signal to advnnce.
knowing it was up to nim to get tic
ui'," bulk of his machine over the
inemy entanglements and clear, the
ground for the advancing infantry
knowing that the success of an attack
depends largely upon him and the thor?
oughness with which lie and his ma?
chine wipe away obstructions?such ;
man has a gleam in his eye that bode.
no good for the Boch?n
Find the Goat
Second Best
"Black Tom," the ferocious masco? o:
'?'ne tank boys, the dare-devil, bristling
feline that spits from the tank turre
and forebodes ill for any Frit/, win
gets within the range of his eye. roam:
about the camps in a multiplicity o
persons. Any cat that looks fierci
enough and black enough is apt to ge
kidnapped and adopted by some batial
ion. If there aren't cits enough to g<
round, well ?me battalion has a blacl
goat, and woe he unto the hapless indi
vidual who is moved to criticise o:
question the substitution, i; just isn'
done, that's ail.
"IVp couldn't, ?nd a cat that suitcc
u-.," the sergeant explained, "so \v<
; took the goat, because?well, because
he's just as tough."
H" ?s, and the tank that takes him
along has an adequate battery attach?
ment. Company C of the t04th Battal
1 ion 'boasts of having the biggest black
tomcat in history, and it is getting a
course of training that, added to its in?
herited and instinctive combativeneas,
will guarantee a rough time for the
Germans who happen to meet his par?
ticular armored rendezvous.
Little Bound Top, made famous by
tie battle ;>f Gettysburg, is now a place
of tryst and the abode of romance. A
?restauran'- and dancing pavilion lend
their touch of modernity, and many a
man, lingering over a difficult farewell,
has been forced to make a mad dash
back to camp in time for taps or suffer
disgrace equivalent to that of A. W. 0
L. (absent without leave I.
Hand-Picked Ones
Can Entertain
Aside from the usual entertainments
nrovwltd for the men in camp, Gettys
burg bas a natural open air theatre
back of Company C. 304th Battalion
1 where something happens every Tuos
i day night. Usually it's a wrestling oi
I boxing match and no amateur stun;
at that. The seats are always crowded
i not onlv bv the men of the corps, bu
I ...
I by visiting civilians. There is a tan'.
: orchestra and a fund of home talen
that round- up into a vaudeville enter
tainment that some of the Broadwa;
' hangers-on would gladly pay a war ta:
to see.
Another mascot of the human variet;
is the ten-year-old son of Mrs, Mc
Clary, whose stories of the Black Tom
are familiar. .Master McClary, th
: youngest member of the Gettysbur
camp, has been commissioned a firs
lieutenant, and. armed with a pa-s. im
pcriously demands admittance to an
part of the camp that houses "his pals..
Private "Pop" Harris, whose ?on is a
infantryman in France and who i
himself a member of the liO?th Batta
ion of the Black Toms, is the o'uie
Gettysburg member, and refuses to ai
cept a commission, preferring to act s
genera! "Dad" to the boys, keepin
their money for them, sympathoticall
listening to their woes or joys an
proffering advice when advice is sough
There is diversion and plenty i
it in camp, but the good work mu
be continued when the boys get "ove
there," and for this purpose, and tc n
sure a well organized plan for carin
for our "Black Toms," a civilian tar
? ?orps league is being formed, with oil
cers chosen from among prominent nit
and women of the country, many i
whom iiave sons in the "treat 'e
rough" ranks. The American tanke:
represent a most extraordinary orgai
ization from the personnel standpoin
and are proud of that fact. Every ma
is hand picked and accepted in the tar
corps because of his fitness, not only
- physical but from the standpoint of
general worth. The men are a splen?
didly developed lot, daring, energetic
and initiat've. They are prepared to
meet the most dangerous conditions in?
cumbent upon a so'dier. and they know
this before they enlist. In this branch
o? the service a man gets killed all
over or he comes through O. K. There
arc no half-way measures, no wound or
maiming. lie either escapes un?
harmed or he dit: with hin suns.
There are many divisions to tank
service, and sonic are more hazardous
than others.' The salvage corps has,
THE GUNS THF: TANKS CARRY
The first picture that has reached this country of the "heavy gun" the
tanks carry?an adaptation of the three-inch field gun.
perhaps, the most dangerous job of all,
for these men must creep out under
cover of the night, and, crawling over
the embattled held strewn with the de?
bris of the day's tight, recover .from de?
molished tanks whatever parts arc fit
for further use. They are exposed to
enemy snipers and the danger of en?
emy discovery. If some tank, aban?
doned by its crew because of- enemy
shelling, lias by chance escaped enemy
capture and lain quiet but practically
uninjured throughout the fighting,
these men worm their way to it. make
any necessary repairs and return with
it. o'len under heavy lire.
The motorcycle corps, an important
part, of the tank service, rushes about
during battle carrying dispatches, offi?
cers, and men from one point to an?
other, under a constant barrage of ex
Scope for Individual Adventure in Ar
mcred Cavalry Appeals to Finest
Types of Fighting Americans
ploding shell and flying shrapnel. There
is an ?labor?t; system of signalling
leveloped in connection with tank ser?
vice, and the signal men, who rush up
mi ; he n ar v t.h ue w part - for those
damaged under five, take theiV lives in
their h.uuls each time they are sent.
for. At all times there is a replace?
ment corps, from which men aro con?
stantly being .sent into acci?n to re?
place some one who has been killed, a
sTystem of individual substitution
unique in this branch of service.
Such men must necessarily be a
picked lot of the highest calibre, and
, the Tank Corps League is organized
for the special purpose of furthering
in every possible way the welfare of
the men in tank corps. A system of
entertainment is planned to meet post
action reaction, when the men are
forced to spend a brief period of in?
ertia between battles. Tobacco, candy.
, musical instruments and means of
j amusement will be furnished, and
everything will be done to assist in
furthering the individu;-.! shipment of
articles to the men of the corps and to
assure their proper delivery.
The league aims to render practical
assistance to the families of all tank
men .overseas, and i.i the event of a
i casualty to obviate to as grei>t an ex?
tent as possible an'.- distress arising
' from delay in receiving government
help. That is. th< league would.
through its local secretar:., rendei
financial aid ?>r assistance as i-.\r as it
could.
They Allow
Civilians to Help
The organization has two classes of
membership - 1 i officers and enlisted
men and (21 civilians. The enlisted
;men pay a fee of 50 cents and the of?
ficers $1. Any civilian is eligible upon
payment of $1, and receives a jolly
I little button besides the comfortable
feeling that he is helping one of the
most important branche; of the service
anil doing his bit toward crushing the
Hun. And on that day when our
"Black Toms" roil into Berlin and lay
the offending Boche out like one of
mother's gingerbread men the man or
woman who has one of these hule bu'
? tons will probably want to put a halo
around it. If an; on? '"- ppens to want
to become an hoi orary mber he or
" c -n do -. for :.::-. an I . ut? :-art
Gardner, at tank ! ? . Quarters, Room
I 1003, 19 to 25 West Forty-fourth Street,
- is there for the express purpose of
sending a membership application any
, time a person signifies he wants to be
come a member of the Tank Corps
Longue, whether ho's a civilian or or.?
of the enlisted.
Incidentally, Sergeant Jimmie Shea,
' who Stepped out of vaudeville into the
I tank corps at Camp Colt, has written a
: song for the "treat 'em rough'1 boy?,
the words of which follow:
The Yanks and their ta:Us will po
through til.- Boche's ranks
And roll ri-jht to Berlin.
Thc-y er.' roadj to fighl any time, day
or night.
And wheru the battle's thickest they'll
go in.
But when oui' captains giv< the cum.
m and.
"Come on! Treat 'em rough!" gee, I
think it's grand.
Then the Yanks and ti ir tanks will go
through the Boche's ranks
And roil rijrhl to Berlin.
This Rame sergeant, '',011 asked why
the boys happene 1 to be called "Black
Toms," and why that particular animal
was chosen as tii" tank yir.bol, offered
this explana! ion :
"You see," he .-aid. "the tank mid the
tomcat resemble each other m d
tion. The big blai'k tomcat is a iiici.
chummy animal when you treat
r glit. Just pet him and rub his back
and you will find him kim .
iie wiii rub his nose agaii -.:
and purr happily, climb o.? i.ito your
lap, cuddle close to you and ?ro
: ?cause you are his friend.
Back to the
Arts of Peace
"That, of course, is when you trrtt
ii i m right.
"The tank is quite the same. 1: is a
great friend of mankind. Take away
th.e steel armor and you have a simple
tractor. Attach ploughs and ot.i<" im?
plements for tilling ti.e sml and you
have on?? of the best frit nds the farmer
has known.
"You will agree that both tomcat and
tractor are peaceful.
"Take that same peaceful tomcat ar.il
beat him or kick him. ; ::?! you wi hav?
a gnawing, clawing, spin ng, .-narlir.;
thing with his lighting clothes.
"That same peaceful tractor r< spondi
to the call of .Mar- in much the samt
way. (.'..Ilerl on to don its aimoranc
defend the country that ;.a ? it birth
the tank becomes th mo I fearful 0:
our engines of war. 1. charges into th?
Huns without thought of consequen?
to itself, teamng down enemy defence!?
scattering machine gun nests, tearing
up his barbed wire entanglementsM?
spreading demoralization m fue n?
of those it opposes. And as the reailj
peace-loving tomcat 1- turned into <
thing of fury, the caterpillar tank it
action embodies the very ?-ins.t of moil
err. war. its capacity for destructiot
is without limit, Its remarkable tl
fectiveness in offei ;ive 1 ic cshascomi
into first hand notic?
"This tomcat, Hun crushing fortre:
is calling for men to drive and r.an it
i* need; men with nerve and t.ie Kir.
of guts of which Kipling sang. C-tra
aboard if you feel you have them. '
you are yellow, stay at home."
TANKS OF THREE NATIONS ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Below is a "stable" of British tanks, giving some idea of the six.o of the force of iron cavalry that are being turned loose. Unless the
ittimbers over the stalls We, there are forty-eight in this stable. At the left is a medium sized French tank on the way to the front, and, at the
Firr.ch PtotOrtal Survie?
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Brltlah official photo, copyright by Underwood A Underwood.
Vr?uob i'lctoiul servio*