nd of
corps of army artillery, transport, aircraft, tanks, ambulances, the
location of hospitals, and the molding together of all of the elements
of a great modern army with its own railheads, supplied directly by
our own Service of Supply. The concentration for this operation, which
was to be a surprise, involved the movement, mostly at night, of
approximately 600,000 troops, and required for its success the most
careful attention to every detail.

"The French were generous in giving us assistance in corps and army
artillery, with its personnel, and we were confident from the start of
our superiority over the enemy in guns of all calibers. Our heavy
guns were able to reach Metz and to interfere seriously with German
rail movements. The French Independent Air Force was placed under my
command which, together with the British bombing squadrons and our air
forces, gave us the largest assembly of aviation that had ever been
engaged in one operation on the western front."

It must not be imagined that all this great army went forward in a day
or two, or that the battle lasted but a short time. On the other hand,
it was a fight, tooth and nail, for almost every foot of the way. The
battle line from Les Esparages, around the nose of the St. Mihiel
salient to the Moselle River was about forty miles, and was greatly
strengthened by artificial defenses. This gives some idea of the task
ahead of General Pershing. If you will picture to yourself a distance
from your own home, as you sit reading this, to some point distant
forty miles, in the woods or mountains, and then figure this forty
miles occupied by advancing troops, fighting against a ruthless foe,
you will have some idea of the battle of St. Mihiel.

And it was forward into this battle that Ned, Bob, and Jerry and their
comrades moved. It would be impossible to tell all that happened--of
the surging forward into the face of devastating fire; of the men who
fell at the sides of the chums, killed or desperately wounded; of the
terrible and awful sights they saw. For days they fought on. Gaining
ground here, losing, perhaps, a little there, hiding all night in
rain-filled shell-holes, being driven out, but going back to recapture
them again. On and on they went.

They were weary to death, but they kept on, and, for a wonder, such is
sometimes the fortune of war, neither Ned, Bob, nor Jerry was
seriously wounded. They received minor knocks, scratches, and bruises,
and onc