Racine county in the world war, Part 2

Author: Haight, Walter L
Publication date: c1920]
Publisher: [Racine, Western Prtg. & Lithographing Co.
Number of Pages: 612

USA > Wisconsin > Racine County > Racine county in the world war > Part 2

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

That was the situation in April, 1917.

It was nearly a year later when the first American combat units were in action against the Germans in France. But by July 1918, the Central Powers had received their first severe defeat on the western front since 1914. In September the Americans administered two decisive defeats to the foe. Early in October the whole German front in France and Ger- many collapsed under the combined pressure of the Allies. In November, the Kaiser abdicated his throne and fled, and the German govern- ment accepted terms of surrender which were practically unconditional.

The American navy had furnished the addi- tional strength necessary to overcome the sub- marine menace; American industries had fur- nished the necessary material and ammuni- tions; American money had financed the bank- rupt Allies; the American people had thrown their whole heart and soul and strength into the struggle; American soldiers had met and mastered the German hosts every day for weeks; American military strength had given the Allies sufficient power to drive the hither- to victorious foe to his knees.

That, in brief, is the story of the great war. Racine men and women played their part in it, and it was a part which will be remembered with pride as long as patriotism and love of country survive in America.

CHAPTER II

RACINE COUNTY PRIOR TO HOSTILITIES

R ACINE county is a typical inland Amer- ican community. Like thousands of other counties in the United States it is populated by intelligent, progressive citizens. A considerable proportion of the inhabitants are native born and descended from a line of pioneer stock. There are likewise a great many who are immigrants or the offspring of immigrants who came from foreign shores to seek their fortunes in this land where Nature smiles encouragingly upon the hopeful and the energetic. A dozen nationalities are well rep- resented here.

The two principal cities of the county-Ra- cine and Burlington-are factory centers. The former has for years manufactured and ship- ped to all parts of the earth a varied assort- ment of products, ranging from clothing and prepared foods to automobiles, machinery and leather goods. Surrounding these centers, and tributary to them is an area of rich, highly cultivated farm land where dairying and agri- culture is carried on by the most modern meth- ods.

There are millionaires in Racine county, and there are laborers. There are high salaried specialists and skilled mechanics. There are representatives of almost every class known to American life. It has daily newspapers and good schools. Its connections with the outside keep its people in touch with adjacent and dis- tant lands, and its numerous transportation lines make travel to all parts of the country easy. Its prosperity has kept its people happy and contented. Its steady growth has resulted in continued optimism. Briefly, it is a thriv- ing American county, with the qualities and characteristics typical of American communi- ties.

The history of Racine county's part in the World War, therefore, is much the same, in all probability as that of the great majority of places in the United States. The story of its sacrifices and trials and accomplishments is similar to that of the nation. What America did, Racine did in a smaller way. What Ra-

cine and its neighbors experienced, the towns and villages and cities of the entire country experienced.

The whole story of the great conflict which deluged the world with suffering and misery and death from 1914 to 1918 has not yet been told. It may be a generation before there will appear an historian able to do justice to such a theme and with means to assemble all the data required for such a monumental work.

But it is not too early to attempt to put into words the tale of one county's part in the war. It is possible to depict armies and navies in terms of men whose faces are familiar to the reader; to explain America's mighty industrial efforts during the war in words which paint the tasks performed in local plants; to recall the nation's financial support to her armies while many who peruse the lines still own the bonds which helped to purchase victory; to describe the loving efforts made in home, and club and church to provide comfort for those who had donned the khaki or blue; and above all to keep fresh the memories of those who made the great sacrifice for country, while their families still wear the bands of mourning on their arms.

At the outbreak of the World War in 1914, this community had but little fear that the distant conflagration could spread to this side of the Atlantic. That Racine might be send- ing men to France, England and Russia to fight their country's battles seemed more like the figment of a disagreeable dream than the unavoidable and logical result of the turmoil overseas.

For more than two years Racine county, in common with the greater part of America, watched the progress of the terrible struggle in Europe with startled fascination. From the flood of charges and countercharges, defenses and denials, protests and arguments, which came from the various governments involved, few people seriously assumed the power to tell with certainty who was responsible for the holocaust. Almost everyone denounced Ger-

RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR

many for her base violation of Belgium's neu- trality, and sympathy was quite generally with the Belgians. When Great Britain came into the war, most Americans were inclined to as- sume that Germany's fate was sealed, now that the "iron ring" was closing about her at sea as well as on land. As days passed, and the armies settled down to trench warfare, the lingering idea that the war might spread to America almost disappeared.

Pacifists opposed any military preparations on our part, assuming that the vast armaments of Europe were the cause of the trouble there. Looking back to the days of 1914-1915, it seems as if a majority of Racine people had the same sort of interest in the World War then as they might have had in some well advertised cham- pionship prize fight. They discussed in homes, cafes, cigar stores and clubs the merits of the various antagonists. They cited statistics on land and naval forces, and on population and wealth and resources. They cheered the brave French poilus for driving the German invaders back at the Marne: they applauded the Ger- mans for turning apparent defeat on the Rus- sian front into an overwhelming victory which almost destroyed the Czar's armies; they ex- pressed admiration for the boldness of the Kaiser's raiders going forth on the seas to al- most certain destruction, yet spreading terror and death from Gibraltar to the East Indies before they met their fate.

There were few, indeed, who hoped for a real German victory. The brutal methods of the invaders in Belgium and eastern France caused even the friends of the Teutonic Em- pire to blush for shame, and dread the adoption of such rule in wider spheres. Yet there was also a feeling that Germany was handicapped in the struggle by her lack of food and other supplies and to many she appeared as a brave people being slowly starved into submission despite her magnificent fight. Americans, too, had never been inclined to feel, as individuals, much friendliness for Great Britain. They had been taught in the schools of our troubles with her in the Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The Irish-American population had also told tales of British rule which had not been without their effect.

Probably, the preponderance of sentiment in Racine county was in favor of the Allied cause. But quite frequently the feeling seemed to be as disinterestedly neutral as that of the woman who, seeing her spouse in combat with a grizzly, exclaimed, "Go it husband! go it, b'ar! May the best one win!"

Early in 1916 new factors entered into their

opinions and sympathies. German-Americans, loud in their defense of the Fatherland were noticeably backward about trying to get back to the old country to fight, while quite a num- ber of young men of French and English, and particularly Canadian, nativity were quietly packing up their suitcases and starting for Allied ports to enlist. Very shortly most of us could claim some acquaintance with men in the Allied ranks.

Then the German government began a course of action which forever lost her the support of even her admirers. No one claiming to be a self- respecting American could hear without anger and resentment in his heart the stories of American lives lost in the ruthless attacks by German submarines upon defenseless ships. Every principle of international law required that a warship provide for the safety of pas- sengers before sinking any unarmed vessel, and this the Germans persistently refused to do.

Then came the revelations of German intri- gue in Mexico, and the exposure of the official instructions from Berlin to agents in Mexico to stir up a war against the United States. This followed after the discovery of plots, in some cases successful, to destroy American factories which sold goods to the Allies, these plots being contrary to all law and often times with utter disregard for human life.

The indiscriminate bombing of English and French towns with heavy loss of life among the women and children was also generally de- nounced. All these things tended to germinate a feeling of dislike and distrust. The Allies themselves did many things to grate upon our feelings, but they did not kill Americans, de- stroy American property or show a total dis- regard for the rights of neutrals. Perhaps the most serious complaint against the Allies was due to the British rule that neutrals could ship but a limited amount of food and manufactured goods to countries bordering upon Germany, it being claimed that Holland and the Scandina- vian countries were furnishing the Germans with supplies. Cargoes stopped in transit and seized, were paid for, however, so there was no actual loss. Efforts to stop this interference with trade were being made when Germany's actions finally forced us into the war and then, of course, we were in accord with the Allies' policy.

Racine people took active part in the plans to send food and clothing to the Belgian refu- gees prior to our entry into the struggle, and funds were contributed by many to aid the French orphaned children. In Milwaukee,

RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR

PHOTOS BY HOOD

FIRST STEPS TOWARD MAKING SOLDIERS OF RACINE YOUNG MEN

The upper picture shows recruits for Batteries C and F out for drill in a quiet street of the city, early in 1917. Officers were trying to teach them the mysteries of keeping step when marching, and how to halt in unison. These men did not get uniforms until they went to Camp Douglas.

The lower picture was a familiar one after September, 1917. It depicts a draft contingent leaving for a cantonment, the yards of the North-western depot being crowded with friends and relatives of the departing men.

RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR

where there was a large German population, there were fairs and entertainments held to raise money for the German and Austrian civilian sufferers and contributions to these causes, also, were made here. The Red Cross Society, being an international organization for the amelioration of suffering, did work on both sides of the fighting lines in Europe and maintained an impartial attitude.

At times, during our period of neutrality, there were hot arguments and even some fistic encounters on the streets as a result of differ- ences of opinion over the war. But it is prob- ably not far from the truth to say that up to the spring of 1916 there were very few people in this part of the country who were so parti- san that they would have cared to see Amer- ica enter the war on either side, or who would have been heart-broken at the defeat of any

of the combatants. Reference to newspaper files bear out this view of the country's senti- ment.

Probably in future years, this attitude of our people will seem one of the strangest fea- tures of the history of America during the period of the war.

President Wilson was re-elected in 1916 as a result of a campaign which had as its political battle-cry, "He kept us out of war." Yet, when in the following April he solemnly set forth the reasons why we could no longer be at peace, the nation quietly, sternly and with undoubted loyalty and determination, trans- formed itself into a mighty fighting machine pledging its last man and last dollar to the task of defending the ideals of democracy from the onslaughts of arrogant militarism and au- tocracy.

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CHAPTER III

PREPARING TO FIGHT

T HE United States army was unprepared for war on April 6, 1917. The country had plenty of warning that we might be drawn into the fray, but the administration felt that any public move to enlarge the army or actually prepare for battle might precipi- tate a crisis which could otherwise be avoided. The extent of the work to put the country in a position to operate against an enemy had been confined chiefly to the formulation of a plan for drafting the young manhood of the land into service; a hasty census of manufacturing plants to determine which ones might be quickly transformed into munitions and army supply factories; a quiet hunt to disclose the identity of as many German and Austrian agents in America as possible; and the plans of the general staff of army and navy for form- ing a large offensive and defensive force by using the regular personnel to direct the train- ing of recruits.

Immediately upon the declaration of a state of war the draft bill, or Selective Service Act, as it was called, was introduced in Congress and after a lengthy debate was passed on May 17, 1917. The project was to require the registration of all men between the ages of 21 and 30, both inclusive, and to make all of these eligible to the draft as needed, excepting where exempted for causes to be determined. The polling booths were to be used for the regis- tration, and in Wisconsin it was decided to uti- lize the election machinery and officials to handle the work. June 5 was set as registra- tion day.

Recalling the draft riots of Civil War days, many officials feared there might be trouble on June 5, but there was none. The young men of the nation quietly answered the call of the president. Over 218,000 were registered in Wisconsin alone. More than 10,000,000 regis- tered in the country as a whole. There was less disturbance than at any general election ever held in the country. This fact did more to convince foreign observers of the unanimity

of the national feeling regarding the war than any other single thing.

Following the registration, it became neces- sary to plan for the work of selection. For this purpose there was a local board appointed by the governors of states in each assembly dis- trict, whose duty it should be to review all questions of exemptions from the draft law. There was also a district board for each fed- eral judicial district to review on appeal, and modify, affirm or reverse any decision of the local board.

After the registration, numbers were assign- ed at random to all registrants, and placed upon their cards. In each district these num- bers ran from 1 to 10,500, if that many regis- tered. It was decided to have a drawing at Washington to determine the order of liability of registrants for service. Numbers were drawn in a central lottery, and then put down in the order of drawing. This was the "mas- ter list" and as it was published every regis- trant could tell the relative order in which his serial number had been drawn. As soon as it was determined how many men must be raised by each district on the first draft, registrants would report in the proper order for physical examination and to have their claims of ex- emption passed upon if any were made. Wis- consin's quota was given as 28,199, but the state received credit for 15,274 already enlisted voluntarily, so only 12,976 were actually re- quired to be furnished by the draft. In this respect Wisconsin was the ninth highest state in the union proportionate to population.

Following their examinations, the first men were to report at designated training camps on September 5, 1917.

In the meantime, immediately after war was declared the National Guard of the various states was ordered to be recruited to war strength at once. This was completed, and the final muster rolls in Wisconsin showed 14,266 in the Guard. The Third regiment was order- ed into federal service in April and put at

RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR

work guarding bridges, tunnels and munitions plants in the state. The others assembled at Camp Douglas, Wis., in July.

Army and navy recruiting for the regular establishments was continued on a voluntary basis for the greater part of the war

While these steps were being taken to pro- vide the men for fighting, great cantonments were being constructed in record time to house the recruits. In southern camps the men usu- ally depended upon tents for shelter. In the north two-story frame barracks were built, each camp being arranged to hold from 25,000 to 30,000 men.

Factories were taken over by the government for the manufacture of guns, munitions uni- forms, foodstuffs, and other necessities. Steps were taken to conserve food and fuel. Alien enemies were sought out, listed and kept under observation, or interned. They were all requir- ed to register. Plans were made for raising vast sums of money by the sale of government bonds to every American citizen.

There seemed to be little cheering or bluster; not much wild enthusiasm for war. The peo- ple knew too well the horrors of the conflict which had already been raging for three years. Yet the whole country had accepted the war as a grim business which must be tackled; a duty which must be done; and it was proposed to perform the task as rapidly as possible, as thoroughly as possible and with as little lost motion as possible.

Central organizations to direct the work of civilian workers were effected. Every effort was made to prevent waste of money and ef- fort.

Perhaps the most significant feature of the conduct of the work at home is that almost every office was filled by men serving without pay. Volunteers stepped quickly forward to assume the work of selective service board members, resident secret service agents, fiscal agents, etc.

A few small units of troops were sent to France and England during the summer and fall of 1917. Several regiments of regulars were there by Christmas. At about that time National Guard divisions began to move toward the ports of debarkation. The Forty-second or Rainbow, division, containing three com- panies of Wisconsin guardsmen, was among the first to be sent across the ocean. All troop movements were shrouded in secrecy. By the middle of March 1918, the Wisconsin National guardsmen were all in France. The First divi- sion, composed of the residue of many regular units, was in minor actions about that time.

The navy now had succeeded in perfecting

methods of convoying transports across the ocean with reasonable safety against enemy attacks. Troop movements began at great speed. A hundred thousand, two hundred thou- sand, three hundred thousand trained soldiers from American camps were put on ships and rushed overseas each month. The arms and equipment were provided, too. Despite the great distance from their base, there was al- ways on hand in France from 30 to 60 days' rations for every soldier there.

At home the government proceeded upon the idea that the war might last for two or three years and all military, naval, financial and in- dustrial plans were made with that thought in view. Huge factories were built to meet the needs of the distant future. Contracts were let for goods which would not be needed for many months. No stone was left unturned to insure the ultimate victory of our arms, and there was to be no let-up of effort if over-con- fidence should come. In fact, every branch of war work continued up to the very signing of the armistice just as though the end of the war was not yet a possibility.

The selective service law was modified to make it more perfect in the light of experience here and abroad. Rules for exemptions be- cause of dependencies, work in essential in- dustries, etc., were made clear. One main pur- pose of the law was to exempt married men who were actually supporting their families. This was deemed wise from an economic stand- point, as well as from the standpoint of the morale of the army and the folks at home. Wisconsin sent fewer married men to the Na- tional army (composed of selective service men) than any other state. While providing her full quota of men for every draft, she sent but 914 married men, or a percentage of 3.83 as compared with 10.37 in the country as a whole. To September 13, 1918, more than 23,- 908,000 men between the ages of 18 and 45 had registered and been classified in the United States.

By the first of November, 1918, the armed land forces of the United States numbered 3,893,000 men. There had been in France ap- proximately 2,086,000 men, and of these 1,390- 000 had been in action

To show what this meant to the Allies in terms of figures, it is only necessary to refer to a confidential chart kept by the British Gen- eral staff, published by Mrs. Humphrey Ward in her book, "Fields of Victory." The statis- tics reveal beyond question that had not that wonderful troop movement taken place from America in the spring and summer of 1918, the

RACINE COUNTY IN THE WORLD WAR

HOLY

INNOCENTS

J.A.Huon

PHOTOS BY HOOD

SCENES FROM THE FIRST BIG LOYALTY DEMONSTRATION

In the upper picture is shown a portion of the first great loyalty parade which marked the opening of the first Liberty Loan campaign in May, 1917. The white clad figures in the other group are women members of the Red Cross, the ban- ners showing the various auxiliaries of the organization. They were a part of the parade.

METHODIST

RACINE COUNTY IN

THE WORLD WAR

Germans would have won an overwhelming vic- tory on land.

In July 1916 the British had 680,000 fighting men in France. In April 1917 the British com- bat force reached its maximum, 760,000, on the eve of the drive which was intended to win the war but failed. When the Germans started their second "march toward Paris" in March 1918, the British force numbered but 620,000, and this dwindles to 540,000 in May and 465,- 000 on November 11. In the battle of the Argonne-Meuse, the Americans had 546,000 men actually engaged besides an additional 112,000 at the same time in action with the British and French armies; a grand total of 658,000 actually fighting at one time. Just how large the French forces were at this time no one knows as the French government has never disclosed its exact strength on the fight- ing lines, but the belief of experts is that they were not much larger than the British.

In addition to this preponderance of fighters, and our possession of additional millions as reserves for use when needed the American na- tion was supplying in the last year of the war the bulk of all material needed by all the

Allies with the exception of artillery and aero- planes, and these were being produced in large quantities at about the time the war ended. Had the conflict lasted until the spring of 1919 America would have been fighting the Germans in France almost single handed and was prepar- ed to crush the foe by a tremendous superiority of everything that counts in warfare. The German military leaders saw this plainly after the battles near Chateau-Thierry and St. Mihiel. General Von Ludendorf, chief quartermaster and practically chief of staff of the German armies, admitted it frankly in his post-war memoirs and said he recommended the suing for peace as soon as he realized in September that the Americans were coming too rapidly to enable him to hope to ever put on another suc- cessful offensive.

The story of the military accomplishments of America in the war must be left to other hands. This work cannot pretend to do more than touch upon anything but Racine's part in the war excepting insofar as it is necessary to explain the greater things briefly so the pur- pose and effects of the local efforts may be made clear.

CHAPTER IV

NAVY CLEARS FOR ACTION

T HE United States Navy, the nation's first line of defense, was ready for war when war came. Always a popular branch of the service for young men, its ranks were kept filled to whatever degree was desired by volun- tary enlistments during the first months fol- lowing the outbreak of the European conflict in 1914. Warships were in first-class condition and the armament and ammunition supply and reserve was equal to the desires of the depart- ment heads. This much could be done by America during the period of neutrality with- out arousing the ire of foreign combatants.

The first important duty of the navy was to supply guns and gunners for American mer- chant vessels when the unlimited submarine campaign was begun by Germany. It was maintained that even a neutral country had a right to prepare its merchants vessels to meet piratical attacks at sea, and that vessels so equipped could not be classed as fighting ships.

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Racine county in the world war, Part 2

Author: Haight, Walter L Publication date: c1920] Publisher: [Racine, Western Prtg. & Lithographing Co. Number of Pages: 612

Author: Haight, Walter L
Publication date: c1920]
Publisher: [Racine, Western Prtg. & Lithographing Co.
Number of Pages: 612