FORT SILL, Oklahoma (June 21, 2018) -- One of the displays at the Army Field Artillery Museum is the French 75mm field gun, Model of 1897. It was revolutionary because its recoil system of pneumatics and hydraulics provided a stable indirect-fire platform.
"This is really the first modern artillery piece in the U.S. Army," said Frank Siltman, Fort Sill director of museums. "The gun could shoot out to 8,000 yards with a sustained rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute. It was also used for anti-aircraft. The gun is both field artillery and air defense artillery history."
The French 75 is one of the artifacts that tells the story of Fort Sill in World War I. The centennial anniversary of the "War to End All Wars" was commemorated June 16, at the museum as part of the monthly heritage series presented by staff and volunteers from the FA Museum, Army Air Defense Artillery Training Support Facility, and Fort Sill National Historic Landmark Museum. The presentation was tied in to the Army's 243rd birthday, June 14.
America's involvement in World War I began April 6, 1917, when President Woodrow Wilson's declaration of war was approved, and lasted until the armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, though U.S. troops stayed in occupation duty well past that, Siltman said. Upon declaration of war a massive U.S. military train up began across the nation.
"The first U.S. troops started arriving in Europe in late-1917, and really started engaging in major combat in early-spring, March 1918," Siltman said. "The rest of Europe had fought beginning in August 1914."
At the FA Museum staff and volunteers wore WWI Army uniforms as they explained exhibits. Correy Twilley, museum specialist, was dressed in a summer uniform and he spoke about machine guns, as well as Army medicine.
"One hundred years ago a lot was happening in the world, and Fort Sill was an integral part of that," Twilley said.
"A lot of the doctrines (established principles) that the United States Army and the Marine Corps used during World War I were written at Fort Sill," Twilley said. "We wrote all of the doctrines for hand-to-hand fighting, hand grenade warfare, and a lot of the medical, and chemical warfare as we know it today was actually born here. Oklahoma played a huge part."
In 1917, Fort Sill had the School of Fires, the School of Musketry (infantry), and a chemical training center. It had an extensive medical corps because of the Army's interest in chem warfare, Siltman said. An aviation school, aerial observers, and bayonet training were also here.
Thousands and thousands of Soldiers came through Fort Sill as the U.S. military trained to enter the European theater, Siltman said. One of the Army's concerns was that there wouldn't be an adequate water supply because of all the troops, but the City of Lawton made sure there was enough water.
AIR DEFENSE DURING WWI
In August 1917, then-Col. James Shipton, a Coast Artillery officer, went to Europe to learn how the British and French conducted anti-aircraft (AA) missions, said Jonathan Bernstein, ADA Training Support Facility director. Shipton and his captains Glenn Anderson and George Humbert went through the British and French schools.
"Shipton was really enamored with the mathematical precision that the French had, and so the American AA school co-located with the French school and began training air defenders in September 1917, in Arnouville, France," he said. There were three sections to the air defense school: machine gun, heavy gun, and searchlight sections.
U.S. air defense units began to enter combat about April 1918, Bernstein continued.
"We borrowed searchlights from the engineers; we borrowed machine guns from the infantry; and we borrowed French 75 cannons from the artillery and put them all into the air defense role," Bernstein said. "Our gunners did exceptionally well, and were much more efficient than the French and the British.
"The British philosophy was throw as much lead up into the sky, and hope you hit something," he said. "The French were more methodical about it."
The French 75mm field gun, mounted on the back of a truck, was also the primary anti-aircraft gun used, Bernstein said. "By the end of the war, the British would take about 10,000 rounds to knock down an airplane; the French would do it in about 3,500; we'd do it in 605. I think we were sort of fresh eyes on the subject."
Back at Fort Sill, in machine gun training there was also a section on how to engage aircraft, he said.
Bernstein said he wanted visitors at the centennial commemoration to see the equipment used by Soldiers, and the conditions that they went through.
"World War I has been overlooked for quite a while; it's sort of fading from memory," Bernstein said. "We want to keep that memory alive, especially with the centennial."
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