Fries was at the front visiting the Headquarters of the First Army and the Headquarters of the 1st, 3d, and 5th Corps from two days before the beginning of the battle of the Argonne to four days afterwards. He watched reports of the battle on the morning of the attack at the Army Headquarters and later at the 1st, 5th and 3d Corps headquarters in the order named. No reports of any gas casualties were received. This situation continued throughout the day. It was so remarkable that he told the Chief of Staff he could attribute the German failure to use gas to only one of two possible conditions; first, the enemy was out of gas; second, he was preparing some master stroke. The first proved to be the case as examination after the Armistice of German shell dumps captured during the advance revealed less than 1 per cent of mustard gas shell. Even under these circumstances the Germans caused quite a large number of gas casualties during the later stages of the fighting in the Argonne-Meuse sector. Evidently the Germans, immediately after the opening of the attack, or more probably some days before, began to gather together all available mustard gas and other gases along the entire western battle front, and ship them to the American sector. This conclusion seems justified because the enemy never had a better chance to use gas effectively than he did the first three or four days of the Argonne fight, and knowing this fact he certainly would never have failed to use the gas if it had been available. Had he possessed 50 per cent of his artillery shell in the shape of mustard gas, our losses in the Argonne-Meuse fight would have been at least 100,000 more than it was. Indeed, it is more than possible we would never have succeeded in taking Sedan and Mezieres in the fall of 1918. =Officers’ Training Camp.= The first lot of about 100 officers were sent to France in July, 1918, with only a few days’ training, and in some cases with no training at all. Accordingly, arrangements were made to train these men in the duties of the soldier in the ranks, and then as officers. Their training in gas defense and offense followed a month of strenuous work along the above mentioned lines. This camp was established near Hanlon (Experimental) Field, at a little town called Choignes. The work as laid out included squad and company training for the ordinary soldier, each officer taking turns in commanding the company at drill. They were given work in map reading as well as office and company administration.