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Title: Combat lessons, no. 1, rank and file in combat

What they are doing; how they do it

Author: Army War College

Release Date: March 26, 2023 [eBook #70383]

Language: English

Produced by: Brian Coe, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COMBAT LESSONS, NO. 1, RANK AND FILE IN COMBAT ***

Transcriber’s Note

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Cover

COMBAT
LESSONS

NUMBER 1

Rank and file in combat:
What they’re doing
How they do it

UNCLASSIFIED

XXXXXXXXXXXX DISSEMINATION OF RESTRICTED MATTER.—The information contained in restricted documents and the essential characteristics of restricted material may be given to any person known to be in the service of the United States and to persons of undoubted loyalty and discretion who are cooperating in Government work, but will not be communicated to the public or to the press except by authorized military public relations agencies. (See also par. 18b, AR 380-5, 28 Sep 1942.)


INTRODUCTION

The purpose of “Combat Lessons” is to give to our officers and enlisted men the benefit of the battle experiences of others. To be of maximum benefit these lessons must be disseminated without delay. They do not necessarily represent the carefully considered views of the War Department; they do, however, reflect the actual experiences of combat and, therefore, merit careful reading. For this reason also no single issue can cover many of the phases of combat; lessons will be drawn from the reports as they are received from the theaters of operation and quickly disseminated so that others may apply them. The suggestions which are made or implied are not intended to change the tactical doctrine by which our Army has been trained but rather to elaborate thereon. Much of the subject matter has been covered in training literature, but the comments show that shortcomings continue to manifest themselves on the battlefield.

The paramount combat lesson learned from every operation is the vital importance of leadership. Our equipment, our supply, and, above all, our men, are splendid. Aggressive and determined leadership is the priceless factor which inspires a command and upon which all success in battle depends. It is responsible for success or failure.

G. C. Marshall (signature)

Chief of Staff


CONTENTS

SECTION ONE—INFANTRY Page
Battle Leadership 1
Junior Officer in Battle 1
Hate Your Enemy 2
Leaders in Front 2
Keep Them Moving 3
NCO Leadership 3
Keep Your Mission in Mind 3
Team Up 6
Rally Point 6
Fear is Normal 6
Sicily—Italy—Attu 7
Night Attack 7
Surprise Saves Lives 7
Hand-to-Hand Fighting 8
Small Arms Against Armor 9
Platoon Action 9
Knocking Out Pillboxes 12
Individual Initiative 14
Action on Attu 16
The South Pacific 19
Security in the Jungle 19
In Bivouac 19
On the March 20
Jungle Notes 20
Aggressive Action, Flexible Plans 20
Feeding the Troops 20
Counterintelligence 20
Scouting and Patrolling 21
Patrolling in the Jungle 21
Don’t Forget the “Where”! 21
—or the “What”! 21
Patrol Tips 22
Size of Patrols 22
“Say It With Pictures” 22
Infantry Weapons 23
In Jungle Warfare 23
Basic Weapons 23
4.2″ Chemical Mortar 26
In Sicily 27
Advance Guard 27
Pyrotechnics 27
Miscellaneous Comment 27
At Salerno 28
The Bazooka Worked 28
Infantry-Artillery Team 29
Artillery “Close” Support 29
—and How it Worked 29
Massed Fires 30
Infantry-Tank Team 31
Opportunity Lost 31
Lesson Learned 31
Infantry-Tank Attack 32
Ranger Training 33
Buddy System 33
Realism 33
Recognition 34
Formations 34
Cooking 35
Physical Conditioning 35
Discipline 35
SECTION TWO—FIELD ARTILLERY
Artillery in the Jungle 37
Antipersonnel Fire 37
Dealing with Tree Snipers 37
Adjustment of Fire 38
Morale Effect 38
Ammunition and Fuzes 40
Disposition 40
Liaison 40
Ideas from Italy 41
Reinforcing Fire 41
Transportation 41
Fire Direction Center 41
Pack Boards for Observers 43
SECTION THREE—MISCELLANEOUS
Booby Traps 45
Timeliness of Orders 45
Maps 46
AA Fire 46
Security 47
Strafing Aircraft 47
“Gas!” 47
Counterattack Foiled 48
Room for Improvement 49
SECTION FOUR—NOTES ON THE NIPS
Japanese Pillboxes 51
Superman Myth Exploded 51
Jap Trap 52
Defensive Action 52
Vine Entanglements 52
SECTION FIVE—HINTS ON THE HEINIE
Reverse Slope Tactics 53
Don’t Gawk! 53
Traps and Mines 53
Minor Tactics 54
Typical Attack and Withdrawal 55
Rearguard Action 55

1

Prepared from Combat Reports and published by direction of the Chief of Staff by Operations Division in collaboration with other Divisions of the War Department General Staff, Army Ground Forces, Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces.


SECTION I
INFANTRY

Again and again reports from the battlefields confirm the importance of leadership in every grade, whether it be Corporal or Colonel. Other combat lessons are important; the exercise of leadership in battle is vital. Leadership has often been defined in theory. Here are some instances of its application or its absence on the battlefield. These are but a few examples; there are many others.

“A company officer must build a legend about himself. He must take calculated risks. He must, on the other hand, do what he expects his men to do: he must always dig in; always take cover. His men must know that when he ducks they must duck; on the other hand, they must not believe that when the officer ducks they must run away. The officer must come through every barrage and bombing with a sheepish grin and a wry remark. Masterly understatement of hardship and danger endured plus a grin always pays dividends.

3

Lieutenant Colonel T. F. Bogart, Infantry, Observer With Fifth Army, Italy: “Greater emphasis must be placed on inculcating in junior officers and NCO’s the will to accomplish assigned missions despite opposition. A few accounts of patrol actions illustrate this point:

“(1) A reconnaissance patrol consisting of a platoon was sent out at about 1900 one evening to determine the strength if any of the Germans in two small towns, the first about two miles away and the second about three miles farther on. The patrol reached the outskirts of the first town and met an Italian who told them there were no Germans in the town and then started to lead the patrol into town. A few hundred yards farther a German machine gun opened up, the Italian disappeared, three of the patrol were killed, and the others dispersed. They drifted back to our battalion during the night, and it was not until nearly daylight that the practically valueless report of the action was received. Not the slightest conception of the strength in the first town was obtained and no information of the second town. It was necessary to send out another patrol with the same mission.

5

“(2) A patrol was sent out with the mission of determining the condition of a road, especially bridges, over a three-mile stretch to the front. When this patrol had covered about a mile it ran into a motorized German patrol. Two of the Americans were killed, and the platoon leader claimed six Germans. The patrol leader forgot his mission, returned to the battalion CP with the remainder of his patrol, and had to be sent out again with a great loss in time in getting the information desired.

“(3) On several occasions patrols were sent out on reconnaissance missions with instructions to get certain information by a specific time. The hour would pass and sometimes several others without a word from the patrol. Sometimes it was due to difficulties encountered, sometimes to mistakes in computation of time and space factors, but in all cases there was no good reason why some information did not get back by the specified time.”

COMMENT: The failure of patrols in these instances stems from a lack of appreciation on the part of NCO’s and junior officers of their missions. In patrol actions, as in the operations of larger units, the mission must be kept uppermost in the minds of all ranks, and no action should be undertaken which does not contribute directly to the accomplishment of that mission. Conversely, no incidental or inadvertent contact with the enemy should deter or divert patrols from the complete6 accomplishment of their missions, to include compliance with all instructions given, where humanly possible.

“In battle the worst element is mental and nervous exhaustion. There is no real rest under fire. The ability to withstand fire is more important than all the knowledge in the world.”

7

“The attack was started with a hand grenade. We didn’t fire until the Germans counterattacked. We went in with bayonets and hand grenades and caught some of the Germans undressed and dressing. The MK IV tanks fired their guns but wouldn’t close on us. The enemy knew their men were all about, so fired their machine guns and rifles mainly into the air.

8

“The first counterattack came in two hours, and there was one about each hour thereafter until 1600. They had all emplacements wired and fixed with trip-wire booby traps. We removed the traps and used the emplacements during counterattacks.

“We found a line of airplane bombs wired to blow up the area; we de-activated them. A German plane landed just as we were ready to leave the line of departure. Later, one of our men grenaded it.

“The battalion took no transportation. I had with me the S-3, one runner, and one 511 radio.A The wire came up thirty minutes later, but was not necessary.

A A twenty-pound, battery-operated, short-range transmitter-receiver.

“I estimate the enemy had a reinforced battalion. His tanks and self-propelled’s came up later. Some of the enemy were air personnel, and there were about eleven AA guns set up for antipersonnel use.

“Our attack lasted thirty minutes. We had no casualties during the attack; two were killed during the counterattacks.”

9

“When the enemy machine guns opened up we threw grenades. The machine guns pulled back out of grenade fire. Then NCO’s and Browning Automatic Riflemen went up over the embankment, through and beyond the initial enemy positions. Eventually we had a base of fire of about twenty men including the BAR’s.

“During the enemy counterattacks we did pretty well with other fire, too. Lead was flying fast and furiously at twenty to thirty yards. We fire at flashes. In this kind of firing you learn to fire and roll to one side or they’ll soon get you.”

“One of the corporals sneaked up on a dug-in vehicle and got it with an ’03 rifle grenade at 25 yards.

10

“The ‘bazooka’ man of my platoon heard ‘Tanks to the right,’ went around a bend in the road, and fired at about 35 yards. He got the first of a pair of vehicles. A German officer tried to capture him with a pistol, but he gave the officer an uppercut and then killed him with his helmet. I don’t know how the other vehicle was knocked out, but one of the BAR men got its driver.

COMMENT: In these accounts of a successful night attack by a small unit the application of the following principles is worthy of note:

a. Close control during the approach by the use of control lines adjusted to difficult terrain features.

b. Designation of a Line of Departure as close to the objective as possible and after all major11 terrain obstacles had been passed. This is essential to assure proper organization of the unit immediately prior to the assault.

c. Attainment of the vital element of surprise (Germans caught undressed and dressing, airplanes landing on the field).

d. Use of the bayonet and hand grenades with no weapon firing permitted. It may often be advisable to prohibit the loading of rifles.

e. Use of frontal attack only. Any attempt at envelopment tends to cause disorder and confusion. Note that one platoon which had advanced ahead of the general line was pulled back to conform.

f. A definite and limited objective—capture of an airfield, in this case—in which the entire front could be covered by manpower rather than fire-power.

These are the major elements of a successful night attack brought out in the foregoing account. Others not mentioned but which were undoubtedly contributing factors in this operation are:

Careful planning in minute detail.

Precise, specific orders.

Careful arrangements for maintenance of direction.

Thorough daylight reconnaissance by as many of the leaders as possible.

Use of compact columns in the approach formation until the Line of Departure is reached.

12

Colonel Rogers, Infantry, Sicily: “The neutralization and reduction of concrete pillboxes played an important part in the Sicilian campaign. In the initial landing phases alone, this regiment cleaned out over thirty of these pillboxes. They were located all over the place as we went inland.

“They were cleverly constructed and elaborately camouflaged. Many were covered with brush, grass, straw, or other natural stuff. Others had cane houses built over them to represent peasant outbuildings or huts. All those we encountered in and about villages and towns were covered over with some kind of house to conceal them. Most of these were cane or wood shacks, though some were actually covered with plaster or stucco to represent real houses. Many had dummy houses built right over the pillbox, and windows arranged to give full freedom of fire from the embrasures of the pillbox inside the shell of the building. In the open country a number were also built with hay ricks and straw stacks over them, all very natural and innocent looking.

“Reduction of these often proved very simple, and in many cases the enemy simply dug his own grave in his efforts at camouflage. When we learned not to be surprised by them and recognized them for what they were, we developed a very simple method of dealing with the ones concealed by straw, hay, cane, and other inflammable material. We13 dosed them freely with white phosphorus, especially from the attached chemical mortars, and this did the work to perfection. We set the camouflage on fire, blinded the gunners inside, and choked them with the phosphorus and the smoke from the burning hay, straw, and other material. The fire and heat, too, made the interiors untenable, and the occupants would become terrified and come out and surrender in a bunch.

“In one place near Licata there were several of these straw- and hay-covered pillboxes, also some concealed with cane huts, arranged at key positions in country covered with wheat fields and terraced grain plantings. We simply set a first-class prairie fire with our white phosphorus, and burned out a position over 2,500 yards long. We waited until the wind was right and let them have it. Every pillbox was burned out. The more difficult pillboxes that wouldn’t burn we attacked with massed fire from mortars of all types, AT guns, and heavy machine guns. In the case of very tough ones that were reinforced, we used ‘bazooka’ rockets and at times sent men up close under heavy covering fire and knocked them out with bangalore torpedoes.”

COMMENT: The use of fire is, of course, dependent on favorable weather conditions. Careful coordination is also necessary to insure that the resulting smoke does not interfere with the operations and observation of adjacent units.

14

The following cases of individual initiative and heroism during the Salerno landing were reported by the —th Infantry:

Sergeant Manuel Gonzales, upon landing, discovered the position of a German ‘88’ in the sand dunes near the beach. This gun was firing on the assault boats as they landed. The Sergeant crept around the position under machine-gun fire which set his pack on fire, and despite the hand grenades being thrown at him. He then calmly tossed several hand grenades into the gun emplacement, killing the crew and blowing up their ammunition.

“Near Paestum Sergeant John Y. McGill jumped on an enemy tank and dropped a hand grenade into the open turret, killing all the crew.

Private Clayton I. Tallman, on Hill 424, observed that the enemy was attempting an envelopment of the left flank of his company. Taking up a better position, he killed an enemy machine-gun crew with three carefully aimed shots. In a few minutes he repeated the same action when another enemy machine-gun crew appeared. He alone protected the left flank of the company until the rest of the platoon arrived.

Private Burrell B. Reitch discovered that he and a group of five men had been cut off from his company. He immediately organized them in a defensive15 position on a small knoll. They repulsed three rushes by the enemy, who were attempting to establish machine-gun positions on the flank. Private Reitch was completely in command of the situation, giving fire orders and shouting encouragement.

Staff Sergeant Quillian H. McMitchen was shot in the chest and shoulder before his assault boat reached the shore. When the boat beached, the landing ramp stuck and would not drop. The Sergeant, despite his wounds, kicked the ramp loose and then led his section ashore, continuing to direct their operations until he received a fatal shot from enemy gun fire.

“Our men steadily moved ahead in the face of the intense fire and cleared the beach as soon as possible. Lieutenant Carey, soon after reaching the shore, was fired upon by three Germans armed with machine pistols. He returned the fire, but his carbine jammed after killing one of his adversaries. He then grasped his weapon as a club and advancing in the face of their fire clubbed the second. He then physically tackled, subdued, and disarmed the third German, taking him prisoner.”

COMMENT: The ability of the individual soldier to grasp the implications of the situation and take the necessary action should be fully exploited. The results of combat are the fruits of the combined efforts of individuals. Every soldier should be indoctrinated with the idea that his individual action may be the decisive factor in the final result.

16

Operations report, Regimental Combat Team: “To fight the Japs in this country our troops must stick to the high ground and not only outflank but ‘out-altitude’ the enemy.

“Continuous movement is necessary to keep the spark in an attack. If a machine gun covers one point, then a group not at that point must continue to advance. When fire is shifted, the original group must move. If even a platoon is entirely halted by the fire of enemy guns, then the commitment of additional troops results, whereas by proper coordination some portion of the platoon can be kept moving and the force committed kept to a minimum.

“The tendency of lower commanders to commit reserves too early must be curbed.

“Security cannot be overemphasized. Any movement or group on the battlefield, even in rear areas, is subject to enemy action. In this connection, consideration must be given to the protection of medical installations. At present these are left unprotected, without even individual arms for their personnel. In the event of any enemy penetration through our front-line positions it is practically certain that these installations will be hit.

“Aggressive patrolling, particularly to maintain active contact, is of vital importance and can mean the difference between defeat and victory. However, mere numbers of patrols will not solve the problem. Special training in patrolling and organizing patrols17 must be initiated. Commanders must plan to have reasonably fresh men available for night contact. It is vital to organize patrol activity carefully to insure that all lines are familiar with the routes of returning patrols so that the danger of mistaken identity in the darkness will be minimized.”

Lieutenant General Simon B. Buckner, Commanding General, Alaskan Department: “It was apparent that the enemy was particularly vulnerable to attack by units of our infantry which pushed forward vigorously while the enemy was held down by artillery fire. Those units which had learned to advance closely behind their own artillery supporting fire had the greatest success.

“The Japs do not like our coordinated artillery fire nor do they like our attacks with the bayonet. When under fire from small arms they stay down in their holes and are easily approached. When attacking small groups of foxholes, our troops were able to keep the Japs down by fire from rifles and the Browning Automatic Rifle while some of our men approached and dropped hand grenades into their holes. This was our favorite mop-up method.

“When about to be run out of a position, the Japs seemed to feel it necessary to counterattack. These attacks were not well coordinated and were welcomed by our troops, who were able then to shoot down the enemy in great numbers. These Jap counterattacks were of a suicidal character and were pressed home18 regardless of losses until practically all of the counterattacking troops were exterminated.

“The enemy may believe that, in such terrain, he can hold up the advance of an entire battalion with three men and a light machine gun. In fact, however, he is critically vulnerable to intelligent action by officers and men who understand the necessity for immediate maneuver against small parties of the enemy seeking to hold them up. The fact was that small maneuvering patrols easily disposed of machine-gun positions on reverse slopes behind mountain spurs, whereas any tendency to lie down and call for artillery support would have resulted only in tremendous wastage of artillery fire in attempting to seek out targets which, in fact, were inaccessible to artillery fire.

“The Attu action likewise indicated that standard Japanese infiltration tactics can be offset by a system of ‘anti-termite’ patrols organized behind our lines, protecting our artillery, command posts, and supply lines. Wherever troops know that these friendly patrols are behind them, fire in their rear will mean to them simply that our patrols are exterminating the infiltrating Japs. This feeling was well expressed by General Nathan Bedford Forrest [Confederate cavalry commander, Civil War], when one of his staff officers approached him in great excitement and said, ‘General, the enemy is in our rear.’ Forrest calmly replied: ‘If they’re in our’n, we must be in their’n.’”

19

“This situation was effectively corrected by using a close perimeter defense. Men occupying these perimeter lines were ordered to fire at known targets. Machine guns were so laid that final protective lines covered the perimeter. The nature of the terrain and the type of night tactics employed by the Japanese made the establishment of outposts for security purposes inadvisable as visibility was limited to a few feet from any given outpost. Two men occupied each foxhole, one remaining awake and alert to all activity in his vicinity. Within the perimeter, machetes were used from the foxholes against any enemy raiders who were able to penetrate. This system effectively discouraged night raids.

20

“An issue of two canteens per man relieves the water problem a lot in jungle operations.”

21

“Patrols are most likely to give away their presence in an area by their footprints.

“Shine from the smallest metal surface, such as a belt buckle, or a watch, must be avoided. A luminous watch constitutes a real danger.

“A white skin is most conspicuous, and the practice of some patrol members marching stripped to the waist is inviting trouble.

“Dark clothing is essential.

“Any noise, such as talking, coughing, spitting, etc., has to be treated as the greatest of all dangers.

“A man on patrol must learn to move silently, making every possible use of natural cover.”

“Position and camouflage are more important than I learned in the States. In training bear down on cover and concealment; bear down on the avoidance of the blundering approach, on patrols, on fire and maneuver—which are equally important.

“Battles move slowly; patrols can’t dash about.

“My battalion, instead of using ‘Scouts Out,’ used a full squad in wedge formation to do the job.”

23

The following comments on the use and effectiveness of infantry weapons in jungle warfare appear in the report of the 43d Division on the Munda Campaign—New Georgia:

“The fragmentation grenade was used frequently against suspected areas of heavy jungle growth and on some occasions for the destruction of booby traps around perimeter defenses. Its effect when used as a booby trap is questionable because of the long fuze time. The Japs used our grenades extensively in their night harassing raids against our bivouacs. Rifle grenades were used on some occasions with success against enemy pillboxes.

“In spite of its handicap of sounding like a Jap .25-caliber light machine gun, the Thompson sub-machine gun proved very satisfactory for specialized personnel such as linemen, artillery forward observers, vehicle drivers, and reconnaissance personnel.24 Its limited range made it especially useful in combat in rear areas.

“The Browning auto rifle gave excellent service. This weapon has high jungle mobility and provides excellent fire power for the short-range targets frequently encountered. It has been used many times to reinforce the final protective lines at night, to establish trail blocks, to cover patrol advances, and to destroy snipers.

“The light machine gun proved very effective in the night security of bivouacs. At other times, it was used to cover the advance of attacking echelons by placing heavy fire in the direction of suspected pillboxes. Since fields of fire and visibility were so limited the effectiveness of such support was questionable.

“We did not use the heavy machine gun to any extent in the attack in the jungle. This was mainly due to its weight and to its heavy ammunition supply requirements. It was used primarily for the defense of beachheads and water passageways, also to some extent in the defense of regimental and battalion command posts.

“The 60mm mortar was not effective against enemy pillboxes, although it unquestionably contributed by its demoralizing effect on the enemy. After we reached the outer taxiways of the airfield, we had excellent visibility from ideally situated OP’s, and the disorganized enemy presented many profitable targets for this weapon. The exceptional accuracy of the weapon made it very valuable in close support, and25 its use during the assault on the revetments and shell craters at Munda Field and Kokengolo Hill is credited with saving many lives.

“The 81mm mortar proved to be one of the most important single weapons contributing to the success of this offensive. Because of the difficulty of supply only two mortars were taken forward with each heavy-weapons company, the balance of the personnel being used as ammunition carriers. Troops frequently remarked that if given the choice of rations or 81mm mortar ammunition, they would gladly take the latter.

“While the 37mm AT gun is admittedly a weapon of opportunity in jungle warfare, there were two occasions on which it served us handsomely. The Nips had a field piece located where it could interdict our beachhead at Laiana. Scouts located the gun, but our mortar fire couldn’t silence it. We disassembled a 37mm gun and carried it forward under cover of the dense foliage. The gun was then assembled under cover and moved rapidly to a point in the open26 from where it could command the target. Three accurately aimed rounds destroyed the gun and killed its crew.

“On another occasion we picked up an enemy occupied pillbox about 600 yards from one of our OP’s. The 37mm gun was manhandled to a position on the forward slope in only partial concealment. It placed accurate and intense fire on the pillbox and completely destroyed it.

“The value of the 37mm gun was also proved by two episodes when the enemy attempted to make night landings. First, one enemy barge was fired on as it neared a landing on Bomboe Peninsula. Both HE and AP ammunition were used, and the barge was heard to limp away, sputtering badly. On another night a group of Japs approached the north coast of Sagekarasas Island in an assault boat. Antitank gunners held their fire until the boat was nearly ashore, then fired several rounds of canister. The boat was seen to sink and several bodies floated ashore the next day.

28

60mm mortar: We kept them right up in front and used them often.

Bazooka: We have had no trouble with our bazookas. Have gotten several tanks with them.

37mm AT gun: Very mobile. It’s artillery; good against anything—vehicles, pillboxes, personnel, houses. Gets in faster than the mortar. If I had to throw away any heavy weapons, the ‘37’ would be the last to go.

75mm self-propelled cannon: Excellent for coordinated attack—perfect. Too vulnerable to get very close initially.”

COMMENT: Numerous reports indicate the effectiveness of the “Bazooka” when used by trained personnel. It has been used successfully against pillboxes, machine-gun nests, and personnel.

29

30

“In one place where we just couldn’t get forward because the Heinies were on superior ground and had us pinned down with rifle, machine-gun, and mortar fire, the division artillery massed nine batteries on them and plastered them with 1,500 rounds in less than thirty minutes. We then walked through that position without a scratch, and the German dead were all over the place.”

31

“The ‘rush-to-battle’ idea is wrong. Here we creep up. Each tank should overwatch another tank; each section should overwatch another section; each platoon another platoon.”

33

“Captured Italian and German machine guns and machine pistols are used by the ‘enemy’ in our problems. Our men quickly learn to distinguish between the fire of our own weapons and that of enemy weapons. Also the ‘enemy’ makes constant use of flares.

“We always carry our normal load of ammunition with weapons loaded. If a man knows his weapon is loaded he will be more careful in handling it. Accidental discharge of a weapon automatically means a fine and immediate reduction to the grade of private. In our work, we must take drastic measures to guard against accidental discharge of weapons.34 We learned our lesson in Tunisia, where the accidental discharge of a rifle queered a raid and caused a 24-hour delay in operations. [See comment on this subject following “Night Attack.”]

B A 5½-pound “Handy-talkie” transmitter-receiver.

“It is necessary to arrange for collecting your men together again after the raid is over. To do this I have men stationed along a line through which men will pass at intervals in their withdrawal. The sentinels on this line stop and collect the men into groups as they withdraw.

35

“Infractions of discipline, military courtesy, and uniform regulations are dealt with quickly and severely. The officers must bear down on these things. The Army in general has not stressed strict discipline enough. Without it you are lost.”

36

PHOTOGRAPH BY U. S. SIGNAL CORPS

“Long Tom” in Action


37

SECTION II
FIELD ARTILLERY

During the advance down the peninsula the next day numerous enemy dead were noted, verifying the effectiveness of the previous night’s concentrations.”

“The following statements made by prisoners are interesting:

“‘Between Bibilo Hill and the airport we had many guns of all sizes before this campaign, but now many of them are gone—knocked out by artillery. It has completely demoralized many units, reduced many units in strength, and has made many men go crazy. We were awakened at night by the slightest noise, because of the bad state of nerves. At night three men stayed in one foxhole; two smoked while one slept. During the day we also tried to get some sleep by alternating, but the continual artillery fire kept us on edge and we got no rest.’

“‘Even in the two-story dugouts many men were killed just by concussion. A direct hit would kill all the men inside.’

“‘The artillery is the one thing that is universally feared by all our ground troops. It continues over such long periods of time and the rounds come so fast.’

40

“‘Except for the artillery we could continue our defense.’”

41

42

PHOTOGRAPH BY U. S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS

Uses of the Pack Board

43

C Rectangular frames with canvas centers to which supplies or gear may be lashed and carried as a pack. See illustration.

44

PHOTOGRAPH BY U. S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS

Patrol of the 25th Division, New Georgia Campaign


45

SECTION III
MISCELLANEOUS

First Division Report, Tunisia: “A Luger pistol was found lying on the ground. An American infantry lieutenant carefully tied a long cord to it and then, getting into a hole, pulled it to him and put it in his pocket. Later in the day while examining the pistol he attempted to remove the magazine. The explosion killed the lieutenant and two other men and wounded six soldiers.”

47

COMMENT: The moral of this story is obvious. Hammer home the necessity for saying absolutely nothing but, “My name is ...; my rank is ...; my serial number is ....

COMMENT: Personnel not assigned to a definite AA mission should disperse and take cover, firing their individual weapons from such cover at attacking aircraft only, and even then only when these come within the effective ranges of their weapons.

“There was no panic. Everybody simply put on his gas mask and carried on. The MP’s stopped all personnel going into the area who didn’t have gas masks. Those individuals who had ‘misplaced’ their gas masks were really troubled for a while. Both Colonel Guild and I investigated and then gave the ‘all clear’ signal. I think we would have carried on in exactly the same way without much loss of time or efficiency if gas had actually been present.

“In the attack, riflemen frequently failed to provide fire that would cover the movement of adjacent units, merely because they were not able to ‘pin-point’ definitely the location of the enemy rifle and machine-gun elements firing on our troops.

“Some small unit commanders selected positions apparently with cover and concealment as the primary objective rather than positions from which effective fire could be brought to bear on the enemy.

“Due to the enormous division frontage in the second phase of the landing at Salerno some commanders attempted to stretch their units excessively, and as a result permitted faulty dispositions.”

50

PHOTOGRAPH BY U. S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS

Japanese Pillbox


51

SECTION IV
NOTES ON THE NIPS

Our own troops should be instructed in the use of these vines as a means of improvisation when wire is not available.”


53

SECTION V
HINTS ON THE HEINIE

“The Germans would put a mine in a road with another mine a sufficient depth under it so that it would not be seen if the top mine were removed. For a while our sappers did not run the mine detector over the area again where the first mine had been found. But after the dirt became packed down sufficiently by traffic, the second mine would go off.”

“Germans always approach their positions from the end and under cover so as not to give them away.

“In the counterattack the Jerry machine gun is always well forward. German weapons are faster but are less accurate than ours; they scare you more than they hurt you. The German 81mm mortar is the worst goat-grabber; it gives you no notice when it is coming in.

“Germans use tanks to maneuver and fire from a distance in attack. When the going gets hot they pull the tanks in and, after a minute, bring them out again.”

55

“In their withdrawals the Germans use tanks to good advantage. They do not have to contend with mines and blown bridges. Their tanks fire a few shots and withdraw, then move up again, fire a few more shots and withdraw, and so on.”

“Next we hit their outpost, which, I estimate, consists of about two squads. This outpost, protecting the road, has groups on the sides of the mountains on the flanks. It takes four to six hours to drive this outpost in due to its fine observation over us and the difficulties of maneuver.”

COMMENT: It should be remembered that this is the experience of one battalion commander in one theater.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1944

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left unbalanced.

Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to the corresponding illustrations.

On the Title page, “XXXXXXXXXXXX” indicates text that was blotted out.

The “G. C. Marshall” illustration at the end of the Introduction is the General’s signature.

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