IDEAS FROM ITALY
Reinforcing Fire Lieutenant Colonel R. D. Funk, Field Artillery, Battalion Commander: “If I can spare the radios I am going to send one to the artillery battalion that reinforces me the next time we are in direct support. Then when one of our observers calls in a fire mission we can simply tell the radio at the other battalion to take the mission direct from the observer. This will eliminate a relay through our Fire Direction Center and speed things up considerably.
Transportation “We keep only seven 2½-ton trucks with each howitzer battery. The three spares stay in the Service Battery ready to replace damaged ones in any howitzer battery. This also allows the maintenance section to have vehicles available for 6,000-mile checks. When one is finished they send it out to replace another that is due for check.
Fire Direction Center “We are using two ¾-ton trucks for the CP section of Headquarters Battery. Each has a tent and a fire direction group. When we move the CP we send out one truck with the S-3. He takes over the operation of the Fire Direction Center when he gets set up, and the rear CP can then close down and move.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY U. S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS
Uses of the Pack Board
Pack Boards for Observers “We use pack boards[C] for forward observers and liaison parties. They are a wonderful help in hilly or mountainous country when these parties have to leave their vehicles and hoof it. Two for each party adds up to six per howitzer battery and six in Battalion Headquarters Battery.”
[C] Rectangular frames with canvas centers to which supplies or gear may be lashed and carried as a pack. See [illustration].
PHOTOGRAPH BY U. S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS
Patrol of the 25th Division, New Georgia Campaign
SECTION III
MISCELLANEOUS
Booby Traps Seventh Army Report, Sicily: “A German Luger pistol was ‘booby trapped’ on a table. A new replacement picked it up. Two were killed and fourteen wounded in the resulting explosion.”
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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.”
★
Timeliness of Orders Major Kinney, Infantry, Sicily: “Our chief difficulty throughout the campaign was the lack of time given for the execution of orders. Frequently we received operations orders which did not allow enough time for proper preparation and execution. At San Fratello, we received an order after 11 PM to attack at 6 AM the next morning. The battalions were in assembly areas some five or six miles from the line of departure. The terrain over which they had to move to get in position in the dark was the roughest, most rugged mountain country you could imagine, and all the ammunition, weapons, and supplies had to be taken by hand and by mule pack. Although it might seem that from 11 PM to 6 AM was sufficient time, the actual conditions were such that it was less than half enough, because of the terrain, darkness, and transport difficulties. Also, the men had just completed marches over mountain trails of nine to fourteen miles and were not fresh for the new movement.”
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Maps Seventh Army Report, Sicily: “Instill in all personnel an appreciation of the value of maps. The supply of maps will never be adequate to the demand. Training in the care and preservation of maps is as important as training in the care and preservation of matériel.
AA Fire “It was found necessary to issue instructions that ground troops, with the exception of AA units, would not fire at airplanes unless the planes attacked them or were close enough to be identified beyond a possible doubt.”
Security 1st Division G-2 Report, Sicily: “Interrogation report of a captured German pilot includes the following: ‘About the end of June, 1943, German air crews were shown a report and given a lecture on the tactical and technical details of the P-47 Thunderbolt, alleged to be based upon the statements made by a captured U. S. Army Air Force captain.’”
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 ....”
★
Strafing Aircraft Fifth Army Report, Salerno: “During landing operations at Salerno, many members of the —th Division would stand up to fire their rifles, carbines, and even pistols at strafing and bombing German aircraft. This resulted in many unnecessary casualties.”
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.
★
“Gas!” Colonel M. E. Barker, Chemical Warfare Service, Salerno: “On the third day of the operation we had a big gas scare. A German airplane came in and released two or three radio-controlled bombs, which gave off considerable smoke when released and while on the way down. Several men on the beaches saw this smoke and concluded that an air gas attack was being started. At the same time some vehicles climbing the sand dunes from the beach to the de-waterproofing area had become so hot that their gas-indicator paint turned red. The two incidents together convinced everybody on the beach that a gas attack was being launched. By this time, of course, there were plenty of battlefield smells, including that always-present smell of rotting animal and human flesh. The gas alarm ran up and down the beaches and the roads inland.
“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.”
★
Counterattack Foiled Lieutenant Colonel Taylor, Infantry, Italy: “We had just relieved the —th Infantry after it had had numerous casualties from an enemy tank attack against our beachhead at Salerno. We were occupying a defensive, wired-in position. The Germans counterattacked with tanks, but because we were occupying a different position from that used by the preceding unit the enemy first started across our front, apparently believing that we were in the old position. So it was duck soup. We knocked out eight tanks with our 37’s, 57’s, TD’s, and tanks.”
★
Room for Improvement The following comments, indicating weaknesses which must be corrected, were made by the Commanding General, —th Division, Italy: “Sometimes units failed to dispose themselves properly for all-around defense when halted on an objective or when placed in a position for defense.
“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.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY U. S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS
Japanese Pillbox
SECTION IV
NOTES ON THE NIPS
Japanese Pillboxes Lieutenant Colonel McCormick, Field Artillery, New Georgia: “In most cases pillboxes were built in two decks to permit the occupants to drop through a trap door during heavy shelling. They were used for heavy-weapons firing and had communication trenches which concealed light machine guns protecting the pillboxes. All were mutually supporting and very well concealed.”
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Superman Myth Exploded Operations Report, 43d Division, New Georgia: “Our troops here came to regard the Superman stories about the Japanese as ridiculous. The Jap is tricky but not so tricky as many have been led to believe. He is not nearly so ingenious or adaptable as the average American, and the truth of the matter is he’s afraid of us, of our artillery, and of our sea and air power. Our troops must learn this and never forget it.
Jap Trap “We soon learned that the Japanese permitted small leading elements of the column to proceed past their effectively camouflaged fortifications and would not open fire until our main body came along.”
Defensive Action Operation Report, 43d Division, Arundel Island: “Our first contact with the enemy was made by patrols, which encountered small groups of Japs equipped with automatic weapons. Their resistance consisted of a fluid delaying action and, during the early phases, could not be effectively fixed. After a short skirmish the Japs would withdraw several hundred yards and re-establish their temporary defense. The denseness of the jungle made such a defense quite effective in delaying our progress.”
★
Vine Entanglements Colonel Liversedge, U. S. Marine Corps, New Georgia: “The Japanese used a prickly native vine for entanglements. The vines were interwoven and used to protect defensive positions in lieu of barbed wire. Results were effective and impeded attack. Vines had to be cut before progress could be made.
“Our own troops should be instructed in the use of these vines as a means of improvisation when wire is not available.”
SECTION V
HINTS ON THE HEINIE
Reverse Slope Tactics Second Lieutenant S. W. Malkin, Infantry, Platoon Leader, Sicily: “Enemy machine guns, mortars, and automatic rifles were located on the reverse side of the hills so as to catch our advancing infantry as they came over the skyline.”
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Don’t Gawk! Private George Scott, Infantry, Sicily: “Several times German planes pretended that they were involved in a dog-fight to secure the attention of the ground troops. Then they swooped down in a strafing run.”
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Traps and Mines Private First Class Edward Borycz, Infantry, Sicily: “The enemy abandoned his tanks with motor running. When we tried to stop the motors they blew up.
“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.”
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Minor Tactics Staff Sergeants Richard E. Deland and Robert J. Kemp, Infantry, Sicily: “Never let an apparently lone machine gun suck you into a trap. The Germans will usually not fire on the individual but will wait, watch where he goes, and get a whole flock.
“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.”
Typical Attack and Withdrawal Lieutenant Colonel P. H. Perkins, Tank Battalion Commander, Italy: “The standard German attack here consists of three or four tanks in line in the lead. They are followed by infantry in trucks at four to five hundred yards. The rest of the tanks follow the infantry. When fire is drawn the infantry dismounts. The leading tanks mill about, fire, and withdraw. We have never seen the reserve tanks committed.
“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.”
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Rearguard Action Lieutenant Colonel Taylor, Infantry, Battalion Commander, Italy: “My experience has been that we first meet two armored vehicles which open fire for a few minutes with everything they have on the first man of ours they see; they then withdraw rapidly down the road.
“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