“ INFANTRY-TANK TEAM Opportunity Lost Captain Putnam, Infantry, Sicily: “The infantry should be given practical training in cooperation with tanks. I don’t mean the armored infantry—they’re part of the armored division and work with them all the time. I mean ordinary infantry like us. I know our regiment didn’t have any training with tanks in preparation for combat. At Branieri we just didn’t know how to work with the attached tank unit. When our tanks came up to support us after we had broken up the German attack, we did not follow up the tanks properly as they went forward. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In Tunisia, from troops pinned down in the dark, I have heard enlisted men call out such things as ‘Where is an officer to lead us?’—‘We don’t want to lie here—we want to attack—where is an officer?’... In each case an officer or officers have risen to the occasion, but this nevertheless shows beyond anything else the demand for battle leadership.
“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 ”

“ SCOUTING AND PATROLLING Patrolling in the Jungle An officer with considerable experience in jungle patrolling gives this advice:
“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. ”

“ 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.”] ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ They can pick their own buddy from within their platoon.
Realism “In our training we never do anything without battle noises and effects. We always use live ammunition. We use mines, barbed wire, and protective bands of machine-gun fire extensively. If the problem is to capture a machine-gun nest, there is always a machine-gun nest there with a machine gun firing in a fixed direction. The men very quickly get accustomed to having live ammunition flying around them.
“Captured Italian and German machine guns and machine pistols are used by the ‘enemy’ in our problems. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ I always do even though sometimes this force consists only of myself and my First Sergeant. Often a soldier who a moment before has run away is converted into a fighter by leadership. A reserve force gives him a rallying point. ”

“ Fear is Normal Colonel George Taylor, Infantry, Sicily: “Fear of being afraid is the greatest obstacle for the new man in battle to overcome. There is no reason for shame in being afraid. Men who have had excellent battle records freely admit they are scared stiff in battle. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Leaders in Front Staff Sergeant Richard E. Deland, Infantry, Sicily: “We want our Captain out front; we don’t care much about the position of our battalion commander.”
3
Keep Them Moving! Operation Report, Seventh Army, Sicily: “During an attack officers and non-commissioned officers must never allow men to lie prone and passive under enemy fire. They must be required to move forward if this is at all possible. If movement is absolutely impossible, have the troops at least open fire. The act of firing induces self-confidence in attacking troops. ”

“ The super-quick fuze is more effective than the delay fuze against troops in wide areas, particularly in the cocoanut groves of the tropics. A report from prisoners indicated that in one unit of approximately 100 men, all but six were casualties as a result of one artillery concentration. The 37mm canister proved to be a devastating type of ammunition.
Disposition “In jungle warfare the artillery of the defensive set-up should not be placed too close to the infantry line. ”

“ When they spotted enemy soldiers going into buildings the mediums took care of the buildings, leaving the light tanks to take care of the infantry and the machine guns. Both the lights and mediums stayed until the infantry took over.
“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.”
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RANGER TRAINING Buddy System Lieutenant Colonel William O. Darby, Commanding Officer of Rangers, Italy: “In our work we use the ‘Buddy’ system—the men always work in pairs. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The familiar expression ‘Dig or Die’ has been greatly overworked. Attacking troops must not be allowed to dig in until they have secured their final objective. If they dig in when momentarily stopped by enemy fire, it will take dynamite to blast them from their holes and resume the advance.”
★
NCO Leadership Staff Sergeant Robert J. Kemp, Platoon Sergeant, Infantry, Sicily: “NCO leadership is important. Leaders, NCO’s, and officers should be taken to an OP for terrain instruction and study before an attack. ”

“ Cooking I prefer to have men cook their own meals with their mess kits. We did not have kitchens in Sicily, and we have been here a month without them. Even though the kitchens are available I always have men individually cook at least one meal a day. ”

“ Ammunition supply was adequate, since the rifle was normally fired only at observed targets. The Japs possessed a number of our M1 rifles, apparently considering them a superior weapon to their own.
“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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ JUNGLE NOTES Aggressive Action, Flexible Plans Report of 43d Division, New Georgia: “Aggressive action is necessary. Never relax the pressure. Maneuver of small units at the risk of temporary loss of communications is important. Plans and orders must be so flexible as to permit prompt maneuver change.
Feeding the Troops “The serving of any hot meals in jungle fighting is often impracticable. A hot drink or hot soup serves the same purpose and is much more within the realm of possibility. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The important thing is that every soldier must be taught all he needs to know so well that battlefield thinking is reduced to a minimum; automatic, disciplined reactions to battlefield problems must be the rule.
“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.”
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SICILY—ITALY—ATTU NIGHT ATTACK Surprise Saves Lives Major John R. Patterson, Infantry, Sicily: “The mission of our battalion after landing south of Gela in Sicily was to capture the airport at Biscari. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It gives a man great comfort and confidence when working at night, especially in towns, to receive a recognition signal when he needs one.
Formations “We use a column formation for approach and assault movement at night. From experience, I believe it is the best formation to use at night. We do not attempt to use prominent terrain features to keep direction. We use pacing, compass bearing, and stars. Usually in advancing to attack at night we halt to check position every 1,000 yards. ”

“ Colonel Liversedge, U. S. Marine Corps, New Georgia: In many cases patrol leaders were able to report what they saw, but not where it was seen. In general, such information was valueless as locations could not be plotted on a map or aerial photo. This should be emphasized in training programs and is worth a special directive.”
★
——or the “What”! Seventh Army Report, Sicily: “Men must be taught to recognize what they see when they are scanning the landscape. Unless22 properly trained they will not recognize enemy gun emplacements, strong points, and machine-gun nests.” ”

“ 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.
★
Team Up! Captain William T. Gordon, Infantry, Sicily: “I have found that men in position must fight in pairs ”

“ Never allow one man to go out alone.
Say It With Pictures! “The value of hasty sketches illustrating reconnaissance reports was proved many times during this campaign, but it is difficult to get such sketches out of untrained personnel. All reconnaisance personnel should receive sketching training.”
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INFANTRY WEAPONS IN JUNGLE WARFARE
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:
Basic Weapons “The M1 rifle is doubtless the best all-around weapon possessed by our troops. ”