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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1942-04-30, Page 6r". PAGE SIX THI3SEAPORTII NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1942 0 At left is a typical shock -boor infantryman of the Corps. At the upper right is one of the corpsnumerous tanks— a powerful assault weapon—and lower right gives an ides of the intensive training that the troops are receiving in offensive operatons. Now Ready For 'Ind furious hand-to-hand fighting, appeals to his self-reliant and adven- Fast Offensive Action turous spirit It is offensive so he loves it, and it will make him a bet- ter all-round fighting man whether he raids, attacks or faces attack. The stealth patrols, tank ambushes and tank-laager raids as practised by the Canadian infantrymen in Eng- land are all offensive forms of de- fense. So are the combined British - Canadian Home Guard field exer- cises. This widespread preference for tactics which defend by attacking is particularly evident in the field train- ing which this observer contends is the most valuable of all Canadian preparation efforts. I refer to their aptly named "Battle Drill." Only the arrival of the ank caused greater upheaval in the tactical train- ing and habits of Canadian infantry than the adoption of Battle Drill. It has not only changed the methods of carrying out what the last war's in- fantry knew as "skirmishing" an "open order" field practice; it has made these interesting and life-sav- ing exercises many times more gra- phic, battle -realistic and valuable for every man taking part. hifantrymen Learn Teamwork The earnest rehearsal of Battle Drill tactics has practically eliminat- ed the parade -square, even ceremon- ials, in the training syllabus of Cana- dian infantry. That means they are learning teamwork and precision ir the field instead of on parade. They are learning to fight instead of. square -push. The old "form fours" and "wheel" and "fncline" and close order drill of regiments on the parade ground were derived from the actual move- ments on the battlefield of the days of Waterloo. For instance, armies were actually formed in line and then wheeled and inclined to keep facing the enemy. The new Battle Drill is similar to this extent: It is movement of today's troops in the actual tactical formations they will use in almost any offensive action on today's actual battlefields. A veteran of the last war can vis- ualize the new tactical field rehear- sal by recalling "artillery formation" —designed to move troops through shell areas with a minimum , of cas- ualties. In Battle Drill, troops are similarly openly formed in order to avoid casualties, but also to quicken deployment nd manouvreability while still retaining the -controlled forma- tion of the "fighting team." Every officer, N.C.O. and man has a definite job to do in the battle drill fighting team. That is so whether training is for the smallest combat unit, a section or when an entire div- ision is carrying out a tactic. There is no limit to the situations improvised by the Canadians—ev- crything from outflanking and en- circling a group of "paratroops," who must be ousted by a pineer op- eration from a copse, to the "storm- ing" of a city, is carried out. Liter- ally, scores of possible situations confront attacking troops are given their own identity signal, and are then carried through without further orders. 13y the passing of the key word, each man automatically knows What must be done and what part he In previous articles Kim Beattie, with the Canadian Army (overseas) told something of the training re- ceived by the Canadian Army in Britain and this is another of the series. Take the ancillaries first. Training for close-knit cohesion and quick contact between, the supply and am- munition columns and their fighting arms, is obviously as valuable fer future assault and for prospective defense. An observer instantly notes that the Royal Canadian Army Ser- vice Corps, in intensively training for open, shifting battles, ignores the actual static position of the troops they supply. Everything is kept flexible. The Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps has grown unbe- lievably since the last war, and all their field practises are directed to- ward keening the mechanized forces rolling. The engineers are likewise blitz -warriors first of all, trained to stop tanks in defense, but also to bridge and repair communications and to be a great influence in hold- ing the speed of advance. Then the artillery. In the new war- fare, the guns are generally looked upon as strictly defensive weapons by the public. The tanks and the low-level bomber of today's cam- paign's seem to have taken over much of the artillery's job in the trench -locked warfare, that of blast- ing out a road for the infantry, But the guns of field batteries, and the grim field hows, have proven their value in recent campaigns, The "crash action" training of gun crews and greater mobility, has helped them keep pace with the swifter war. The Canadian artillery man is such an'advocate of speed in getting into action that his weapons will always be up with the attack. But it is in the training habits of the great mass of the Army—the in- fantay and machine -guns --which most clearly disclose the intention and probably ability of the whole force in its future operations. The armored corps may be more specta- cular, but it ,is still the footslogger who carries the great share of the 'blood, sweat and tears" of the battlefield, who gives his army its true character and personality, Infantryman Is Shock -Trooper Watching the full -striding stalwart Canadian infantryman in any of his diverse training exercises gives the observer one outstanding impression and comfort. He is a shock -trooper first of all, All his varied activities are marked by offensive attributes; on the attack the Canadian is most keen and interested, and always he converts a defensive field practice to an offensive operation, In his entire training syllabus there is watchfulness that this nat- ural belligerency is fostered. Leader- ship sees that he becomes skilled and conversant with every possible de- vice, ruse and weapon, formation and tactic of aggresSive warfare. Thefe is to more ardent student of corrimando-type tactics than the Canadian infantryman, The Eltealth, endurance and elements of surprise must play. Battle drill has led to remarkable stimulation of junior -leader thought. Resource and initiative are constant- ly in demand. One of the most con- fidence -inspiring military demonstra- tions I ever witnessed was to watch the Canadians calling upon the na- tional traits which gave them shock - troop greatness in the last war, in overcoming surprise obstacles and unexpected situations in battle drill. Independence. of thought and action is encouraged. This is one reason why it has be- come so popular. A second reason is that the troops can understand the why and wherefore of every order and command, things which only .the staff formerly clearly knew. The Canadian private can see the solid sense of the training process as no soldier ever saw it before,. and there- fore the Canadian is perhaps the most cotnented and enthusiastic sol- dier -in -training in all history. The Drill Sergeant Unexpectedly, the carping, fault- finding, bull -voiced drill -sergeant of the old barrackyard has been revived for the elementary stages of modern battle drill. When the small combat team goes out to learn how to "at- tack" a farm, a wood, a machine-gun nest or a concentration of paratroo- pers, he is along. He lacks his spike - moustache and he carries a tommy- gun instead of a swagger stick, and he uses live ammunition to startle students into the realization that they are in plain view of the enemy. But he is still the critical, invaluable soldier maker. Instead of creating drill square perfection he is manu- facturing versatile fighting men. And in his resurrection he is not a hated man. As a rule two instructors watch over each section as they learn the rudiments of taking cover, advanc- ing, attacking. Each harsh admoni- tion, even in the last hour of a long, weary day, has much personal value in it, as their eagle eye watches ev- ery move of the skirmishers. The nerve -grating ,repetition of correc- tions and commands makes sense as the drill -instructor's seemingly mea- ningless orders on the drill square never made sense. As a matter of fact, that hoarse, sometimes caustic and irate, and always commanding and dominating voice is generally telling the soldier how NOT to get himself killed. So is that seethe of bullets overhead from Tommy gun or Bren. The Canadian soldier takes the in- cessant correction and directien which follow hint over fields,.threugk hedges and rivers, through streets, barnyards and woods, upend down dale, in surprisingly good part. He sees the wisdom of the persistence, and clearly pictures the whole pnr- pose and plan of the miniature or large-scale infiltration tractic. The reason of his arduous day in mock - battle is elear, and when Canadian soldiers understand they are tradion- ally willing and keen. They are eagOr to cram into their time before action all the team fighting they can Much has been written to explain that battle drill is based on the infil- tration or pincer tactic of VonHutier which was evolved to defeat entren- ched machine-guns in lieu of time for the Germans to mass-produce tanks. Its success in March, 1918, against the British Fifth Army, is history. On a larger scale and utiliz- ing panzer divisions, it defeated. the French infantry army in 1940. Actually, however, the base of battle drill is merely adherence to the ancient and wellproven military axiom which said: °Exploit success but never reinforce defeat," It means finding the easy way through the enemy's position by fil- tering 'between and around the strong -points and then sweeping on, full -out. In the final victorious phases of 1918 we were utilizing such nae- thods to advantage both in ground won and in cutting down casualties. A revision ef British and Canadian tactical practices took place before the salient features were then incor- porated into our fighting habits and now a major revolution has, in effect, occurred to give our battlefield me- thods a new foundation. House Righting It means that the Canadians will not be confused when they come against skilled German street -fight- ers, Their "storming" of farm - buildings, villages and towns includes detailed instruction in the distinctly individual art of war known as house -fighting. Rehearsal in the dan- gerous thing's to do and the sensible methods to follow, will see them adept at this and all forms of close - quarter work. It means that the Canadian infan- tryman has enthusiastically acquired remarkable ability in two-way fight- ing. His new tactics will immensely strengthen him in beating back an aatial horde; for even the smallest combat team is trained instantly to launch an attack on scattered nests of paratroopers before they can be- come organized to start sectional fighting. Similarly, the new fighting meth- ods of the Canadian Corps will sure- ly prove a tremendous asset in the great armoured -infantry .assaults of the battles of decision, which every Canadian soldier feels is his destiny. For unless the infantry is swift, skillful and strong in attacking be- hind tanks, and in following up that first powerful blow, no assault can fully succeed. The tanks can create the breach but the infantry must hill and exploit and hold it. Use Care in Laundering Woolens Care in laundering blankets and other woolens is just one more way to economizing to 'release all the new wool possible for the use of our armed forces. There are not many rules for cor- rent washing of woolens, but break one of them and the harm is done. First and most important; use luke- warm water and a mild soap, Heat in the presence of soap has a bad effect on wool, and may shrink it, yellow it, felt it, or make it hard and boardy Use two or three rinseof the same temperature as the wash water. Tf a piece of wool is plunged from, warm soap suds into cold water, the soap will cake and won't rinse out. And the alkali in soap has a weak- ening effect on wool as well as mak- ing it harsh. Wool should be moved about as little as possible while it is wet. For some reason, moving wet wool around too much makes it felt, and once that happens nothing can be done to restore its soft resiliency. For this reason, too it should never be soaked, but should be dipped up and down in the cleansing process rather than rubbed, pounded, or jerked, and a squeezing rather than wringing process be used to remove water, To dry blankets hang them length- wise over a clean clothesline with half on each side. Clothespins stretch the edges. Reverse the blanket sever- al times after it is partially dry and from time to time straighten the edges and squeeze out water as it collects at edges. A young Canadian girl, a resident of Kingston, Ontario, while visiting some friends in England, desred to send a cable home, and having writ- ten it out, handed it to a clerk in a cable office. The clerk appeared to be rather worried about it, and after consulting various reference books, said to the gril: "I can find Kingston - in -Hull and Kingston -on -Thames, but I cannot locate Kingston-on-Tario." Notice to Creditors, 3 wks. for $2.50 AUCTIONEER 1". W. AFIRRNS, Licensed Auction 'er for Pertb and Huron Counties gales Solicited. Terms on AP011oatfrin 5'nrm Stock. chattels and real estate. nrope”ty. R. R. No. 4. Mitchell Phone 634 r 6, Apply at this nfrina HAROLD JACKSON Licensed in Huron and Pertb coun- ties. Prices reasonable; satisfaction guaranteed. For information, write m- phone Harold Jackson, phone 14 nn 661; R. R. 4. Seaforth, EDWARD W. ELLIOTT. Licensed Auctioneer for Huron. Correspond, ence promptly answered. Immediate arrangements can be made for Sale Date by calling Phone 209. Clinton, Charges moderate and satisfaction guaranteed. .WWINERRINMERIMMINIMMINIMIMEIREIMEN11.110111111111111.1.11.Wr ouster Check • "1. ooks We Fire Selling Quality Books Books are Well Made, Carbon is Clean and Copies Readily. All styles, Carbon Leaf and Black Back. Prices as Low as You Can Get Anywhere. 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