Combat Lessons 4 the Rank and File in Combat what they-re doing How they do It 1944.pdf

NUMBER 4 Rank and file ‘in combat: What they ‘re doing Now they dd zt * UNCLASSlFlD . . officers and enlisted men the benefit of the battle ex- periences of others. To be of maxinnnn benefit these lessons must be disseminated withour delay. They do not necessarily represent the carefully considered views of the War Department; they do, ho\ve\w, reflect the actual experiences of conlbat and, therefore, merit careful read- ing. For this reason, also, no single issue can cover many of the, phases of combat; lessons will be drawn from the t-eprts as they are~received from the theaters of operation ,and quickly disseminated so that others .may apply them. The suggestions wbicb are made or implied are not in- tend&to chin@ the tactical doctrine by which our Army has be&n trained but rather to elaborate thereon. ,Much of the subject matter has been covered in training litera- ture, but the’comtnents show that shortcomings continue to manifest themselves on the battlefield.. SECTION ONE-LEADERSHIP Leadership in Small Units-------_---__ 1 SECTION TWO-NORMAL OPERATIONS Fighting in Normandy__-_-_----______ i Tank-Infantry Combine___-----______ Air Support in France______--________ 17 Fighting in Italy__________________-- ~20 Field Artillery___-________-----_---__ 30 Communications------__----________ 37 Engineers ______~___~_______.-____-_ 38 Chemical Warfare____-__-----______ 39 Medical Training-_-~-~_______------_ 43 SECTION THREE-JUNGLE OPERATIONS Basic Doctrines, New Settings----_----- 45 Scouting, Patrolling, Sniping---------- 46 Defensive Techniques______-_-------_ 58 Infantry Weapons________----_-_-__ 61~ Artillery Observations_________-_____ 69 Attack of Bunker Positions_______---_- 70 Tanks in.The South Seas__---_-------- 72 Combating, malaria______-__-_--;-__ 73 SECTlOtic FOUi&AMPii!BIQUS~ OPERATIONS Normandy Beaches____--_---------_- 75 Los Negros Island______________-____ 77 Kwajalein Islan