Coast Artillery Journal - Feb 1940
Coast Artillery Journal - Feb 1940
Coast Artillery Journal - Feb 1940
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PAMPHLETS ~
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>H New Subject Matter, New Illustratio11s, Complete-Official :t
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>H For all Coast Artillery Organizations. Fully meets the requirements of Training Regulations :t
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:t1 NUMBER GUNNERS' INSTRUCTION PAMPHLETS PRICE ~
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>H I. 2nd Class Gunner, Antiaircraft Artillery (Except Searchlight Battery) $0.65 '"
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:t1 III. 1st Class Gunner, Antiaircraft Artillery (Except Searchlight Battery) 0.65 :t
>H IV. 1st Class Gunner, Antiaircraft Artillery (Searchlight Battery) 0.40 .;.
>H V. 2nd Class Gunner, Fixed Seacoast Artillery (All Units) 0.55 '"
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>H VII. 2nd Class Gunner, l,[obile Seacoast Artillery (All Units) 0.65 .;.
:t1 VIII. 1st Class Gunner, 110bile Seacoast Artillery (All Units) 0.75 ~
:t1 IX. Expert Gunner, Antiaircraft Artillery 1.00 .;.
:t1 X. Expert Gunner, Fixed Artillery 1.00 ~
XL Expert Gunner, Mobile Seacoast Artillery 1.00 .;.
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:t; 2nd Class, 1st Class, and Expert Gunners of Antiaircraft, Fixed and Mobile Artillery . .;.
~ Invaluable for the training and instruction of Coast Artillery personnel. Each enlisted man of a submarine t
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COAST ARTILLERY
JOURNAL
FOUNDED IN 1892 AS THE JOURNAL OF THE UNITED STATES ARTILLERY
CONTENTS
COVER DESIGN: "A Mine Goes Oloer the Side." Photo by Signal Corps, U. S. ArlllY
THE CONTRIBUTORS 89
BOOK REVIE\\/S 91
[
Opinions expressed and conclusions drawn in articles are solely those of
the authors and are in no sense official. They should not be considered as
J
those of the Chief of Coast Artillery or any branch of the War Department.
~~~'hed bi'monthly by the United States Coast Artillery Association. Editorial and e:!:<'Cutiveoffices, 1115 Seventeenth Street, X.W.,
~ lDgton, D. C. Terms: $4.00 per year. (Coast Artillery Association members, $3.00 per year.) Single copies, 7Se. EntE"red 8S second-
mailer at Washinl:ton, D. C.; additional entry at Richmond, \'a .• under the Act of ~Iarch 3, 1879. Copyright, 1940, by the United
.. -<;i' 'p . (;"
.... ; pO •
off German commerce raiders from the Atlantic. If it is
'By not effective, the British Aeet will be forced to maintain its
blockade far at sea and beyond the range of German bomb-
ers. If Italy were to enter the war, the ability of antiair.
Major Thomas R. Phillips craft guns to defend Malta and Cyprus, as well as th~
Aeet, would be the determining factor whether Britain
, COAST ARTI LLERY COR PS 0
gives up operations in the Mediterranean or remains in
control of that vital sea.
The same consi tions will inAuence the location and
defense of in 1:11 areas in Europe. If these can be de.
fended, t ley should be concentrated and the strong.
Ie defense provided. If the antiaircraft artill
is not effective, then they must be dis sed
widely, and moved as far as possible from v erabl~
borders.
It is the opinion of General Armengau
--
night above Paris. The Antiaircraft Defense Corps can General Mordacq, sixty to eighty planes participated in
thus inscribe in its book of honor all the victories reported this raid. Only three got through the outer rings of de-
by the boasters." fenses and Aew over Paris and two of these three were
British experience was similar, although the British shot down.
claim to have had some slight success. However more "It had taken time," remarks General Mordacq, "to
British and French planes were lost by accident in at- fight the stupid ideas of certain inAuential personages,
tempted defense than they claim to have brought down of who had no competence in these maners, and arrive at
enemy aircraft. last at a logical and practical result."
More serious than the lack of success of pursuit, was The lack of reliability of night pursuit was shown 111
their imerference with antiaircraft fire. The gunners, un- the Spanish Civil War. There were a few instances of
able to distinguish friend from enemy, withheld their night combat, but these appear to have been accidental and
fire umil too late. This finally resulted in an order, issued exceptional.
~lay 20, 1918, sending all airplanes previously held for The only rational and effective defense of an objective
the defense of Paris to the front with instructions to anack against night anack is provided by antiaircraft anillery.
German bombers on their return, after they had bombed Daylight presents a more favorable problem for inter-
Paris. From then on, according to Gen~ral 1vfordacg, ceptor pursuit. Time and distance enter this problem.
Clemenceau's Chef de Cabinet, the defense of Paris was A viation was ineffective for the defense of Paris because
, assured. The antiaircraft defenses were constantly there was insufficient time to give warning, gain altitude
strengthened and on September 20, 1918, General Mor- and attack the bombers. In the case of Berlin today, French
dacq reponed that they were complete. September 20 was bombers must Ay more than three hundred miles over
the date of the last German raid on Paris. According to Germany to reach their objective. \Vith an effective warn-
6 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL January-FebruarJ
ing net, this gives ample time for interceptor pursuit to ANTIAIRCRAFT READINESS
gain altitude and meet the attackers in front of Berlin. The Our traditional defense has been based on a great nav)'
defense of Paris, with approximately half the warning and substantial coast defense able to buy us time to raise
distance available, again may have to be left exclusively an army if needed. The navy is always ready for war, the
to antiaircraft artillery, just as Germany depends upon army never. Coast defenses were in substantial readiness
antiaircraft artillery for the defense of its western industrial prior to the World War, but have been neglected since.
areas. With the advent of air power, our national instinct has de-
The distance from which warning must be given to in- manded aerial readiness. Antiaircraft artillery has been
terceptor pursuit, if they are to be able to meet an attacker, neglected as one of the arms of instant readiness.
depends upon the degree of readiness of the defenders, Th 1 f
e ogic 0 a navy in readiness is apparent-it might
the rapidity wit h which they can gain a1titu de, an d the h h d
ave to meet anot er great navy imme iately upon the
difference in speed between the pursuit and the bomber. f Th
outset 0 war. e same reasoning applies to the coast de-
With pursuit speeds of 300 miles an hour and bomber f 11 1
enses, essentia y a nava adjunct. The identical logic has
speeds of 250 miles an hour, and an alert factor of fifteen bId h A
een app ie to t e ir Force as an M-day defensive force.
minutes, a 200-mile warning is required to offer a fair Does not antiaircraft readiness bear the same relation to
chance of meeting the attacker in front of the objective. d
aviation rea iness as coast defense preparedness does to
With a fifty-mile increase in pursuit speed and a shorter I d? All
nava prepare ness. of these elements of national de-
alert factor, the warning distance may be reduced to 100 f h
ense may ave to meet an enemy almost immediately
mi 1es. Un d er exceptional conditions it mig h t even be f Th
a ter war starts. e navy cannot guarantee complete pro-
slightly lessened, but this cannot be depended on. 1 d
From these considerations one conclusion can be drawn tection against nava rai s nor can the air force guarantee
complete protection against aerial raids. Both can guar-
definitely: our antiaircraft coast defense cannot be sup- -
antee protection against invasion by a great land army;
plied by interceptor aviation. 1 d d
consequent y, we 0 not nee a great competitive army in
Warning from sea may be given occasionally, but can- hEW
t e uropean sense.
11
e sha have time to build it if we
not be depended on. Our own interceptor pursuit will have a suitable nucleus. But we have no assurance of time
find its usefulness in chasing the attackers after they have to build our antiaircraft coast defense after the start of war.
dropped their bombs. For the defense of inland objectives M d f
It, too, is an - ay orce just as is the navy, the coast de-
interceptor pursuit is effective. fenses and the air force.
Our antiaircraft coast defense is supplied by the Navy In August, 1939, the German antiaircraft artillery and
which tries to compel an enemy to base so far away as to be 1
warning service was on y slightly smaller than the United
harmless, by long-range bombers which attack hostile States Army. The British antiaircraft Territorials were
bases either on carriers or land, by antiaircraft artillery Th
140,000 strong. e German antiaircraft detachment in
which provides protection at the objective, and by inter-
Spain was greater than the entire American antiaircraft
ceptor pursuit which attacks bombers after bombing of A bId
service. e ate recognition, primarily in Congress.
coastal objectives and before bombing of inland objec- h
tives. All of these elements of antiaircraft defense are es- wit in the past two years has resulted in earnest efforts to
build up our antiaircraft defenses. The long neglect and
sential and all are coordinate and cooperative elements of dd 1 f
national defense. su en spurt a most ound us without a rational program
either for personnel or materiel. What type of guns do
CAN WE BE BOMBED? we need? Do those being manufactured meet today's re-
When at war we always have been subject to naval raids quirements? Where is personnel to come from? Will it
and bombardment. Fifteen years ago we had no fear of be National Guard or Regular Army? Is the Army ready
aerial bombardment. Today we can be bombed. Airplanes with long-range recommendations? Should we make
now are in being that can make the round trip from Europe periodic studies of antiaircraft defense requirements?
to the United States with a small load of bombs. Such
MATERIELREQUIREMENTS
bombing would not be effective and it would be costly. It
would be in the nature of the Paris gun of the World T en years ago the American antiaircraft artilleryman
War, of military value only for its moral effect, and un- could report, with justice, that his gun had the bomber
productive in any other sense in relation to its cost. But it stopped. The electrical data computation and transmission
is possible today. system had solved the worst of fire control problems. The
Airplane carriers that managed to avoid our fleet, could 3-inch gun was effective at altitudes well above the ca-
come within a few hundred miles of the coast, drop pacity of loaded bombers at that time. Since then, the
bombs at dusk and return to the carrier in darkness. Such speed and ceiling of bombers has doubled. Loaded bomb-
bombing also would be small-scale, but the results against ers can fly at 28,000 feet. Our own Air Corps is bombing
our great ports are almost incalculable. The demands for at 22,000 feet more accurately than they were bombing at
defense would be immediate and enormous. And most im- one-third that altitude ten y~ars ago. Speed has incre:ised
portant of all-this could happen immediately upon the from 100 miles per hour to 300 miles per hour. Antiaircraft
outbreak of war. artillery now being manufactured should be able to cope
T be Germa1l forces take AA gullS to sea. (Pboto passed by German cellSor)
8 THE COAST ARTILLERY ]OCRNAL
with a 3OQ-mile per hour plane R~'ing between 25.000 and light b,ombardmem Jirplanes have an operating speed
30.000 feet. 180 mIles per hour Jnd heavy bombJrdmem a speed
\Vhile aviation has progressed b~' ~'earl~, bounds. Ameri- ISO miles per hour. B~' Jdopting performance figures f
can amiaircraft has devoted itself ro refinemem of the this ma 11lI:J I that Jlready hJd been exceeded. unjusrifiQI
materiel of ten years ago. Ir no longer can fulfill its mis- conclusions of amiaircraft performJnce and effecri\ e~
sion. Area targets can be bombed from Jltjrudes five ro were deduced. If J speed of 200 miles per hour. which
eight thousJnd feet in excess of the effective rJnge of the then in sight, had been Jdopted, it would Im'e
J-inch gun. Above 18,000 feet the effecrive radius of fire found thJr four baneries, insteJd of three were required
decreases so rapidl~', that it can be SJid dut the 3-inch gun defend a poim target according ro the standJrd set fo
is pracrically useless above 20,000 feeL Because of the If J 5.000-foot increJse in airplane altirude bd been am
small radius of effecrive fire at and above this altirude, the pJted, and this also was in sight, it would have
number of baneries required ro protect an areJ becomes found that the 3-inch gun was incJpable of furnishing
almost astronomical and cerrainly imprJcricable. fective defense against extremel~' high bombardn;
The theoretical effecriveness of amiaircraft materiel can such as may be employed agJinst large areJ tJrgers.
be varied by the standard of airplane performance Jdopted. This should have been a sufficiem demonstration of
In the Coast Artillery Field l11anual. Volume II, PJrr need of amicipating airplane performance. But in
one. "AmiJircrJfr Artillery," 1933, the compurations of 1938 edition of the SJme 1I1anual, the speed of bom
the bomb release line and the size of the critical zone were for purposes of calculating the bomb release line. is tak
based on an 120-mile an hour bomber and an altitude of as 200 miles per hour. about what should have been
15.000 feet. In the SJme l11anual, page 14. it is stated that sumed five years ago. Ir also is assumed that" atl110sph
conditions of visibility and density and decrease in ac- a more effective defense than six 3-inch batteries. Even if
curacy of bombing at increased altitudcs will probably higher effective altitudes are not yet essential. one-third
confine bombardment attacks to much lower altitudes less m:ltcricl is needed of the larger type than the present
and, since an average bombing altitude may reasonably be type.
taken as 17,100 feet, this figure is used." This is an important economy when the enormous re-
Seventeen thousand one hundred feet happens to be the guiremcnts for antiaircraft defense are added up. The
approximate altitude above which the effective radius of iarger gun can reach into any immediately possible alti-
fire of the yinch gun begins to decrease so rapidly that de- tude of bombardment, while the yinch gun permits bomb-
fense at higher altitudes will require quantities of materiel ing with impunity at altitudes that today are practicable
that never will exist. At an altitude of 22,000 feet, the ef- to the bombers of every nation in the world.
fective area of fire of the 3-inch gun is less than one-third In England, early in 1938, when the press discovered
as great as at 17, 100 feet. By using figures of airplane per- that the War Ministry was remodeling a large number of
formance that again have been surpassed at the time of 3-inch antiaircraft guns, popular protest rose to the volume
publication of the Manual, the 3-inch gun is made to ap- of a public scandal. The Government was questioned in
~r still to be effective against all bombardment. Even the House of Commons. It was explained that this was
usmg such data, six batteries are indicated in the j\1 anual only a stop gap; that the 3.7 inch antiaircraft gun was the
as necessary to defend an area target 4,000 yards in diam- weapon on which the War N1inistry was concentrating its
~r. production. In England, not only the War Ministrv but
\\' ere a larger gun with a radius of fire of 6,000 or 7,000 also the public-educated during the past three years to
yards at 22,000 feet available, five batteries could provide antiaircraft defense-is aware of the lack of effectiveness
dfecriV: defense for the critical zone of a point target. For of the smaller gun against modern aircraft.
P':0tectlon of the area target shown in the Coast Artillery It is a serious error to assume that bombers will not use
"1
F,eld anual, four of the larger batteries would supply their higher altitudes. Altitude requirements are placed
~
10 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL January-Februar,
in design specificationsfor the very purpose of protecting The 3-inch gun now in production is not a waste. It will
bombers against antiaircraft artillery and pursuit aviation. always be valuable to use in the field and for defense of
If the pilot is faced with the possibility of being hit at targets which require precision bombing. But a larger
q,OCJO feet and escaping at 25,0CJ0feet, there can be no gun is essential, and more economical, for antiaircraft de-
question about the altitude he will choose. At higher alti- fense of cities, industries, hatbors and bases.
tudes he has the additional advantage of relative invisi- Slight excuse can be given for a fixed antiaircraft gun
bility and noiselessness. Any assumption based on the in the continental United States. In Panama, yes. But
theory that bombardment will not use its maximum alti- in the United States all antiaircraft guns should have
tude is false, any reasoning to support it is specious. Haze strategical mobility so that all can be concentrated on
or scattered clouds are an asset to the bomber. The pilot either coast in case of need. Our lOs-mm. fixed gun does
needs only to look directly beneath himself for orientation, not meet this requirement. It is planted in concrete and
while the ground observer must search along the slant it would take months to replant it on the opposite coastif
tange. The earth the pilots see occasionallyis everywhere needed. It is probable that a mobile gun of between three-
below; but to the ground observer the airplane is a speck and-one-halfand four inches will meet all the requirements
in the hemisphere of the sky. of antiaircraft coast defense for some time to come and
Regardlessof altitude requirements, the 3-inch gun has that there is no need for the installation of any more fixed
never been the most efficient size for an antiaircraft gun. antiaircraft guns in continental United States.
Perhaps exaggerated ideas of the need for light weight Machine guns are not now and never have been effec-
and high tactical mobility had something to do with the tive weapons against low flying planes. The antiaircraft
adoption of this size. The most effective antiaircraft gun artillery has been trying to make itself a machine-gun
is a compromise between conflicting requirements. One outfit for twenry years and has failed. Colonel J. P. Hop-
wants a gun with high muzzle velocity, high rate of fire, kins, Chief, Antiaircraft Service, AEF, in his report De-
high ballistic coefficientof projectile, and a large bursting cember}l, 1918, stated: "On our Army front there were
area of the shell. The larger gun has a lower rate of fire. probably I,SOO antiaircraft machine guns which were
Great muzzle velocitiesrequire a thick walled shell which identical with the total of ninety-six that were used by our
limits the burst effectiveness, etc. One limiting require- two antiaircraft machine-gun battalions. Probably there
ment is a reasonable mobility, which limits weight; were planes brought down by these 1,500 guns, of which
another is a requirement of high altitude effectiveness, we have not had a report; but the total of which we have
which eliminates small guns. specificinformation is two. The number of planes brought
The German compromise representing the most effec- down on the entire British front is about two per month."
tive size is the 88-mm. gun (about 3}'i inches). This gun Today, we count holes in a sleeveand think the practice
was developed as the most effective size before the high is pretty good. In Ethiopia, 259 planes were hit by small
altitude fire of which it is capable was necessary. It will arms fire, most of them many times, and only eight were
fire at a rate of twenty rounds per minute and has ample shot down. An American pilot flying in Loyalist Spain
tactical mobility. Its effectivealtitude is said to be in excess had an air duel with Bruno Mussolini. When he landed
of 25,000 feet. The British have adopted the 3,7 inch gun he counted 326 entering bullet holes in his airplane, his
as standard. Its performance exceeds that of the German instrument board was shot away, but still he was able to
gun. The French use a 90-mm. (about 3.6 inches) in the return to his field. Effective fire against low-flying planes
defense of Paris. This was originally a naval design, the demands an explosive shell and a gun light enough to
army having been laggard in providing the larger guns. keep ahead of the tremendous angular travel of a plane
A unique feature of the French 90 is an automatic loader closeto the ground.
that gives it a rate of fire of thirty rounds per minute. The 37-mm. gun is not a substitute for the machine
A size somewhere between three-and-one-half and four gun. According to Dr. Helmut Klotz, a former German
inches probably represents the most effective antiaircraft officerwho observedthe Spanish War closely, the 2o-mm.
gun with tactical mobility today. But this, when de- automatic cannon is superior to the 37-mm. Its rate of fire
veloped, should not be consideredthe ultimate in guns, or is 300 rounds a minute against 150 rounds a minute for
we shall repeat the mistake already made in delaying too the 37-mm. Although its shell is much smaller, the ex-
long to replacethe 3-inch gun. It is quite possiblethat new plosive it contains still is sufficient to wreck an airplane
detection and tracking deviceswill permit fire on airplanes wing. It can follow a low-flying plane while the 37-mm.
at ranges far beyond those now considered practicable and cannot at equally low altitudes. The fire control cannot
that the increased time that a plane could be held under take advantage of the increased range of the 37-mm. can-
fire would warrant the building of a gun with still greater non. Both the 37-mm. and the zo-mm. are limited to about
range. It might have to be built in two loads for mobility the same altitude by fire control-that is to about 4,000
and would require an automatic loader, but it may be- or 5,0CJ0feet. In addition the 2o-mm. cannon weighs about
come necessary to have such a gun. In spite of greater 800 pounds and can be manhandled anywhere. Its small
cost, its superior range would make fewer guns necessary size and low silhouette make it a poor target for aerial at-
for the defense of an area and thus the larger gun is tack or ground fire.
cheaper than the smaller one. If and when the 37-mm. fire control system is perfected
11""""""------
I9~O NATIONAL DEFENSE AND ANTIAIRCRAFT DEFENSE 11
antiaircraft coast defense warning service. An organization two constant allies, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, are
consonant with our military establishment would be based still effective to give us a small delay in assuming defen-
upon a special branch of the National Guard. The neces- sive readiness. For this reason, we like the British, can de-
saty specialists could be enlisted with the understanding pend upon the National Guard for the major increments
that they would perform their duties in their home area of necessary antiaircraft defense.
and, in many cases, they could continue normal work. A Nevertheless, the irreducible minimum of permanent
very considerable group of permanent personnel would personnel is many times as great as that now in existence.
be required to insure the organization and training of the Congress recognized the need in Panama and added 8,000
servlCe. men to the Army for increasing antiaircraft defense there.
The Hawaiian Islands require more, so do the Philippines,
THE REQUIREMENTS OF ANTIAIRCRAFT DEFENSE
and the antiaircraft defense of Puerto Rico is just being
There are two reasons for the general delay, both in the started. For protection of vital coast cities, industries,
army and by the public, in recognizing the requirements harbor defenses and naval bases on both coasts, a largely
of antiaircraft defense. One of these, effective for many increased nucleus of permanent antiaircraft personnel is
years, was a defeatist attitude about the effectiveness of indispensable. In terms of permanent personnel, these re-
ground defense. Many soldiers had witnessed the futile quirements, very roughly estimated, might amount to:
firings of the Archie guns during the World War and 100 batteries for foreign possessions, thirty-six batteries in
counted their effectiveness by the number of misses. They the nine corps areas, sixteen batteries for the Pacific Coast,
failed to realize that it was not the number of planes and twenty-eight batteries for the Atlantic Coast.
brought down that was the measure, but rather the num- This totals 180 batteries, not including headquarters,
ber of raids disrupted and broken up. It was easy for the searchlight and warning units. The personnel requirement
civilian to see a Sunday supplement picture of a great exceeds 25,000 officers and men. The existing army can-
bomb being loaded into a great bomber and then later see not provided these men by taking them away from other
an airplane above him and imagine that bomb being arms. They must be furnished from army increases. Ab-
dropped at his feet. Conversely, it was difficult to imagine surd? Not in the least. This is the requirement to meet the
hitting that barely visible speck high in the sky. threat of a new arm which we recognize, but fail to realize
Our great cities have to be defended and can be. The that a new arm is required to counter the new enemy.
moral effect of untesisted attacks in incalculable. If the
But this is only the beginning. An additional force of
army fails to realize and demand the means to fulfil its 800 or 1,000 batteries of antiaircraft artillery, with the
obligation of defense, it can have no alibis when war
necessary warning elements, must be supplied by the Na-
comes. Of course expenditures will be large; but SQ are tional Guard. At least 100,000 men will be needed. The
naval expenditures; so are air force expenditures. But anti-
major portion of the National Guard force could be a
aircraft costs will be trifling compared to passive submis-
strictly home defense element, men physically unfit for
sion to partial destruction. No excuse avails the army un-
other 'military service, men with dependents serving in ~e-
less it has thought large and has presented its needs to fense of their own cities or own factories. In the protectiOn
Congress. of industries removed from the coast, if an efficient warn-
The second reason for our laggard antiaircraft prepara-
ing service were provided, these units could continue t~eir
tions is directly attributable to the army itself. Antiaircraft
normal work, manning their guns on receipt of warn Ill?;.
artillery is a new arm. It is added to the military team, but
The antiaircraft coast defense warning service could be
the older members of the team tend to see only that their
organized similarly. It should extend several hundr:d
proportion of the forces is reduced and resist it. For the
same reason, air increases have been resisted. Soldiers have miles inland. Certain port cities of great importance Will
known that the air force must be added to the defense require warning from ships stationed at sea for that pur-
-- NATIONAL DEFENSE AND ANTIAIRCRAFT DEFENSE 13
pose and cannot be defended adequatel~' unless antiaircraft years has resulted in almost no defense. It is not too late to
shIps are provided to complete the defensive ring. A sea think big and repair the dela~,s of the past. An:' further
gomg antiaircraft service will have its charms for our dela:' ma:' be too late. :. foney and personnel will be sup-
~ach~ing enthusiasts. plied generousl:' when true need is demonstrated. And it is
Ir is also inevitable that commerce destruction bv air- up to the army to demonstrate dut need to our people.
plane bombing will require that our merchant ships be
armed with antiaircraft guns, both large and small. The ~ ~ ~
arm\' should be prepared to supply the materiel and per-
soO/;el to meet this need when it comes. In the Spanish EDITOR'SNOTE: It should be borne in mind that this
war more merchant ships, b:' ten to one, were sunk bv article was complered during the early days of the current
airplanes than by submarines. Such a method of blockade war in Europe. This accounts for the lack of comment on
is me\'irable again when the going gets hard, more recent events in air warfare. But our readers will also
CONCLUSION note rhat no event to date of going to press has invalidated
ThinkinO" small in rerms of antiaircraft defense for manv any of the author's major premises.
:>
officersof the Eighth Arm:' was that the armies of Rennen- the whole command upset by the brusk replacement of
bmpf and particularly Samsonoff were prepared to ad- Prittwitz and confused by letting the command tem-
vancebefore their transport equipment was complete. porarily fall to each corps, but a day's rest was ordered
for all corps, which had to be made up later by forced
II marches, and the headquarters of the army was moved
Like that of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the star of back to Marienburg-a most illogical choice. All these
Hoffmann rose at T annenberg. Because of the change of unhappy decisions could have been avoided had Moltke
command which followed the momentary panic of Pritt- or the new commanders used the telephone. When Hin-
witz, he was one of the few senior staff officerswho guided denburg and Ludendorff arrived in Marienburg and asked
the destinies of the Eighth Army from the false start at Hoffmann as the remaining staff officer to explain the
StallupOnen to the crowning triumph of T annenberg. situation in detail, they found that all the necessary orders
No other campaign during the First World War produced preparing for an att~ck on Samsonoff s army had already
more fantastic legends or more unsoldierly scrambling been given. The question of transferring the remaining
forhonors among the participants. Since the main features I Reserve Corps and the XVII Corps depended upon
of the operation are well known no attempt will be made Rennenkampf's action when he discovered the evacuation
to repeat them here except in so far as they relate to Hoff- of the German position at the Angerapp.
mann's activity. Hoffmann's knowledge of Russian mentality was soon
Despite attempts of some critics to attribute the success of great value to the newly arrived commanders. Russian
primarily to his inRuence, Hoffmann insisted that T an- wireless orders en clair had been intercepted by the Konigs-
nenberg was not the victory of a single individual. He: berg radio station and forwarded to headquarters. One of
maintained that as an example of effective staff work, it these messages set Rennenkampf's objectives for August
could not be compared to certain other operations in the 26 as the line Gerdauen-Allenburg-Wehlau. The other
East, notably the campaign of Lodz in 1914. A study of showed that Samsonoff had interpreted the retreat of the
the operation confirms this opinion. It was the spectacular German XX Corps as indicating a general retirement.
culmination of the battle, coming on the heels of Gumbin- If genuine, these messages showed that the Russian move-
nen and offsetting the disaster at the Marne, which ments would play directly into the German hand. But
appealed to the imagination of the German public. But could they be regarded as genuine and not a subtle trick?
those who eagerly accepted the legends of T annenberg Hoffmann assured Grunert this "naivete was typically
did not know of the hasty improvisations, the false moves, Russian" and insisted they were bona fide. When subse-
the confusion, and the decisive acts of insubordination quent Russian action confirmed this opinion, other wire-
and initiative by corps and divisional commanders, and less messages were correctly regarded as genuine. These
the heart-breaking marches of the infantry which com- interceptions proved of immense value to the Eighth
bined to hide these weaknesses. Army, and when the Russians finally adopted a cipher,
To any staff officerwho had sat at Schlieffen's feet, the the code was easily discovered by the German experts.
correct line of action for the Eighth Army in event of a Throughout all the stages of T annenberg Hoffmann
converging attack by two Russian armies was pike-staff urged that the Germans could afford to take great risks in
plain. The whole German force should be directed first dealing with their enemy commanders. He told Luden-
against one, then against the other Russian force. De- dorff how Samsonoff's heroic Siberian troops had been let
struction of potentially superior forces in detail was the down by Rennenkampf while defending the Yentai coal
ancient and appropriate solution. It was, in fact, the mines in 1905. He also told of the blistering interview
course decided upon by Prittwitz, Waldersee, Griinert, between these two commanders after the battle on the
and Hoffmann after Gumbinnen had shaken the nerve Mukden railway station where these unlucky commanders
of Prittwitz and he had secretly telephoned his jittery nearly came to blows before a group of embarrassed
resolutionto retire behind the Vistula to the false serenity foreign attaches. To the anxiously repeated question:
of Moltke's headquarters in the West. "Will Rennenkampf march?" Hoffmann replied, ''I'm
From Hoffmann's diaries it becomes clear that the date damned if he will!"
of the much disputed General Order No.8, which pre- The written accounts and diaries of Hoffmann show
pared the way for Samsonoff's disaster, was August 20 that the popular misconception of the battle as having
at 9:30 P.M. and not as stated in the officialaccount of the been planned and executed on the Cannae principle can-
Reichsarchiv, August 21. The matter of the changed not be maintained. The whole movement of the German
date on this all-important order withdrawing forces from east wing to envelop Samsonoff developed out of the
in front of Rennenkampf and concentrating them against heaven-sent inactivity of Rennenkampf. He thus refutes
Samsonoff is closely bound up with the question of su- the eloquent special-pleading of certain German historians
premehonors for Hindenburg and Ludendorff. The popu- such as Dr. Hans De1briick. Nor does he share Mr.
lar version of Ludendorff sending battle orders to the Churchill's enthusiasm for General Fran~ois as the prin-
Eighth Armv while en route to the east will not bear cipal hero of T annenberg. He praises Fran~ois' judicious
examination.' Indeed, the only orders received by the insubordination in slowing up the attack on Usdau and
headless Eighth Army had e;il results. Not only was in advancing along the N eidenburg- Willenburg railway.
IS THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL /tll1l1tlrY-Febrrta]
•
I!m
CJ
GERMANS
AUSTRIANS
RUSSIANS
n'
B A L TIC
PROVINCES
~OVNO
.VILNA
MINSK
~ .
100
SCALE IN MILES
These acts of initiative, like those of Morgen :ll1d 1\'fack- sured Jnd it WJS only J mJtter of collecting Russian pris-
ensen, added greJtly to the success of the Eighth Army, oners. T annenberg had all the earmarks of a first cam-
but he also remembered Fran~ois' rash action at StaI- paign. Even those who were supposed to know most
lup6nen. He protested when Fran~ois wrote Jgainst Lu- about the affair were frankly astonished Jt the bag of
dendorff in the Reichsflagge for September 17, 192), prisoners. Hoffmann and Count Dohna were talking on
claiming that Ludendorff's memoirs concerning T Jnnen- September 1st abom the probJble number of prisoners.
berg were of "no historicJI vJlue." He JppJrently felr Dohna set the number at 20,000 and Hoffmann at ,0-
that Hindenburg made his weight felt only on one OCCJ- 40,000. The total captures ran to 92,000 men and .150
sian during the encounter, when the situJtion of the XVII guns. When the defeat of Rennenbmpf September 9-14,
and the I Reserve Corps seemed criticJI on August 27. cleared East PrussiJ of the Russian invader, the theatre of
Here the ponderous Hindenburg bolstered the shJking activity of the Eighth Army widened. The armies of
nerve of Ludendorff Jnd insisted that previous decisions Austria needed quick relief.
be adhered to. OfficiJlly HoffmJnn observed in summJry:
"The decision to fight the bJttle WJS tJken under the III
commJnd and on the responsibility of Colonel-GenerJI T annenberg and the Nfasurian Lakes brought Hoff-
\'on Prittwitz; Jnd the logical and inevitable fulfillment mann the Iron Cross First Cbss-won, as he observed, by
of that decision, which led to the great victory, took pbce sitting at the telephone. Although he gradually assumC<1
under the commJnd Jnd on the responsibility of Colonel- a dominating role in all operations matters in the East,
GenerJ! von Hindenburg." Privately he used to show he did not receive the coveted order Pour Ie Merite nor
\'isitors Hindenburg's old bed at Ober-Ost Jnd remJrk: an increJse in rJnk until he WJS in the curious position of
"There is where the Field Nfarshal slept before the battle, being the Chief of StJff to the CommJnder-in-Chief in
that is where he slept after the battle, Jnd thJt, my friends, the EJst with the rJnk of lieutenant-coloneI. The com-
is where he slept during the battle." binJtion Hindenburg-Ludendorff-HoffmJnn proved to be
In addition to giving the name T Jnnenberg to the In unusually effective one. Hindenburg provided the
\,ictory, HoffmJnn hJd to intervene personally on two sociJI front and bJbnce, Ludendorff the driving energy
occasions to stem the tide of pJnic in certain units of the Jnd rare organizing ability, Hoffmann the fertility of
Eighth Army. The bt of these wild unpredictable our- ideJs and CJustic sense of reality. He knew the Russians
breaks came after the Gern1Jn victory was absolutely JS- so well that they only surprised him once during the war
20 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL Ja1J/JaI'J-Febrnary
and--to his sorrow-he soon came to know the Austrians The quarrel with Falkenhayn was based on an essential
equally well. differenceof views. As Chief of Staff of the Field Armies
While Falkenhayn was attempting to retrieve the loss Falkenhavn did not believe in the attainment of decisi~
suffered bv Moltke in the west, the German armies in the results fr~m an experiment on a 600-kilometer front with
east unde~ook a seriesof brilliant movements to offset the the small German forces available. He was essentially
Austrian defeat at Lemberg. Conrad von Hotzendorff's a limited-objective man, who regarded the activities of
audaciousplans had collapsedand nearly seventy Austrian the Eastern armies as merely "collecting Russian prison-
divisionshad been crowded into a pocket on the west bank ers." As if to vindicate his rather discouraging forecast,
of the Visloka between the Vistula and the Carpathians. the armies of Conrad bogged down in their attack, and
To relievethem a bold advance by the newly formed Ger- the advance of the reinforced German armies in the north
man Ninth Army was made on September 27 on the line imposed bitter sufferings on the troops in the winttt
Opatov-Ostrowiec-Ilza-Radom-Tomaszow-Koliszki. The battle in Masuria (February 7-21, 1915) and only resulted
rapidity of this change of front by the German command in the destruction of the Russian Tenth Army.
surprised the Russians, and caused them to withdraw 14 When operations were resumed in the spring of 1915.
army corps from the Austrian front. By October 12 the Falkenhayn invaded the preserves of Hindenburg and
German Ninth Army was within twelve miles of Warsaw, Ludendorff by sending Mackensen on an independent
but was forced to retreat by heavy Russian pressure. break-through mission at GorIice in May. Wide strategic
As soon as the Russian advance weakened, the Ninth results followed. The whole Russian front recoiled. Falk-
Army was quickly withdrawn from the southern Polish enhayn's star continued in the ascent with the repulseof
front and transported northward. On November 3 it French and British attacks on the Western Front in 1915,
was in placeprepared to advance against the Russian Fifth, and in the conquest of Serbia. The great heroes of 1914
Second, and First Armies. These operations resulted in -Hindenburg-Ludendorff-Hoffmann-were now play-
the famous battle of Lodz. They represented the war of ing minor roles. When they resisted Falkenha~:n's ef-
movement at its highest point of development in the forts to reduce their forces for the Serbian venture, he
East. As the German XX and XXV ReserveCorps turned wired bluntly: "Whether your Excellency (HindenburgJ
the Rank and virtually surrounded parts of the Russian agrees with the views of OHL does not matter. Everv
Second Army, they in turn were attacked and virtually portion of our forces must adapt itself unconditionallv
surrounded by the RussianLovitch force. Days and nights to OHL." Hoffmann openly groused at the distribution
of ceaseless anxiety followed for Hoffmann. "One has of decorations saying ironically: "Mackensen is to have
need of nerves like ropes," he complained. In the end the command. Now that all available honors, titles, and
German forces broke through the Russian lines carrying orders have been showered in so short a time on this one
their prisonerswith them. When the battle died down on devoted head, after the capture of Belgrade there is
the northern Polish front at the close of the year, a tem- nothing left but to rechristen him 'Prinz Eugen.''' As
porary line of positions ran from East Prussia southward the year 1915 drew to its dose, and as Hoffmann watched
through Plotsk, along the Vistula and Nida to Tarnow his restless chiefs at Kovno intrigue against Falkenhavn.
and the Carpathians. he came to see for the first time "history as it realh. 0(-
These striking operations not only brought Hoffmann curs." Though his own hatred for Falkenhayn was intense
into contact with the exasperating inefficiency of the and unremitting, he saw that this continual struggle for
Austrian war machine, but the succeeding operations power at the top of the army "destroyed all men's char-
brought his superiors into direct conflictwith Falkenhayn. acter." He saw that the much-vaunted loyalty of the
The Eastern Command had been disappointed in October German officercorpswas just so much idle talk. "If anyone
and November, 1914, when the four newly raised army comes near me with a Nibelung's oath of fidelity and
corps had been sent to the west and wasted in the attacks offers to die in battle at my side-I shall knock his head
on Ypres. In the opinion of Ludendorff and Hoffmann off."
these corps might have produced decisive results in the He regarded Falkenhayn as "the evil genius of the
East. With Conrad they urged that, once the modified Fatherland" and saw little hope for Germany as long as
Schlieffen plan had failed, the major effort of the Central "that criminal-had the Kaiser in his pocket." To Hoff-
Powers should be directed against Russia. Since Falken- mann's repeated appeals for troops to carry out hoped for
hayn's battles in Flanders had merely produced heavy decisivestrokes against Russia, Falkenhayn turned a deaf
casualty lists the Eastern Command made a determined ear or with lofty irony remarked: "Again and again there
bid to wrest four new army corps which were available in were local commanders who maintained that thev had
January, 1915, from the control of Falkenhayn. In a discovered a sure way of striking a more or less s~rious,
showdown meeting at the Imperial War Ministry on indeed, a decisiveblow-if only the necessary means was
New Year's Day, 1915, the Kaiser finally decided in favor placed at their disposal. Now it was four, now twent\' or
of the Eastern Command. The four new corps were more divisions, of course, with the corresponding heavy
transferred to the East, and Conrad and Ludendorff under- artillery and ammunition. __ "
took a gigantic double-envelopment attack from East Hoffmann's irritation at Falkenhayn extended to the
Prussia in the north to Galicia in the south. government which supported him. Sometimes, when
-
1940 HOFFMANN 21
>-
MINSK
vexed beyond endurance by the "slimy treatment" his in most cases he had his way. \Vhere he did not, he
chiefs were receiving, Hoffmann would break out before always put forth his views with vigor, and made the best
the visiting politicians at ObeT-Ost saying: "\Ve can't ~o of the other plans. He was a glutton for work, took verv
on much longer with a damned slack government like ours little exercise, and found it impossible to get his quota of
-it is beginning to smell to heaven." He took an active sleep. \Vhen perplexed subordinates brought their prab-
part in the intrigues of Hindenburg and Ludendorff lems, he would call for the maps and end by doing the
against Falkenhayn, writing the critical statements, work himself. To keep going he drank black coffee and
speeches, and telegrams of Hindenburg. Nfore than once cognac incessantly. As his blood pressure increased under
during the period of Falkenhayn's ascendency, Hoffmann the strain, so did his temper. His already bitter tono-lie
longed for the assignment to a fighting command, but became increasingly acid. \Vhen well-meaning di;lo-
Ludendorff would not spare him, and his relations with his matists asked what the best means of breaking the power
two famous chiefs were on such independent lines that of the sluggard aristocracy of Vienna, Hoffmann answered
he would have been lost in any fighting position to which "strychnine!" As for his relations with Ludendorff he
his low rank would have entitled him. He stayed, and the observed: "\Ve get on excellently in spite of a few dif-
men in the East soon had their innings.' ferences of opinion, over which he finally gives wav."
Falkenhayn's luck ran out in the spring and summer of Although Hoffmann charitably referred to his new chief.
1916. His tragic decision to attack Verdun was followed Leopold of Bavaria, as "an impassioned soldier and a
by the Brusilov offensive, the English attack on the Grand Seigneur," he also makes it clear that from Septem-
Somme, and Rumania's entrance into the war on the side ber, 1916, on "the entire responsibility for the Eastern
of the Entente. The pressure for his removal became over- front" was his own. The routine at Ober-Ost was as
whelming. On August 31, 1916, Hindenburg replaced follows:
him as Chief of Staff of the Field Armies with Ludendorff "Every morning at about eleven o'clock H.R.H.
as his Quartermaster-General. Falkenha)'n's face was (Leopold) came to my office to hear the report; he had
saved by giving him command against Rumania, and his mid-day meal at home (Szkoki), and in the eve-
Hoffmann inherited the whole military burden of the ning at balf-past seven be came to the mess dinner at
Eastern front as Chief of Staff to Leopold of Bavaria. the officers' quarters .... He was always at m)' dis-
Hoffmann apparently never overcame his distaste for posal at any time if he were required (except in shoot-
Falkenhayn. \Vhen the latter came to the Eastern front ing season)."
as an arm)' commander after the Rumanian and Turkish \Vhile Falkenha)'n overwhelmed Rumania and Luden-
campaigns, Hoffmann dealt with him onl)' through his dorff repaired the mistakes of the previous regime in the
chief of staff. V./est, Hoffmann's main task was to support the Eastern
IV front with the limited resources at his disposal. In this
task the undependable character of his Austrian allies was
Even before Hindenburg and Ludendorff departed for
his main headache. It was necessary to bolster their sag-
their historic and fateful mission in th~ West, it was clear
ging morale and fighting capacity b)' inserting more and
that Hoffmann was the intellectual mainspring of the East-
ern command. His special province was operations gu~s-
tions, and in this field he earl" reached an effective work- R1I5sial1 tToOPS evacuating If/arsalV
ing arrangement with Ludendorff. His diaries reveal that sbortly before tbe fall of tbe city
~
:);;
,
1940 HOFFMANN 23
more German "corset-stave divisions" into the line. His WIth an occasional display of dash in the attack. Hoff-
irony was boundless: mann did not have enough troops for big-scale movements
. "The Austrians have grown more and more dear to of the 1915 type, but he was able to cany out a number
me in the last fortnight. They are really impossible. of tidy limited attacks. He combined a remarkable eye
... Not content with running away, they lie and send for points of strategic advantage with a very realistic ap-
in false reports, and with it all are quite unashamed. preciation of the troop and transport requirements. He
.. I should like to go to war with them!" worked out a theory on the extent of Russian advances
To this sort of criticism, the Austrians replied with against the Austrians by calculating the distance from
subtlety, conferring upon Hoffmann the Austrian Iron where railway destruction began. He discovered in Lieu-
Cross, Second Class! Effective cooperation became even tenant-Colonel Bruckmiiller an artillery expert whose skill
more difficult after the Archduke Karl replaced the talent- in reconnaissance enabled him to estimate to a hundred
ed Conrad with a mere military errand boy, General Arz. shells the artillery preparation required for a given attack.
The German General van Seeckt who was sent as a mili- In April, 1917, he supervised a neat and economical opera-
tary adviser to Karl helped somewhat, but he seemed to tion involving the capture of the T oboly bridgehead. In
become "Austrianized" in the process. Hoffmann did not July, 1917, he countered the final Russian offensive against
share the post-war German enthusiasm for von Seeckt's the Austrians by a swift attack against T arnopol which
military talents. caused the whole Russian front in Galicia to recoil. The
Throughout 1916 and 1917 Hoffmann cooperated very troops which Hoffmann borrowed from the west for the
closely with Ludendorff in the advancement of the Ru- T arnopol operation were retained until September to en-
manian campaign and in the defensive battles in the able him to carry out a long-desired attack on Riga.
West. He described the Eastern front as a "widow's cruse The Riga operation by the German Eighth Army under
of oil" from which he always managed to scrape up a General van Hutier began on September 1 and was in-
few reinforcements when they were badly needed. In a stantly successful. This far-reaching victory not only vin-
moment of self-confidence he once declared he would hold dicated the new infiltration method of attack but it re-
the Eastern front single-handed if necessary! This close vealed a startling decline in Russian morale. The enemy
cooperation with the Quartermaster-General continued infantry no longer held its ground long enough to be
until larger questions of policy: Poland, the V-boat war, scooped up by the German dragnet. Hoffmann decided
and peace terms, gradually separated them. to take advantage of this condition in order to take the
Hoffmann seems to have been one of the few soldiers Jacobstadt bridgehead on the Duna. He also arranged for
who throughout the war kept the fact in mind that the a joint naval and military operation against the Dago,
purpose of war is to make peace. From the first he advo- Moon, and Osel Islands. With these successful move-
cated strictly limited territorial claims. The arrogant and ments active military operations against the Russians
absurd claims of the Pan-German Party he opposed with ceased, pending the assumption of peace negotiations.
all his might. They were acting as if the war was already In the autumn of 1917 Hoffmann asserts that he would
won-Hoffmann knew better. He saw that Germany have been able to add considerable German units from
could not hope to win a military victory over her enemies the east to the Caporetto attack on Italy-had he been
before the Russian revolution changed the whole picture. asked to do so. Whether or not the Austrian railway sys-
He wanted no part of Belgium except Liege, and no more tem could have handled them in time for the attack is
of Poland than would give Germany a strong defensive doubtful. None the less, this curious observation of his
line in the East. For a time Ludendorff seemed to share indicates a growing lack of coordination between Luden-
these views. He promised Hoffmann in September, 1916, dorff and his erstwhile colleague. The real break between
that if the slightest possibility of a reasonable peace pre- the two, however, came over political rather than military
sented itself, he would grab it with both hands. The questions. Hoffmann opposed the formation of a separate
U-boat war he opposed, not on moral grounds, but on the Polish state on the grounds that its creation would bring
strong suspicion that Germany did not possess the neces- no military advantage to Germany and would dim the
sary number of U-boats to carry it off successfully. To prospects of a separate peace with Russia. Ludendorff
the end of the war he remained ignorant and frankly con- wanted to add a considerable strip of Polish territory to the
temptuous of American military strength. These erratic Empire. The German Emperor shared Hoffmann's views.
views reflected his absorption in the affairs of his own To the latter's embarrassment the Emperor ordered him
front. He naturally appeared at his worst when offerin?; to attend a painful meeting with OHL on January 2,
an opinion on something he knew nothing about. 1918, in order to present his views. Before doing so Hoff-
In March, 1917, the Russian revolution took place and mann tried repeatedly to see Ludendorff to explain that
the regime of Kerensky replaced that of the Romanovs. the Emperor had ordered him to take this step. He
Since the aim of the provisional government was to con- found Ludendorff "too busy" to see him before or after
tinue the war for the previous imperialistic objectives, no the meeting. -
immediate change occurred in the affairs of the Eastern So Hoffmann appeared at the fateful meeting and ad-
command. Until the November Revolution Russian troops vocated adding only the districts of Bendzin and Thorn,
still fought with dogged resolution on the defense and the heights of Mlava, and the crossing of the Bohr at
24 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL January-February
Osowiec to Germany. Ludendorff's plans called for add- ly over-estimated their capacity to sell foodstuffs. Con-
ing about 2,000,000 Poles to the German population, and stant friction between Germans and Ukrainians finallv led
the Emperor firmly decided in favor of Hoffmann's pro- to the murder of General Eichhorn, the German Gover-
gram. This led Ludendorff to ask for Hoffmann's dis- nor, on August 1. And to add to Hoffmann's problems,
missal and made plans to transfer him to the command of the German troops in the occupied areas were willy-nilly
a division by way of punishment. But by this time the thrown in contact with Bolsheviki ideas and doctrines.
Emperor was getting tired of Ludendorffs prima donna Hoffmann laughed early in 1918 when the Russian Ad-
temper and strongly supported Hoffmann. At the end of miral Altvater told him how his sailors in the Baltic sta-
this painful episode Hoffmann went back to his head- tions had simply melted away after being exposed to
quarters at Brest-Litovsk, but Ludendorff never forgave Bolsheviki propaganda and warned that the same thi~
him. would happen to the German naval and military leaders.
V Later, as the fortunes of war turned against Germanv in
Hoffmann's role at the treatv of Brest-Litovskhas often the West, Hoffmann recalled Altvater's warning and ad-
been wildly distorted. He wa; OHL representative at the mitted that the Russian was right. Students of the present
meetings. Under the constitution of the Empire, Secre- conflict may find in existing conditions a number of in-
tary of State Kuhlmann had sole responsibility for the tetesting patallels to the situation in the East in 1918.
negotiation of the treaty, but actually Ludendorff was VI
running the German Empire at this stage. Hoffmann To Hoffmann's way of thinking the collapse of Russia
merely carried out the wishes of OHL. When the Bol- offered the Germans a rare bit of soldier's luck. If onl"
sheviki delegates sought to make Brest-Litovskthe sound- the assumption of unrestricted U-boat warfare had bee~
ing board for their propaganda efforts, talked blandly of delayed a few months, the advantages of its occurrence
peace without annexations, and delayed procedure on silly might not have been offset by the entrance of the United
pretexts, Hoffmann put them in their place. Taking a States into the war. He still hoped in the spring of 1918
lesson from the experience with General Fujii in 1905, that a peace acceptable to Germany might be attained.
Hoffmann did so without rising from his place at the Ludendorff, however, had by this time nerved himself to
table, without pounding the table or raising his voice. In take the greatest military gamble in history. He decided
plain soldier language he told them that the Russian on a peace offensive in the west aimed to win the war
delegates were there to receiveterms not to dictate them. before American manpower could turn the balance. A
This put an end to T rotzky's oratory. When the latter steady stream of German divisions moved from the East-
left the conferencewith the dizzy announcement that the ern f~ontto the west. When the dependable divisionshad
Russians would not sign the treaty-but that the war was been sent, Hoffmann gradually sent smaller artillery and
at an end, Hoffmann brought them back to realities by engineer units, leaving formations of older men to hold
setting the German armies in motion all along the front. the occupied areas.
This advance presented interesting military problems, Unfortunately for Germany the old liaison between
chiefly those of transport. Russian resistance except for Hoffmann and Ludendorff no longer existed. The Quat-
local units disappeared and infantry pushed forward in termaster-General evidently did not feel the need of
trucks and railway cars. The Bolsheviki governmenr soon using Hoffmann's brain on the Western front. True the
saw the wisdom of signing the treaty. latter knew the situation in the east better than anvone in
These experiences gave Hoffmann a profound con- Germany, but the fighting was over on that fro~t, and
tempt for the Communist mind and a conviction that Hoffmann was enough of a soldiet to crave active service
their crazy and murderous conduct and philosophy held whenevet possible. Perhaps Hoffmann's utter frankness
great potential menace to all of Europe. His relations at had ended all hopes of renewed cooperation. When Luden-
Brest-Litovsk with the Austrians were along the usual dorff at their last meeting in 1918 spoke of his coroin?;
unpleasant lines. Count Czernin, the Austrian delegate, offensivein the west, saying he "did not know whether it
was so eager to have a treaty concluded for fear of an would be better to probe the front by individual attacksor
Austrian collapse,that when things dragged on he threat- make a gigantic drive at a given point with concentrated
ened to sign a separate peace with Russia. If he intended forces," Hoffmann is said to have replied: "Excellenz,
this as a weapon over the Germans' heads, Hoffmann any second lieutenant who answered the question in that
neatly brought it down on his own by observing that he w~y on his examination would be hopelessly ploughed!"
favored this splendid plan since it would free twenty-five Thus, while Germany approached her great crisis, the twO
German divisions which were necessary to hold the best military brains in the Empire continued to work in
Austrian front. That was the end of sep~rate peace talk. separate air-tight compartments.
With the conclusion of the peace treaty German efforts The moment it appeared that the March offensiveta-
to secure stocks of grain from the Baltic provinces and the ward Amiens had failed, Hoffmann held that Ludendotff
Ukraine began. On paper the German program looked should have advised the Chancellor that all hope of a
good, but it filled few food bins. The peasants hid their military victory in the west had passed away. OHL.
stocks, transport facilitieswere limited or crippled through however, continued its program of piecemeal offensives.
want of lubricants, and the Ukrainian delegates enormous- each formidable yet failing to produce a decision. One can
1940 HOFFMANN 25
search military literature in vain for an example of more tasteful task of dickering with soldiers' councils, he
torturous language or more muddled thinking than was brought the army home. To the end he tried to set an
used by Hindenburg to explain this policy. The Field example of order which he felt was necessary for the
Marshal wrote: "We also wanted so to shatter the enemy's survival of the German nation in its great trial. But be-
structure by closely connected partial blows that it must fore the vast affairs of the Eastern command could be
4tcr all sometime break down." Words such as "also," wound up, the men could no longer be depended upon.
"partial," and "after all" had no place in the German The final entry in his war diary was for December 31,
crisisof 1918. Meantime Hoffmann was holding his post 1918. It represented a far cry from the glorious days 'of _
in the east with a total of twelve German divisions. These T annenberg saying simply: "The troops will fight no
were strung along the new frontier from the Baltic to more."
the Ukraine. With these forces he could protect Ger- After the war Hoffmann retained his intense hatred of
many from the invasion of a Red army, but he could not Bolshevismand saw in it the principal danger to European
seal the frontier against the penetration of Communist stabiliry. He tried hard to ingratiate postwar Germany in
propaganda. the eyes of the Allies by proposing a joint Allied-German
Twice during the impending collapsein the west he was "sanitary campaign" against Russia. His Berlin home be-
sent to Berlin to appear before meetings of OHL repre- came the mecca of all types of anti-Communist sym-
sentatives and the Privy Council. Here he obtained first- pathizers from crackpots to oil magnates. But his anti-
hand evidence of dire straits of the Fatherland. He was Moscow drive never materialized. Though he still ap-
appalled at the confusion of its military and political lead- peared hale and vigorous, the unremitting nervous tension
ers. Ludendorff played to the gallery of politicians with of the war years had undermined his physical health. An
sugared words about "my loyal comrade Hoffmann" but illness in the year 1927 proved fatal. He died in Berchtes-
found means to sidetrack most of his testimony. For the gaden on July 8. In his final moments of delirium he
rest he fretted away the tragic hours at Kovno piecing seemed to be living over the decisiveattack on Usdau. He
together from rumor and second-hand accounts the agon- died shouting: "Fire! Fire! Artillery forward!"
izing story of the collapse of the Central Powers. What Perhaps the best estimation of Hoffmann as a soldier
made it hard was that he could see much of it coming: was that of his adversaries, the Russians. They, at least,
the Bulgarian surrender, the Austrian capitulation, and had no reason to withhold their admiration for his military
the slowly mounting disaster in the west, but had no resourcefulness and intrepidity. They regarded "Goff-
power to alter the situation. His elastic mind could still mann," as they called him, with a kind of awed affection.
find a little cold comfort in the Austrian debacle: "We Wherever they flung their masses of infantry,. sooner or
shall curl up like a hedgehog ... and take the German later (depending on the railways) they met with the un-
part of Austria as compensation for what we shall lose." yielding barriers of his German infantry and artillery or
When things became hopelessin the west and Ludendorff suffered the swift piercing stroke of his counter thrust.
resigned on October 27, Hoffmann was glad to be passed He was too intellectually arrogant to be popular with
over for Groner who replaced him. Under less desperate many people. His very presence always made the less in-
conditions Hoffmann would have been Ludendorff's telligent half of his associates uncomfortable. His war
logical successor, but he wanted no part of the "under- memoirs were far too acid to be published in full. And
taker's r8Ie." since his criticism of the German high command in the
crisisof 1918 was so destructive to the famous Dolchstoss
When the armistice and abdication of the Emperor
legend (the homeland stabbed the army in the back), he
came in November, it was of some satisfaction to Hoff-
has not been immortalized by the Nazis who have tried
mann that he could still walk around ObeT-Ost without to build their new army on the psychologicalfoundations
a guard. He never found it necessary to disguise himself of this myth. He will not need-any artificialhonors, how-
with blue spectaclesfrom the attention of his own troops ever, since history will doubtless.vindicate the observation
as was the case with Ludendorff. He stayed on the job of Conrad von Hotzendorff: "Hoffmann was the only
with the Eastern army, and although it involved the dis- man of ideas on the Eastern front."
1
A Finnisb infantryman
)
A Finnisb fatber and two S01lS en
route to answer tbe mobilization
call
<
Tbese Finnisb soldiers
were pbotograpbed dur-
in g maneuvers prior to
tbe outbreak of bostilities
)
Tbe spearbead of one of tbe Finnisb
flying COIU11/115tbat balle been bar-
assing tbe Red ;,waders
~--_...... ~
- ...- ~
~...::~
-
...
.
•
(
A twin-11/ount antiaircrtlft macbine
gun stands on tbe alert against tbe
hedgebo/}per
)
Tbese are ski-11/ounted
inffllltr)'11/en awaiting ac-
tion. Notice bow even at
close range wbite lmi-
forms blend into the snow
One of Norway's infantrJ'men.
Note tbe sbort ba)'onet J, A ligbt macbine-gr~n ~lItpost ne.ar
T tbe Norwegian-Fr1l1l1Sb frontIer
--
he rendered capable assistance and made suggestions as possible in all towing miSSions. In one practice the
which were always timely and appreciated. average slant range was over 7,000 yards.
During the practice capable assistance was received from \Ve encountered no particular difficulties with the ~\'[-4
Lieutenant Norman Hemphill, battery executive and director. After the first practice, it was found that on a
Lieutenant Ray Hales, range officer, both Thomason Act right-to-Ieft course a correction of right twelve mils was
officers. Lieutenant Dabnev R. Corum, a former member called for and on a left-to-right course a left four mils. By
of the battery, acted as ral~ge officer for the last practice. using these corrections on succeeding practices the initial
The men of the battery, under the capable handling- of bursts were much closer laterally.
First Sergeant Thomas J. Coyne, worked together splen- It was also discovered during the preliminary practice,
didly, and always evidenced keen interest in all phases of that if a range correction is applied while firing, as an
the work. To name anyone without naming all, would altitude correction, dispersion in all directions was quite
be an injustice to all. It can be stated, however, that on noticeable for several bursts. \Vhen an altitude spot is
August 26, 1939. fifty members of B Battery, 63d Coast applied the range rate operator must cease following- the
Artillery (mostly key men), were ordered to Panama and rate with the range rate knob, push in the prediction ar-
are now scattered throughout the 73d Coast Artillery resting button and match pointers with the range setting
(AA). Every man is a credit to his new organization. hand wheel. After the pointers are matched, it is necessary
The record section under the efficient direction of Lieu- to hold the prediction arresting button in for at least three
tenant Roy K. Kauffman, obtained camera records of seconds to avoid excessive upsetting of rates. During- this
every course of the practice; only part of one course was elapsed time in all probability the range rate has changed
lost when the target was towed across the sun. and when the button is released it is necessary to re-
The first practice was carried off with great rapidity. On establish the rate. This operation of changing' altitude
the night of Nfay 24th the target appeared on the course at plus change of rate causes all data to Auctuate for several
scheduled time and was perfectly illuminated. The first seconds. The receivers on the guns oscillate clockwise
course towed was fired upon as was each succeeding course. and counter clockwise past the true data several times be-
The first round was fired at 8:41 P.~1. and the last round at fore they settle. All rounds fired during this operation
9:09 P.~1. giving an elapsed time of twenty-eight minutes. aive erratic deviations.
:-.
A great deal of the success of this practice was due to the
It was decided to apply all range corrections as fuze
splendid illumination of the target by Battery A, 63d
spots and not altitude spots. The fuze Spot merely feeds
Coast Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant \Villiam
into the outgoing data through a differential and causes
Massello, J r. The second practice was held on Nfa:' 26th
no change in any receiver except that of the fuze and this
and the last practice on Nfay 30th.
The new scoring system was received prior to May. chang-e is positive and not accompanied by oscillations.
After careful study it was decided to fire at extreme slant During the entire practice when range corrections were
ranges when obt;inable. This was carried out in so br called for they were applied as fuze spots.
-----
simply going to make better models of types of weapons we already
have, or have we available an example of a new type of war-making
use of all the latest technical advances-which we can safel" take as a
m~d? J ••
We have even a better opportunity than had Germany, disarmed by
the T reary of Versailles, because she rearmed before the Spanish Civil
\Var was over. \Ve, disarmed by our own faith in pacifism, can take
advantage of the lessons of that war, the seizure of Albania by Italy,
and Germany's lightning campaign in Poland. Oddly enough, while
discussing rearmament we have not yet begun seriously to rearm.
These three campaigns furnish examples which it will pay us to
study in our rearmament.
The author in the laSt two and one-half years has traveled throughout
Europe and around the ~'fediterranean Sea.1 He studied the European
military and political situation, the relationship of nations to each other
and the lessons to be ascertained regarding the most modern type of
war and the armament necessary to wage it.
His conclusions are: (I) Spain was the proving ground for German
and Italian arms; (2) Albania was the dress rehearsal; and (3) Poland
the proof. From it all this evolves: Blitzkrieg is the latest type of war.
It can be used everywhere, except against heavily fortified frontiers
whose Ranks rest on natural obstacles, such as the Franco-German
frontier and the Alpine frontier of Italy and France.
As the United States possesses no such frontiers, blitzkrieg-the
lightning war-is therefore the best example for us to choose as a
model for our rearmament and reorganization. For defense or defensive
attack that is what we need.
At present we are not prepared to wage such a type of warfare or even
'\Vith previous trips, the first in 1904, this makes a total of approximately elev
years spent in Europe.
l armam
t diffic
s than a riod of years.
ace d 'g which many technical
and transport have developed,
to decide what types of armament
Ization t I best fit the battle of the future. If
the ~rst of a series of blows which drove the governmental periodic infantry assaults supported by tanks to seize the
troops eastward to the Ebro Rivcr and the Mediterranean. more important parts of their defensive system.
This cut the governmental army in two. From then on This wearing-down process was to continue until the
Catalonia w"ascur off from the rest of governmental Spain: . nine divisions were no longer fit for cofnbk It was hoped
The Battle of the Ebro began when the Catalonian that the two in reserve could be drawn across the Ebro to
troops crossed the river in a surprise attack against Gen- suffer the same fate. Then, when at least nine and possi-
eral Yague, in hopes of stOpping Franco's successful of- bly eleven of Catalonia's eighteen divisions were worn
fensive from T eruel sourh towards Valencia. Franco im- down, a general assault was to be made along the line
mediately ordered divisions in reserve of Arande's Army of the Segri River from near where it runs into the Ebro,
Corps, then facing south astride the highway running north almost to the French frontier. With at least fifty
from the mourh of the Ebro to Valencia, sent north by per cent of Catalonia's best divisions used up there was
truck to strike the left flank of the Catalonians. These di- little doubt that this assault would succeed and open the
visions drove this flank back and inflicted considerable way for a rapid advance through Catalonia in the same
losses. Other reserve divisions, sent by motOr trucks, fashion that the Alfambra serics of assaults had opened
-
coupled with General Y ague's reserves, stopped the center
'The Battle of Teruel was not confined to the fighting around the
town.of that name. The battlefield stretched for many miles along
the way for the rapid pursuit which brought Franco's
troops to the Mediterranean the previous spring.s
Events worked out as Franco had planned. Instead of
the hIghway running north to Zaragoza. retreating the Catalonian troops tried to hold their position
This operation, highly successful in its first phase, had already
C0!1'eto the pause which exhaustion of troops and ammunition 'The author was told twice of the order with regard to the wear-
bnngs in any offensive. I heard from reasonably reliable military ing down of the Catalonian troops across the Ebro. Once was when
SOurcesthat a discussion began at Franco's headquarters as to the chief of staff of General Vague explained the matter while the
whether, in view of the reorganization and rearmament of the gov- author visited the Ebro front during the course of the battle. The
?"J11I1entalarmy in Catalonia and the general political situation other instance was when the commanding officer of the Italian
1~ ~urope, it would not be better to wipe out Catalonia before con- heavy bombers which were bombarding the Ebro position day and
tmumg the advance on Valencia. The surprise attack across the night explained in exactly the same way what Franco's plan was
Ebroindicated dearh' the decision had been reached to wipe out and said that those were the orders they had received and were
ea Ialonia first .. ~ying .•
38 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL January-Fehruary
west of the Ebro. Consequently they were steadily worn the headquarters of the Spanish, Italian and German avia-
down while Franco's infantry suffered much smaller losses. tion. At or nearby were the fields from which the Italians
When the time was ripe, Franco ordered the general assault and many of the Spanish air squadrons operated.
across the Segri River. Once the position on the other side During twenty visits to the front, some of which lasted
was pierced, the Catalonian Army was through. From that several days, the author sawall types of Spanish, German
time on no actions took place other than the small ones and Italian troops, equipment and armament in action.
incidental to the retreat to and across the French frontier. He saw nine assaults, the smallest being that of a di-
These two major operations, one which began with the vision and the largest that of two army corps, each of
Alfambra battle and the other with the Battle of the four divisions.6 During this period he had the opportunity
Ebro, are worth close study. They illustrate the problems to talk to Spanish officers and flyers of all grades, Italian
which must be met in modern warfare other than in a officers of all grades, occasionally to German flyers and
stalemate of two opposing fortified lines with flanks rest- quite frequently to the Germans at the German head-
ing on natural obstacles. quarters.
Too much military thought has been influenced by the The older Italians and Germans who had fought in the
tendency to take as standard modern warfare the operations Fourth World War were always pleased to discuss it and
which resulted from the continuous lines of trenches from to comment on the changes the Spanish war showed to be
the Swiss border to the North Sea. As a matter of fact, essential i~ armament, organization, tactics and strategy.
it was the exception, as there is no other place on the The Spamsh were very proud of their new army and air
earth's surface except the Alps frontier between France force. They were eager to see Spain restored to a position
and Italy, where a comparatively short line with natural as a first-class power in Europe and the Mediterranean.
geographical features protecting its flanks could be the They were anxious to prove that Spanish military ability
battleground for two peoples, each with a dense popula- which had made Spain a great nation in the past had been
tion. reborn and was safe in their hands. As a consequence they
These two Spanish campaigns probably typify the con- were eager to discuss technical questions with anyone who
ditions which would be met by armies fighting in other had a military background, education and experience in
parts of the world. Above all, this is true of the con- battle.
ditions American armies would meet. From all this the following can be stated. For heavy
The main lesson to be drawn from these two campaigns combat the Spaniards, Italians and Germans were in agree-
is that there are two general classes of combat. The first ment on the following:
is heavy combat, the hard fighting necessary to win a
INFANTRY
knock-down, drag-out battle in which each side exerts its
maximum power. The second is light combat against a The infantry is still the "Queen of Battles." However,
weak foe, or in advance- and rear-guard work and in a pur- the Queen must have the most modern armament and
suit. For the first of these the ability to give and take must keep up to date with all new technical methods of
hard blows is essential, speed is of insufficient importance industry.
to warrant any subtraction from combat power in order to The infantry must control the forward zone of the
increase mobility. battlefield. That area is the zone which delivers fire from
In the second of these, speed is of great importance, but infantry weapons and in which the enemy's fire is great
at the same time if the resistance is to be overcome there and accurate enough to put out of action anything which
must be sufficient power available or the movement will makes a target more noticeable than the infantry.
be brought to a halt and another knock-down drag-out As a consequence, each section of the Spanish infantry
combat is inevitable. had at least one small trench mortar and several auto-
In other words, if the fruits of victory are to be gathered, matics. Every Italian infantry regiment had a battery of
a force must have not only the means to fight hard but nine 6s-mm. mountain guns. There were numerous moun-
also to move quickly. tain batteries among the Spanish troops which, like the
This is the prescription for blitzkrieg. Italian ones, were practically under infantry control. In
This division into two types of warfare is important be- addition to the smaller trench mortars of from 2S- to So-
cause on it is based the armament and organization of mm. caliber there were trench mortars of larger caliber.
different types of troops. Also, the use made of aviation These also were in the hands of the infantry, but not in
and mechanized forces is based upon it. In fact, the dif- the companies as were the light trench mortars. For close
ferent types of mechanization depend entirely upon it. defense the infantry had antiaircraft and antitank guns
The author had the good fortune to spend four and one- of various calibers up to include the 37-mm.
half months at the town of Zaragoza which was the head- The question as to the best caliber for AT and AA in-
quarters of Franco's Army of the North. This army carried fantry defense had not been decided when the war ended.
out the principal campaigns from the beginning of the Opinion wavered between two qualifications. The first was
Battle of T eruel to the end of the war. It was the one in that no weapon in the infantry zone which makes too big
which the Italian expeditionary forces served and most of "The Spanish division consists of twelw battalions of infantry.
the Germans in Spain. The town of Zaragoza was also with artillery and services.
19.10 BACKGROUND FOR LIGHTNING \'\' AR 39
a target will survive the pteliminar;' artillery and aviation depend upon it both in :lttack :lnd defense, but :llso tanks
mbardments. On the other hand, the enemy tanks' and avi:ltion need its support.
4s-mm. cannon in the last ~'ear of the wa~ did not There is :In incre:lsing tendency co follow the German
. hin r:mge of the 37-mm. or smaller antit:mk Army in substituting the IOs-mm. howitzer for the 77-
uu _ hanks were put out of action. mm. :lnd guns of similar caliber.
:> Bot 1 e ani:lrds and the Irali:lns m:lintained that Similarly. the 77-mm. AA guns used at /lrst by the
their best <Yainsttanks W:lSthe 6s-mm. mountain Germans were found in:ldequ:lte. As :l consequence a new
gun. bec:luse u 1ged the tank cannon. Also, one of anti:lircraft gun of 88-mm. c:lliber W:lS tested in Sp:lin.
'en I 10t direct hit, could damage :l tank Both the :lrtillerymen and :lvi:lcors believed these pieces
i:lns considered dut :l 7s-mm. solved the problem of re:lching :ln~' bomber c:lrrying a
better. waf load.
The bomb:lrdments of the enemy positions by he:lvy
bombers. the invari:lble pr:lctice of Fr:lnco. could not bve
been c:lrried on without undue loss h:ld not :l thorough
:lnd :ldequ:lte :lrtillery bomb:lrdment preceded it. The
S:lme is true of the dive :ltt:lcks with light bombs and
40 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL January-February
machine guns made by light bombers from Hank to During all this, pursuit planes high above watched for
Hank of the enemy's position during the advance of the enemy aviation. In some of the larger combats it W:b
infantry and the tanks. evident that complete control of the air was not essential,
Similarly, tanks during the assault suffered undue loss because on several occasions enemy aviation Hew Over
in materiel and personnel unless the artillery and bombers Franco's troops and bombed their rears while the assault
had prepared the way. was gomg on.
Franco and his generals understood the importance of In other words, heavy combat in Spain proved that
having enough guns to prevent the infantry from suffer- neither aviation nor mechanization can replace the in-
ing as they frequently did in the Fourth World War by fantry and artillery. On the other hand, it showed that
making improperly prepared assaults which failed. From both are essential components along with the artillery and
time to time the charge was made that he was too slow. infantry of any battle team.
He was slow because with limited means he frequently So much for the general lessons of heavy combat in
had to wait some time after one battle before he could ac- Spain.
cumulate the ammunition necessary for the next if heavy The picture of what is necessary in light combat dif.
infantry loss was to be avoided. fers in a number of ways. Here speed, which in heavy
As a result his infantry always attacked confident that combat is subordinated to fire-power and the ability to
even though losses might be severe, they would seldom survive fire either through making a small target or
fail to drive the enemy from his position. through armor, is important.
In other words, the Queen knew that the Prince Con- Until the Spanish Civil War, the machine gun enabled
sort was always there to give her the greatest possible small groups to hold up advance guards or pursuing
help in her most difficult moments. groups, because the necessary artillery, tanks and infantry
to dislodge machine guns were with the main body, i:t
TANKS
the rear.
The light tank soon showed that it was not fitted for The time it took for these forces to arrive gave the
heavy combat. First, because it was armed with machine enemy machine guns the chance to get away or to become
guns alone instead of at least one cannon. Second, be- the basis of a determined defense.
cause insufficient armor led to rapid disablement or de- To prevent the enemy from occupying a strong de-
struction. fensive position is the objective of a speedy advance of the
The longer the war went on, the more evident it be- troops preceding the main body.
came that the only tank fit for heavy combat is a reason- The high speed essential to such an advance has forced
ably armored vehicle carrying a cannon. horsed cavalry, armored cars and light tanks to relinquish
The idea that speed furnishes protection against fire the fire-power and armor necessary to cope with the resist-
was proved to be a fallacy. ance of small groups armed with machine guns and light
Franco's infantry frequently burnt8 tanks which had artillery. In Spain the use of armored tanks with cannon
gotten among them with little or no support from their as mobile field guns has increased the defensive powers of
own infantry and artillery. The consequence was the day such groups.
arrived when tanks were only used as part of an infantry To increase the fire-power of the advance groups, motor-
assault, with their own infantry in close support. cycle infantry and machine guns have been added. Also,
motorized infantry and artillery have followed in the rear.
AVIATION
However, the motorcycle infantry and machine guns
Aviation played a considerable part in all combats. Be- did not add enough fire-power, while the time necessarY
sides its use for reconnaissance and observation it had a to bring up the motorized infantry and artillery over poor
definite battle mission. In all assaults as the artillery prep- roads and particularly when bridges had been blown out.
aration closed, heavy bombers Hew several times from was too long.
one Hank to another over the enemy's position, bombing Aviation furnished the solution. In addition to recon.
it. As the heavy bombers left, light bombers made diving naissance far to the rear it did three9 things.
attacks. The first few times around they would use light
(I) Through bombing it furnished a substitute for
bombs, the next few times alternate planes would use
artillery concentrations.
bombs and machine-gun fire. On a division front such
diving bomb attacks were made as often as twelve or (2) Through light bombs and machine-gun fire d.e-
thirteen times by the same planes in the course of a half livered in diving attacks it furnished a substitute for artll.
hour. As these left, other light bombers appeared to aid lery accompanying fire during the assault.
the tanks to subdue such points as held up the infantry. (3) It bombed and machine-gunned the main forces
of the retreating enemy, thus encouraging him to continue
'The method consisted of throwing wine bottles full of gasoline his retreat, instead of settling down in a new defensive p0-
and sulphur to which several "potato-masher" hand grenades had
been wired, into the greasy tractors of the tanks. This was fre- sition.
quently followed by a hand grenade through the rear ventilator and As the war in Spain progressed there was an increasin~
also setting fire to the gasoline tank if its plug could be pried open.
The operation required great courage. demand for horsed cavalry, because of its ability to move
IQ.jO BACKGROUND FOR LIGHTNING \'\, AR 41
and fight In countn' 111 which mechanized forces could Therefore Spain showed blitzkrieg to be certain of suc-
not operate. cess under the conditions met with in the last vear of the
Thus Spain proved to the Germans. Italians. and Span- Spanish war. .
iJrds that forces for light combat should consist of motor-
,de infantry and machine guns, armored cars, light tanks The quick seizure of Albania by Ital:-' has been ignored
t~ oed in trucks), horsed cavalry and aviation.lO on the grounds that the Albanians were not prepared to
It ved to these three countries that light forces, resist. As a matter of fact, due to Italian militan'. tutela~e
,..,
I) "d bv motorized infantn' and artillen', used over a period of years, Albania was quite well prepared
n l -' epared enem:-' mea~s certain vict~r:', to mobilize a reasonably well-equipped army which, had
it been given time to mobilize, could have offered con-
use irplanes to transport troops from Morocco siderable resistance. This would have been all the more
or J.i WS of no incident in the Spanish war in
acli guns were transported by airplanes. to true in mountainous Albania, particularly as most of the
one by the Italians in Albania and as mountaineers were armed.
Even those who at the time the invasion started were
trucks and horsed artillery were
loudest in predicting that it would take Italy months-
-
-12 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL I elll /lelr) -F ebl"ltelry
perhaps years-to subdue the country. seem uninterested The reason that there was no fighting to speak of and
as to why it was all over in a few days. Many of these are that the invasion was completed within a few days was
the same military critics who maintained that the conguest that the Italians profited by the lessons of Spain. They
of Abyssinia would take years. used light troops and aviation backed up by hard-hitting
The author in Rome talked with General Pariani. then forces and effected a "surprise in time." In other words,
Assistant Secretary of War and Chief of Staff. Pariani they occupied all important points before the Albanians
showed the order for the invasion and explained his plans had the time to mobilize.
for a "surprise in time." He insisted 23.000 troops of the This surprise in time was carried out by ground troops
types needed for light combat were enough. His gen- and aviation which had to make a sea crossing to reach
erals opposed him because they wanted to send 80.000 the scene of operations. Some of the infantry was trans-
-planning to crush the Albanians after they were mobi- ported by air from Italy. The Italian plan succeeded
lized instead of catching them before the~' could mobilize. admirably ..'
»»»»»»»«««««««
4 0U cm/t ':.e~uisitiOt1
diJciplit1e 0':. mo':.a.le
»»»»»»»«««««««
definite idea of the qualities and how they emerge and
grow. Bur perhaps his readers have other ideas, vague,
nebulous ones, or perhaps none at all. And furthermore,
the writer may be wrong. Therefore we are not dealing
with factual matter but airy ideas, and to top it we allow
our regulations to ignore or befuddle such basic military
factors. All this despite the fact that science can give
light on these matters.
Yet how these intangible qualities are derived, from
what they spring, what actually is this very substratum
of an army from the squad up, has been blandly passed by.
What is military discipline? one may ask, and undergo a
deluge of definitions. How can one go about instilling it?
, And then in all likelihood one will get the old worn yet
calmly accepted explanation that it is "based on hope of
reward and fear of punishment."
»»»»»»»«««««««
B~
?najea. g. H alpil1 e0l1l1011~
»»»»»»»«««««««
46 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL Ja1/lIar)'-Februar) l
battle. meals are sparse and sketchy, and death is ever-
present.
What reward or punishment governed Napoleon's Old
Guard at Waterloo? There, with the French force in a
rout, the Guard stood staunchly and refused to lay down
their arms. Their case was hopeless, but to the English
demand their reply was, "The Old Guard never sur-
renders." There they stood rocklike until volleys of
musketry fire laid them all low and something of great
worth-a rare, exquisite, human feeling-passed away in
the smoke of the muskets. The origin and growth of this
feeling, its development within the breast of man, the
method of inculcating it and using it, is of far more impor-
tance to the soldier th:1n all study of the Napoleonic era.
For warfare today is vastly changed and it will keep chang-
ing. Man alone in the kaleidoscopic whirligig of modern
times is static. But at least all should know this: Soldiers
are not the product of prison methods of discipline.
Strange, we do not preach or even admit that.
What punishment could the military give that was
greater than the death that faced the Guard? What re-
ward could be conferred on these individuals in the here-
after? Since when did the military parade ghosts and give
them the reward of medals and honorable places in Val-
halla, Elysium, Nirvana, Paradise, Heaven--<.:all it what
you will? Again, what about the Spartans at Thermopyla::,
the men of the Alamo, and countless other groups who
have brightened the drab history of war, gave it a
coruscating light and left a precious memory in the world?
They showed us the greatness that lies in man; they
should make us humble, for very likely we lack this great-
ness of spirit-and so does the unit under us. But at least
we can and should study such matters and discern how
they develop. Yet we do not. The worst blunder of all
is that we soldiers have little sound material concerning
this aspect of war-making. Where is our literature about
it? It is slender-and who knows if any of it is true? We
will spend pages discussing river crossings and blandly
wave aside in a few words one of the very fundamentals of
war-discipline. body? Check all the books and see how little we have.
True, there is no question that in peacetime one can run Check the regulations that are skimpy and filled with old
a unit on a reward-and-punishment basis and one may saws, aphorisms, and unctuous, erroneous thoughts.
obtain a snappy outfit that appears admirable. But this In fact, the military neglect almost completely a study
surface glitter will always lead one astray, for such units of this phase of war while it muses on the intriguing
will not be fit for combat. Despite smartness they will geometry of battle which changes as new weapons come
lack the deeper spirit, the inner grimness, something, that in. From all this the scholastics try to produce an esoteric
enables a unit to fight its desperate way through battle literature of physical war to the neglect of the human and
which is harsh, slimy and revolting-nothing very glori- unchanging element of war. Knowledge of discipline is
ous about it. For instance, the smartest and best-rated an intangible something desperately needed, to be sure,
corps in the Army of the Potomac-judged so after a but so far as our military culture is concerned it is not
whole winter of observation-failed miserably at Chan- studied nor written about extensively so all might benefit.
cellorsville. It broke wide open and fled. Were these sur- Frankly, there is a basis of science for these intangibles of
face results so noticeable in the corps produced by the ap- war; the rest of warfare is an art. To be brutally frank,
plication of reward-and-punishment? \\'ho knows? But we airily ignore what science can give us and like dil-
in any event the high command was sadly deceived about ettantes play with an art-and an archaic art.
this corps. It could not judge the moral and disciplinary We have become so awry in our thinking of discipline
'lualities of troops. And who can lay down the specifica- that if a higher commander directs that "disciplinary ac-
tions today that will help in judging any war-making tion be taken," the subordinate commanders hastily ladle
1940 A MILITARY VACUUM 47
At the same time our schools insidiously and uncon-
sciouslv indoctrinate the students with error about the in-
tangibles. For instance, in a problem they state a cenain
unit has lost a meal, therefore their morale is low. This is
wrong. How did Lee's army fight its terrific battles of
the latter Civil War with little to eat? Study the Wilder-
ness battle-Spotsylvania. If Lee's men had poor morale
let's hope our army always has it. Another example is to
quote that an outfit has marched a great distance and
therefore their morale is low, or is not excellent. Wrong
again! A corps commander once marched his corps
seventy-seven miles in forty-four hours. With five hours'
rest he was placed in the battle line by the commander in
chief exactly in front of the enemy's main blow. His
corps fought like tigers despite their march. Their morale
was so high that notwithstanding the fact that they were
forced back by sheer weight of numbers, they clung tena-
ciously to positions. This morale was almost exalted. But it
should be noted that this was a battle, not a map problem.
If one thinks that this is sheer lunacy in war, it would be
well to mention that the corps commander was ivfarshal
Davout, and the battle was Austerlitz. Certainly Na-
poleon knew what morale was. It was not vitally necessary
to place Davout on the line. He had other and fresher
troops to go there and reserves aplenty. But Davout went
in to meet the main blow-Davout, the backstairs, un-
tried, waltzing marshal. The scholastic soldier would
hand out a U for that. Napoleon won a battle with it.
Take your choice.
Frankly, we think that any discomfort always lowers
morale. This is not so. It is almost as great an error as
the wartime custom of appointing a morale officer to pump
morale into the troops-with mass singing, motion pic-
tures, and dancing girls. If there is anything more ridicu-
lous than this, it is hard to say what it is. Morale comes
from the leadership of the commander and no one else.
For the high command to believe that the morale pro-
curement could be passed on to a staff officer and for local
commanders to placidly accept this condition without a
out punishment. Actually, the lower commander could howl of rage, indicates clearly that all know little of
in response and in all justice pass Out a commendation. morale. One cannot requisition it.
But memory fails to recall one that did, because we have Frankly, all these events disclose one thing; and that is,
actually tied up discipline with punishment. Yet, the two we know nothing of morale. Yet it is a word that is often
do not belong together--except in prison. used. We can tell after a battle when one side has shown
Morale-another word denoting an intangible human good morale, but how to judge it beforehand and how to
quality-is just as little understood. How is good morale produce it, both are beyond the ken of all except the good
l
I produced? What must commanders do to obtain it? How leaders. To try to judge such a subject is futile, for our
can we judge it? Frankly. we know little of it except that standards mean little. All this because too little study has
it often exists and is militarily indispensable. Good lead- been given to the subject, and less is written. The core
ership produces it, it is often said. Quite true. But what of a military organization is morale, leadership, and dis-
is good leadership, how is it developed and applied? Here cipline. These things need far more study' than river
is another intangible that can be recognized. but how it crossings, wide envelopments, or the like; for the whole
acts is so difficult to analyze that little valuable has been game of war rests on these intangibles. Strange, we do not
written about it. Morale and discipline both depend on go into them more. Certainly it is true that "the moral is
this leadership, it is said. So what have we got? Nothing to the physical as three is to one." But knowing that
but a piece of circular argument. We are still among means little; knowing what this morale is and how to
l
intangibles. \Ve explain one by quoting another. The arouse it and develop it, means everything to a soldier.
military are scholastic thinkers, not scientific ones. The same goes for the other intangibles called discipline
48 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL J an lIary-Februar
and leadership. It is time we ceased memorizing and stupendous and his military stature has never been ~x-
muttering old saws and maxims and stan the study of the ceeded. His name was Napoleon.
foundation of an army. The queer thing is not what he did. but our lack of
To indicate how much we skip in the study of war, it study and understanding of this aspecr of his work. W~
may be well to mention a cenain general. He never ignore that completely. Hence we cannot say what thinlts
Ragged his troops for infractions of discipline, yet all other he did that were wrong and what were right. Let us be:
armies did-even our own. Often at night he used to honest-we don't know. Those who think they do are
wander between the campfires after he had finished his doctrinaires. not thinkers. Oddly, it is useless to follow in
work. \Vith the soldiers seated about the fire he exchanged his tactical steps, for war has changed immensely; but to
stories-salty ones no doubt-and roared with laughter. follow in his steps in the handling of men-there is some-
But the strangest of all things was that he granted cor- thing to think about. Napoleon had something of Super-
porals and sergeants permission to try any of their number lative merit in this field. What was it? We do not know.
who was deemed guilty of a dereliction of duty. The \Ve do not study it.
officers did not have to worry about that. At inspection
any soldier might have a written complaint or rC<Juest
stuffed into his musket barrel. It was extracted, read by
the general, and action taken immediately. Money might
be given, or a sword awarded or a promotion made on the
spot. The soldiers had no hesitancy in writing direct
letters to him, and often received a complimentary reply
in the general's own handwriting. Once when going into
action with a large army he himself actually helped his
artillery by doing a private's job .•
Certainly some or all this is queer to us today. But if
this man was good and had a good army, then some of
our feeling of queerness is born of a defective military
idea of armies of war. Flatly, it can be stated that this
soldier built and led a superb army. His victories were
1940 A ~nLITARY VACUUM 49
One can get a precise and exact story of how he fought \Var soldier? There was a difference but just what was it?
the battle of ]ena, and adjacent Auerstadt, and then rolled \Ve should be studying, delving into the world about
over all Prussia in less than a month. But-Napoleon was us and the soldier material civil life is turnin<Tt>
out. The
mistaken about the Prussians; he did not fight their main man tlut walks the street is the one who will make our
body as he thought; his scheme was entirely awry and war army. Never forget that. It is he that should be
Bernadotte's corps, though on the line, never got into studied. How can he be led, how disciplined, what pro-
action. His pbn of battle was a masterpiece but it did not duces morale? Do not try what has happened in the past
work. Something else won. It was Davout's corps fighting or very likely we will be wrong. Study the subject scien-
like demons against a huge main force that won tificallv. There is material turned out on it.
Auerstadt, connected it with ]ena, and brought on the On~ great project entirely controlled by the military
Prussian debacle. What we should strive to know is not the should be extensively and scientifically studied. That is
geometry of the battle-it was all awry anyway-so the Civilian Conservation Corps. It had no standard mili-
much as why the soldiers of Davout smashed up a much tary discipline but it ran like a piece of great machinery.
larger force in a straight slugging battle. They had morale, Things went smoothly despite the fact that nothing in
battle discipline, and Davout was a great leader. Granted. the army's past was utilized to inculcate standard army
But what made this morale, battle discipline, and leader- discipline. \\That kind of discipline controlled 300,000
ship? And why was it the Prussians did not have it then?" men? How was leadership promoted? What made a
They did bter. This is the subject that should be getting leader? The very least we can say is that all was guite
laborious study but instead we hear only prattle of Na- high. But how was morale produced and kept on a high
poleon's genius and Davout's leadership-both are re- level? Finally, could military instruction be introduced
garded as unexplainable. The military are worshipers at a and succeed, using the same type of discipline and leader-
veiled shrine of mysteries instead of students of human ship? If this could be done, then we have struck some-
action. Yet there is no mystery here; hard study of years thing of tremendous military value. Even if certain slight
will give us the answers. But we would rather pby with changes are necessary, still we have found what the com-
battle geometry. It gives such lovely pictures. mon American desires, what he will work under with great
Times change, people change. Thus the culture that good will, what is the method of group discipline, leader-
produces soldiers needs study. True, all men are essentially ship and morale common to Americans. That we do not
alike, but each generation, each nation, shows a change in know today. We let it pass. In military life we have copied
soldiers as the people's society changes. It is not a change too much from abroad. Yet we are a different people.
of the primitive man but the culture which calls for a Foreign material does not fit us.
different approach to the man. Today in the mechanized There may be gold in this CCC hill. Why do we not
age the rapidity of change is breath-taking; stupendous is study it to find out? Good or bad, it needs intense study-
the speed of change. There has been nothing like it in ing, as do other mores of American life. But no such
all the world's history. And we do nothing about it. We studying is given in any of our military schools. It appears
make no study, we do little thinking. We accept the past we are but a bookish soldiery that studies old and out-
and if anything is likely to be wrong that is it. For the moded things.
past is good only in telling about the primeval nature Some may scoff at such study of modern trends because
of man, not his complex civilized nature, which is the soldiery has always been the same. They may enjoy their
product of society-and society always changes. Who can chuckles now, but as commanders in the next war they
tell us the difference between the Civil War and \\Torld will be old, guerulous, and valueless. Chalk that up.
-... -------.
- ..------ ~llII In ..... --
... _--._~
DI/tcb alltiairaa!t lIIacbine gUllllers I/se a 1II0torcycle sidecar 1II0l/nt ill order
to gaill 1II0bility
What Makes the Wheels Go 'Round
By Warrant Officer B. C. Elders, Army Mine Planter Service
The recent co.mmissio.ning o.f the mine pl:lI1ter Niles Co.st, while an impo.rtant factor is no.t the deciding in-
and the prospect o.f future replacement o.f o.thers no.w Auence as these vessels are c1o.sely comparable to a naval
growing o.bso.lete has given rise to co.nsiderable discussio.n vessel, and must abo.ve all acco.mplish their missio.n.
as to design and Po.wer. On these subjects there seem to There are two. (o.r perhaps mo.re strictly speaking, three)
be as many different ideas as there are individuals taking general metho.ds which may be used to Po.wer vessels o.f
part in th; discussio.n. But we o.f the o.perating craft, int~ the mine planter type, These are steam, using reciprocat-
who.se care the planters are eventually co.nsigned, are rather ing o.r "up and do.wn" engines; steam, using turbines;
br do.wn the line o.f command and in the natural co.urse and Diesel engines.
o.f events are little co.nsulted during the perio.d that ideas The reciprocating steam engine is witho.ut do.ubt the
are abo.rning. A sincere desire to view the subject in the simplest and mo.st reliable o.f the three metho.ds. ivfo.re
Co.ldlight o.f reaso.n and witho.ut bias prompts the writer to than thirty :'ears o.f service rendered by several o.f tho.se
present a sho.rt resume touching uPo.n the subject o.f Po.wer- no.w in o.peratian attest to these bcts. The ariginal draw-
ing a mine planter. I realize that an)' engineer who.se time back o.f co.al-burning Scatch bailers has been successfully
has been served in steam is immediatel:' suspected o.f avercame by canversio.n to ail-burning express-type water
antago.nism toward Diesel engines. Be that as it may, this tube bo.ilers. Bo.ilers themselves may be cansidered an
argument ho.pes to maintain a fair and impartial attitude. abjectio.n to the use o.f steam engines 'but with later t:'Pes
It is generally co.nceded that a mine planter sho.uld have very little trouble is experienced; the chief problem is to
ample Po.wer in her main engines, no.t so. much fo.r speed keep dawn scale an the water side. Scale has been largely
while cruising but fo.r maneuvering. Since she has no. o.vercame in the later canimercial installatians by pre-
co.ntact with anything more substantial than water her treatment ar distillatio.n o.f bo.iler feed water before it is
"wheels" must act as brakes as well as to. propel the vessel used. There is a certain amaunt af unavaidable upkeep an
and n1l1st also. augment the steer!ng gear o.n quick turns bailers but the autlay is quite mo.dest.
during which o.ne engine goes full ahead and tlw o.ther Reciprocating engines are caupled directly to the pro-
full astern. peller shaft and thus eliminate an)' problems o.n this scare.
Tbe engine room of tbe mine plallter Ellery W'. Niles. Tbis I'essel is powered by Diesel ellgines.
They are easily reversible and extremely Aexible, both Pennsylvania Railroad steamer Princess Anne, onc of
desirable features. They may safely be thrown from full the few streamlined ferries now in service, as well as in
ahead to full astern merely by use of the valve link motion other ships of this line, where it is understood they havc
without touching the throttle and the steam acts as a soft met with marked success. The steam plant can utilizc a
brake on the propeller shaft and cushions the entire as- much cheaper grade of fuel, and owing to this fact will
sembly (from engine to propeller) from shock or vibra- probably excel the Diesel engine on a cost-per-mile COI11-
tion. It may be possible that the time required to attain panson.
maximum torque from full ahead to full astern is less Maintenance and repair of the reciprocating engine
when using electric drive; but the difference, if any, is so requires only a minimum of effort and cost. The engines
small as to be negligible .. The more sudden torque applied are of comparatively simple design and the pam have an
to the shaft by the electric drive is almost certain to set extremely long life because they are not subjected to am'
up crystalliza~ion from shock and whipping which will sudden shock or strain and opc'rate at a very low rotative
result in a high percentage of propeller shaft breakage. speed.
It is believed that no recorded instance of this mishap in Operation of the reciprocating engine presents no great
the planters now in service is known. difficulties, and this feature means a lot to the engineer on
In the matter of thermal efficiency the reciprocating the job. Crews are picked at random from men of the
engine is definitely below the Diesel, but it compares fav- harbor defense organizations and must be trained from the
orably with the turbine. In point of fact, one American ground up. The turnover is large, and good oilers and fire-
manufacturer claims that his engine will equal or excel men are hard to get and easy to lose, because the training
;1I1Y turbine. The improvements in this field probably they receive aboard mine planters enables them to fit in
have equalled if not exceeded those made in the Diesel very nicely and at a higher salary on commercial ships.
engine during recent years. An example of the use of It is the policy to hold the enlisted crew to a minimum
these modern engines is shown by their installation in the with the result that the loss of two or more trained person-
1940 WHAT MAKES THE WHEELS GO 'ROUND 59
ne! disrupts the routine of the remainder until new men able load, since their chief characteristic is a tendency
can be broken in. This condition would probably become to run well anI" when both conditions of full load and
acute in wartime. It is therefore desirable that the person- constant speed ~re satisfied.
nel training period be short as possible. The electric drive job is the better method for pilot
The steam turbine has mam' features which make its house control, but this feature may be had with either
use as a prime mover desirable but it also has many serious reciprocating or turbine engines without too much trouble.
drawbacks from a marine standpoint. Its thermal ef- The advantage of pilot house control consists chiefly in a
ficiency is excellent; it has fewer parts than the reciprocat- few seconds time-saving over the engine room telegraph
ing engine; and requires even less maintenance and up- method and the value of this is debatable. The master
keep. Its inherent characteristics of high rotative speed who can gauge his momentum to the fine point necessary
and use of extremely high steam pressure are serious to make this advantage of any material value must needs
deterrents to its use in mine planters. Speed at the pro- have keen perception indeed. Pilot house control was tried
peller shaft must be reduced either by gearing, which is out by the San Francisco ferry boats and abandoned at the
out of the question due to lack of flexibility, or by employ- insistence of the Inspectors of the Bureau of Navigation
ment of electric drive, which requires installation of gen- and Steamboat Inspection after hearings on a few cases
erator and motors. This adds greatly to initial cost and dealing with some matters of carrying away pilings, docks,
introduces the difficult problem of upkeep on motors, and so on, during the course of making a landing.
generators, switchboards, and control devices. Direct
A tabulation of the various good and bad points in-
current commutators have a tendency to fly apart when
herent in each of the foregoing powering methods, with
turned at a high rotative speed, but it is possible that the
more or less arbitrary ratings, ma:' be of some assistance.
entire problem of electric drive could be solved by use of
alternating current machines. Turbines require speed
Reciprocating Turbine Diesel
governors, high pressure superheated steam, and high
vacuum equipment, none of which are necessary in a
reciprocating job. It is believed that turbine limitations
Ability to per- Excellent
fa I'm mission
I Excellent Excellent
--
I
other princi-
pIes) .
I 'mOVlIl"parts I
).[an1' I Very good
ten per cent additional pay which west coast unions re-
quire for engineers serving on Diesel powered vessels.
nance and
Repair I 1
II in addition
to ~lectrical
, eqUipment
The use of Diesel electric drive makes electrically driven -P-e-rS-O-Jlj-l£-'/-! Exccllent-. -IYery gOod'I-F-a-ir-. -L-o-ng-e-r'l-
V-er-y-g.oo--d-.
auxiliary machinery imperative, whereas in reciprocating Pro cure- IShort train-' Longer training per-' Slightly
1I1mt i ing period. I training per-, iod. Princi-; longer train-
or turbine methods a choice is available between steam or I
electrically operated small machinery. The Diesel is en- I, available, ,
1fore men ,iod required pIes of in- iug period
due to elec- ternal com- ,than with re-
\1
I
titled to some additional weight as a space saver, but this
advantage diminishes with the increased space necessary
Iwith previ- trical de- bustion
i ous experi- vices.
ence.
I ciprocating-
coupled with due to more
:electrical de-'complicated
for motors, generators, and switchboard. With. the im- I jvices must be, design.
, Itaught. ! _
provement in starting methods found in modern Diesel ================-==-==~
practice, it would probably be better to connect Diesel
engines directly to the shaft, which would eliminate much The foregoing is based in the main upon practice rather
of the initial cost and operating ~xpense as well as greatly than theory, but the reader can draw his own conclusions
reduce the maintenance problem. The engines would For my p~rt I'll take steam, and I mean reciprocating
operate just as successfully at variable speeds as on a vari- engmes.
BEACH DEFENSE: A Solution to
the Fire Control Problem
A couple of years ago the 4th Coast Artillery started To compute a typical prediction: (Fig. 2.)
tests at Fort Amador, Canal Zone, to determine whethn Range 14,640 yards
minor caliber armament could fire accurately using a Time of flight forty-seven seconds (Firing Tables
locall~' constructed predictor system, without the use of 155-B-})
plotti:lg boards and time interval apparatus. During these Time of flight plus dead time fifty-seven seconds.
tests, which began in December, 1937, all fire control Rate of range change five yards per second
equipment-except the range finder-W:Js improvised. Travel equals 5 x 57 or 285 yards (minus, as target
The armament used included 155-mm. guns and 6-inch incoming)
guns. Displacement correction minus 320 yards
Now that six practices have taken place during a period Height of site 150 feet; correction equals fort\'-eight
of two years with more than satisfactorv'results, it is be- yards minus
lieved that the system is sound and w~rthy of adoption. o Total correction equals 285 plus 320 plus fort~'-eight
Since all practices fired were based on the procedures or 653; use 660 (minus)
and equipment used in the first practice, that one will be Predicted range equals 14,640 minus 660 or 1),980
described in great detail. The subsequent pnctices will yards ANSWER.
.I
14660 14220 14160 14100 14060 14000 The next practice to be fired utilizing this system was
14680 14240 14180 14120 14080 14020 the annual practice in May, 1938, of Battery D, 4th
14700 14260 14200 14140 14080 14020 Coast Artillery, firing Battery Birney, 6-inch DC guns.
14040
This practice was unclassified, due to an unavoidable
14720 14280 14220 14160 14100
breakdown of the coincidence range finder assigned. It
~~:~PRO~MN
was an excellently conducted practice, and since the battery
had previously fired a perfect mine practice, the results of
Figure 2: A typical section of tbe tape the two gave Battery D the Knox Trophy for 1938.
The same setup was used as in the 15s-mm. practice
Displacement was assumed as the average for the field already described, with the following exceptions: Height
of fire. For batteries with a wide field, displacement could of site was ignored, as this was incorporated on the
be eliminated from the predictor and, by use of an azimuth range drums; and displacement was disregarded, since the
difference chart or similar device, applied from time to range finder was near the directing point of the battery.
time on the ballistic scale of the range percentage cor- Consequently, the predictor read only the range corrected
rector. for travel of the target in time of flight plus dead time. To
The errors introduced by not taking a second approxi- quote from the battery commander's narrative report
mation from the firing tables for a more accurate solution ... "this system gave splendid results in subcaliber
of the predicted range were not considered serious enough where the CRF was effective, and materiel hits on the
to warrant the extra labor involved. small target were obtained in every practice."
OPERATION SUBSEQUENT TESTS
To operate the system: The observer kept the target The next test worthy of note was another 15s-mm.
waterlined constantly, halting every four or five seconds GPF practice fired by Battery I, in June, 1938. Super-
to allow the reader to phone the data to one predictor charge was used instead of normal charge, and the first
operator. This man set the DPF range in the left hand round was fired at an actual range of 17,820 yards. This
column against his' index, and operated a stop watch in excess over the firing table maximum of 17>400was due
order to determine the rate of range change. He made
this check every twenty to thirty seconds, and gave the
rate to the second operator, who read the predicted range
in the proper column to one of the range percentage cor-
rector operators. The latter kept his tape set to the pre-
dicted range, and the second percentage corrector operator
set ballistic and arbitrary corrections and read the devation
in degrees over the dat; line to the guns. The effect was to
have a continuous flow of data, as each reading was
R£AO£R
B ARBI'TRARY
RANGE
OFFICER
BALLISTIC
CoRRECTIONS CoAAEC"TIONS
about five seconds apart; no "repeat" was used, as a man
waited for the next reading if he missed one. The esti-
mated dead time for a DPF reading to be corrected and
set on the guns was ten seconds. Guns fired on the next
RANGE PERCENTAGE
reading after "ready" and "set." The total range section, FflEDICTOR CORRECTOR'
not including recorders, consisted of one officer and four (2 MEN) (2 MEN)
By WI. A. \VINDAS
Chapter 6: THE SCORPIO the check-board at F. The sling, continuing forward,
The Roman legion was well equipped with arrow- Ripped over the end of the arm, throwing its projectile
throwers and ballistae, one machine being designed for at high velocity.
use against personnel, the other against structures. The range and energy of this weapon considerably ex-
ceeded that of the ballista. It could hurl its 17o-pound
But the ballista--even the 9o-pounder--could not cope
missile 600 yards.
with a heavily-fortified city's main walls. Hence there was
The engine was quite heavy and once in position, it
need for a more powerful engine, even at the sacrifice of
could not readily be shifted to bear on a new target. But
mobility and the first answer to this requirement was the
this was comparatively unimportant in a weapon designed
Scorpio. It received its name because, like a scorpion, it
to break battlements.
"carried its sting erect."
Sometimes a wooden canopy-shield was erected to
Like usual Roman engines, this was of the torsion type,
guard the "gunners" from enemy projectiles. This would
the twisted skein of specially prepared rope or mule-?;ut
seem to be the first recorded "gun shield."
being at A. The arm B was thrust through the skein which
After the time of Nfarius, the Romans altered the
kept the arm pressed up and forward. At the top of this
scorpio, replacing the sling with a ladle-like cup as an
arm was a large hook (usually forked) from which hun?;
inteO'ral
H
part of the arm. This and other modifications
a sling C. The winch at 0 pulled the arm back.
made the machine practically identical with the Greek
Cocking the machine put an additional fraction of a ballista and the name in time was changed to Onager, or
twist on the skein. The stone (or ball of lead) was placed Wild Ass. This name was chosen because of a fallacious
in the sling, and the piece discharged by strikin?; the belief that the stones, kicked up by the heels of a Aeeing
pulley off the arm-hook at E. Note that one end of the donkey, were deliberately aimed at his pursuer.
cocking-rope is fastened to the frame, and passes over a Because of its greater range, the onager tended to re-
pulley to the winch. This arrangement prevented undue place the ballista for all stones of 50-pounds or larger, but
"whipping" when the arm was released. the latter machine continued to be the favorite for smaller
At discharge, the untwisting skein brought the arm missiles, until the introduction of steel-tension engines,
smartly up and forward, until the latter's lower end struck which revolutionized the whole Roman artillery system.
/ .
64 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL JalJ/lary-Febrttar)
The United States Executive Council h:1\'e been filled by the election held
recently.
Brig;dier General \Villiam Ottmann, New York Na-
Coast Artillery tional Guard, was elected Vice-President to fill the office
vacated by Colonel A very J. Cooper whose term has ex-
Association pired.
The members of the Executive Council elected for the
period January 1,1940, to December 31,1941, are:
x
The purpose of the Association shall be to promote
Colonel F. S. Clark, CAC
Colonel e. S. Gleim, CAC, NYNG
Colonel E. A. Evans, CA-Res
Major A. V. Winton, CAC
the efficiency of the Coast Artillery Corps by main- The new officers replace Colonel E. e. \Vebster, CAC,
taining its standards and traditions, by disseminating RING; Colonel E. W. Thomson, CA-Res; Lieutenant
professional knowledge, by inspiring greater efJort to- Colonel R. M. Perkins, CAC; and Lieuten:mt Colonel
wards the improvement of materiel and methods of J. P. Hogan, CAe.
• training and by fostering mllttlal understanding, re-
Brigadier General Ottmann commands the New York
spect and cooperation among all arms, branches and
components of the Re~ular Army, National Guard, Coast Artillery Brigade consisting of the 2 12th Coast
Organized Reserves, and Reserve Officers' Training Artillery (AA), the 244th Coast A rtillery (TO), and
Corps. the 245th Coast Artillery (HD). His service in the New
York National Guard extends over the past two decades
and he has long been an enthusiastic supporter of Ollr As-
OFFICERS
sociation. General Ottmann has been a member of the
MAJOR GENERAL A. H. SUNDERLAND military staff of the Governor of Ncw York since 1919.
PRESIDENT In civil life be is chairman of the board, the United States
Printing and Lithograph Company, Brooklyn, New York.
BRIGADIER GENERAL WILLIAM OrDvlANN
Colonel Clark is on duty with the War Department
VICE-PRESIDENT
General Staff. Hc is no stranger to thc. affairs of the As-
MAJOR AARON BRADSHAW, JR. sociation for he served a four-year term as secrctary-trcas-
SECRETARY-TREASURER urer and editor during tbe difficult post-war years of 1919-
1923 when the sledding was hard. His intimate knowl-
ADDITIONAL MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
ed?;e of our affairs will provc a tower of strength.
COI.ONEI. H. K. LOUGHRY Colonel Gleim commands the 245th Coast Artillery,
COLO:-':EL C. C. DAWES New York National Guard. His thirty years of service
COLONEL F. S. CLARK began with the Infantry, but during the World War he
COI.O:-':EI. C. S. GLEI~I found his proper niche in our Corps. Entering the Federal
COLONEL E. A. EVA:-':S scrvice as a first lieutenant he was soon promoted captain
MAlOti A. V. WINTON and commandcd Battery E, 59th Artillery during the St.
MAIOR MILO BRINKLEY Mihiel and rvIeuse Argonne offensives. Thc end of the
war found him in the grade of major. Affiliating with the
National Guard shortly after his return from overseas he
The Coast Artillery Journal leached his present grade and command of the 245th tWO
years ago. Colonel Gleim is a leading civil engineer, in-
i\lAJOH AAHOl' BRADSHAW, JR., Editor
ternationallv known for his work in tunnel construction.
The JOURNAL prints articles on subjects of He had a 1;13jor role in the construction of the Hudson-
professional and general interest to officers of all Manhattan Tubes. the East River Tunnels and four water
the components of the Coast Artillery Corps in
order to stimulate thought and provoke discussion. tunnels in Mexico. As engineer of construction on the
However, opinions expressed and conclusions drawn Holland Tunnel be rook a leading part in tbe completion
in articles are in no sense official. They do not re-
flect the opinions or conclusions of the Chief of of that famous artery of communication. He is now
Coast Artillery or any other official or branch of engineer of constructio'n for the Port of New York Author-
the War Department.
ity and has charge of all construction for that body includ-
The JOURNAL does not carry paid advertising.
The JOURNAL pays for original articles upon ing the new Lincoln Tunnel under the East River.
publication. Manuscripts should be addressed to Colonel Evans of Los Angeles, California, commands
the Editor. The JOURNAL is not responsible for
manuscripts unaccompanied by return postage. the 203d Coast Artillery Brigade, Organized Reserves.
Our readers will recall that Colonel Evans was regiment31
commander of the 977th Coast Artillery (AA) from
1940 NE\,\'S AND COMMENT 65
1929 to 1938 and that during his leadership the regiment
won the Coast Artillery Association Trophy for excellence
in ArmY Extension Course work. In civil life, Colonel
Evans i~ a stmctural engineer, well to the forefront of his
profession ...
~fajor \Vmton recently C:Ulle to \VashlI1gton for duty
in the National Guard Bureau as head of the organization
section. He entered the Army in 1917 from the First Of-
ficers' Training Camp and since that time has seen varie-
<Tatedservice at home and abroad. He is a graduate of the
Battery Officers' Course and the Advanced Course of the
Coast Artillery School, and the Command and General
Staff School.
The number of bailors cast this year again exceeded
those of previous years. This is truly indicative of the
healthy growth of member interest in the affairs of our
Association.
\Ve congratulate the newly-elected officers and bespeak
for them the same cooperation that has contributed so
llluch to the work of the Association during 1939. PORTRAIT OF AN AUTHOR
To the retirina-to officers, the Association extends its Ma;or Tbomas R. PbilliPs, winner of tbe 1939 prize essay
competition.
sincere thanks for their hearty cooperation and help. Their
assistance has been a material factor to our success during
this issue of your magazine. But we strongly suspect that
their terms of office.
his article would have occupied our opening pages had it
reached us by the customary channels through which
manuscripts Row to the editorial desk. For "National De-
Essay Competition
fense and Antiaircraft Defense" is an able and penetrating
The judges have completed their deliberations and have study of the United States antiaircraft problem. Nforeover,
announced the re.sults in the 1939 prize essay competition. to judge by the comment that has already appeared in the
In addition to selecting the winner the judges awarded press we are not venturing very far out on a limb when we
honorable mention to one essay. predict that Nfajor Phillips' essay will serve as benchmark
The winning essay is "National Defense and Antiair- on the air warfare map for years to come.
craft Defense" by Major Thomas R. Phillips, Coast Artil- Now, a word about the author; although this is hardly
lery Corps. Major Phillips receives the Association's necessary for his name is known to all who only casually
award of two-hundred dollars. thumb military literature. He was born in Wisconsin 011
The honorable mention essay is "National Guarding January 27, 1892, although he later transferred his home
the Harbor Defenses" by Major Bedford W. Boyes, 250th place to the state of \Vashington. He opened his mil itary
Coast Artillery (TD), California National Guard. Major career by winning an appointment as second lieutenant,
Boves received the Association's award of one-hundred Coast Artillery Corps, Washington National Guard, 011
dollars.
February I, 1917. The date is important, for exactly three
The judges for the contest were: weeks later-<Jn February 21, 1917-he was promoted to
Colonel Frank S. Clark, GSc. the grade of captain. In June of 1917 he accepted ap-
Colonel Godwin Ordway, USA, retired. pointment as second lieutenant, Coast Artillery Corps, in
Colonel C. H. E. Schee;' CA-Res. the regular establishment and before the war was won had
risen to the grade of major.
Major Phillips' essay appears in this issue. Major
Among the military schools from which he has gradu-
Boyes' article will appear in a later number.
ated are the Coast Artillery School Battery Officers' Course
(1929). the Air Corps Tactical School (1928), and the
Command and General Staff School (1936). Major
Prize Essay Winner
Phillips is on duty as an instructor at the Command and
Bya unanimous vote the judges have declared the prize General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth.
winner in the 1939 essay competition to be "Narional Nfajor Phillips' reputation as an author has been earned
Defense and Antiaircraft Defense" by ivfajor Thomas R. b~' extensive writing not only for the JOURNALof his arm
Phillips, Coast Artillery Corps. To him goes the Associa- but also for virtually all service publications of the United
tion's check for two-hundred dollars and to the JOURNAL'S States Army. Several of his articles have been reprinted
pages an article that marks a milestone in military litera- in full in the foreign military press and a considerable
ture.
number have elicited editorial comment in French, Brit-
~fajor Phillips' essay therefore gets the lead position in ish and German military publications. In addition to this,
66 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL January-February
he has found time to contribute to the Saturday Evenin?, West Air Defense Zone. If it works as well as the Ger-
Post to give the layman a picture of modern war. Recently mans think it will, the air strategy textbooks will have
off the press is his book The Roots o~Strategy and he .IS to be revised, as they all claim that defense of a frontier
now hard at work on material that WIll shortly appear 10 against air attack is ;0 impossible tbat there's no use con-
print and which we hope to set before you. , sidering it seriously. The Germans have gone ahead on
Major Phillips has earned the congratulatIOns of the an elaborate permanent setup designed to prove the experts
Association and the thanks of our citizens for a material are wrong.
contribution to the literature of modern war. The backbone of the Air Defense Zone is a line of heavY
'f 'f 'f antiaircraft guns (probably the 88-mm. that showed up
Battery Fergusson-Battery Kessler so well in Spain) running from Switzerland to the North
Sea. These are supposed to be thick enough to bring five
The JOURNALis happy to announce that the War De- or six guns to bear on any spot up to about 20,000 feet.
partment has honored the memory of. two distin~ished Combined with them are lighter guns to take care of low
Coast Artillerymen by naming batteries at Fort TIlden, attacks, and the usual array of searchlights and sound
New York in honor of Brigadier General Frank K. Fergus- detectors. Light mobile antiaircraft units are also scat-
son and Colonel Percy M. Kessler. General Fergusson tered around the fairly wide stretch between the Air De-
died July 17, 1937, Colonel Kessler died September IS, fense Zone and the front. Balloon barrages are also used-
1935. the Italians report that the Germans have been working
Both of these officersgraduated from the U. S. Military on a variation of this idea by exploding the balloons from
Academy in the class of 1896 and were commiss~oned the ground like mines instead of depending on the at-
second lieutenants of Artillery. From that date untIl the tackers being brought down by running into the cables.
date of their deaths they serv~d with distinction at a large Just how effective the zone has been so far can't be said.
number of Coast Artillery stations in addition to occupy- British and French claims that it never touched them can
ing staff positions of great responsibility. Both were out- be taken with a couple of grains of salt. Of more impor-
standing in the Coast Artiller: Corps, and their names tance are the official German lists of enemy ships brought
T
are associated with Coast Artillery activities in the New down, for these include a couple knocked off a long way
York area. General Fergusson died while in command of behind the supposedly airtight zone. Just how it can
the Second Coast Artillery District, where the batteries hope to be effective in thick weather is one for the Ger-
were part of his command. Colonel Kessler died while in nlans to answer.
command of the Harbor Defenses of Sandy Hook in Behind the heavy antiaircraft guns come fields for
which these batteries are included. fighters; in this part of the zone are a number of search-
It is particularly fitting to name these batteries, so light companies specially trained in cooperation with
closely related in the New York defense scheme, for two them. Apparendy the Germans have not gone in heavilY
officers so closely associated with each other, the Coast for the elaborate underground hangars that have been
Artillery CorpS: and with these particular units of the mentioned here and there. Instead they will depend on
defense. scattering their ships over a lot of small fields, which
Colonel Kessler was awarded the Silver Star and cited they figure will make destroying many of them on the
"For gallantry in action against insurgent forces in Ma- ground a big job.
nila, Philippine Islands, February 5, 1899'" One possible by-product use of the Air Defense Zon.e
Brigadier General Fergusson had been awarded the that the Germans are counting on is employing the anti-
Distinguished Service Medal, "For specially meritorious aircraft guns against a ground advance if one gets that
and conspicuous service as Commandant of the Coast far. They claim that at Balboa in the Spanish war the
Artillerv Training Center at Fort Montoe, Virginia. He heavy antiaircraft units of the Condor Legion had to dou-
rendered specially meritorious and conspicuous ser:ice in ble as field artillery for Franco, and turned out to be very
organizing and administering that center and lU ,the effective due to their high rate of fire. The guns in the
preparation and execution of the plans. for the orgaUlz,a- Air Defense Zone have been mounted and protected with
tion, training, and equipment of the UUltsof Coast ArtIl- this use as a backstop in mind, and this may even have
lery for overseas service." had something to do with the decision to concentrate 50
'f 'f 'f much antiaircraft up near the front.
Germany's Aerial Westwall?
'f 'f 'f
From U. S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Digest of an
article in A viation.-Keep your eye on the German at- Greetings from the Chief of Staff
tempt to prove (or is it for home consuu:ption only) t?at The holiday greeting from General George C. Mar5~all.
an aerial Westwall can be set up that WIll be next to Im- Chief of Staff, reproduced on the next page was rec~l\.ed
passable for enemy ships. Instead of concentrating .m0:t too late for inclusion in our November-December Issue.
of her air defense forces around probable targets, whIch IS Nevertheless, we voice a heart\r-if belated-return greet-
the system that has generally been followed, Germany is ing to the Chief of Staff on behalf of all members of the
keeping hers up near the frontier in what she calls the Coast Artillery Corps.
WAR DEPARTMENT
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF
WASHINGTON
Faithfully yours,
68 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL January-February
New Field Manuals FM 4-85, CAFM SeacoastArtillery-Service of the
A new seriesof Coast Artillen' Field 1vfanualsand one Piece, 16-inchG~ns and Howitzers
new Training Manual are to be published in the near (present TR 435-275).
future. These manuals are to replace the existing Coast FM 4----:10, CAF1\.1SeacoastArtillerv-Service of the
Artillery Field Manual, Training Regulations, and most Piece, 3-inch Rapid Fire Guns
SpeciarTexts. It is planned that they will be published (Pedestal Mount) (present TR
under the followingtitles: 435-276).
FM 4-105, CAFM Antiaircraft Artillery-Organiza_
COASTARTILLERY FIELDMANUALS tion, T raining and T actics.
FM 4-5, CAFM SeacoastArtillery-Organization, FM 4-110, CAFM Antiaircraft Artillery-Gunnery,
Training and Tactics. Fire Control and Position Finding
FM 4-10, CAFM Seacoast Artillery - Gunnen- (Special Text No. 26 as a basis).
(present TM 2I60-3o-revised). FM 4-115, CAFM Antiaircraft Artillery-Search-
FM 4-15, CAFM Seacoast Artillery-Fire Control lights, Sound Locators and Acces-
and Position Finding (present re- sories.
vised Special Text No. 32). FM 4-120, CAFM Antiaircraft Artillery - Forma-
FM 4-20, CAFM Seacoast Artillery - Formations, tions, Inspections, Service and
Inspections, Service, and Care of Care of Materiel.
Materiel. FM 4-125, CAFM Antiaircraft Artillery-Service of
FM 4-25, CAFM SeacoastArtillen'-Service of the the Piece, yinch Antiaircraft Guns
Piece, I55-mm. Gun (present TR (present TR 435-2°5).
435-184)' FM 4-13°, CAFM Antiaircraft Artillery-Service of
FM 4-35, CAFM SeacoastArtillery-Service of the the Piece, I05-mm. Antiaircraft
Piece, 14-inch g~n, M 1920 MIl Guns.
on RailwayMount M-I920 (pres- FM 4-135, CAFM Antiaircraft Artillery-Marks-
ent TR 435-227). manship and Service of the Piece.
FM 4-40, CAFM SeacoastArtillerv-Service of the Antiaircraft Machine Guns.
Piece, I2-inch Mortar, Railway FM 4-14°, CAFM Antiaircraft Artillery-Service of
Artillery (present TR 435-23°). the Piece, 37-mm: Antiaircraft
FN1 4-45, CAFM SeacoastArtillery-Service of the Guns.
Piece, I2-inch Gun (Battignolles) FM 4-15°, CAFM Examination for Gunners (pres-
Railway Artillery (present TR ent TR 435-31°) .
435-234). FM 4-155, CAFM Reference Data (applicable to
FM 4-50, CAFM SeacoastArtillery-Service of the both Seacoastand Antiaircraft Ar-
Piece, 8-inch G~n, Railway Ar- tillery).
tillery (present TR 435-235). NEWTRAINING MANUAL
FM 4-55, CAFM SeacoastArtillery-Service of the TM 2160-105,Coast Artillery Ammunition.
Piece, I2-inch Mortar (Fixed
l' 7 l'
Armament) (present TR 435-
255). Adjustment by the Magnitude Method
FM 4-60, CAFM SeacoastArtillery-Service of the By Captain Perry McC. Smith, C.A.C.
Piece, I2-inch G~n (Barbette Car-
riage) (present TR 435-260). The following variation from the procedure outlined in
paragraph 43, Coast Artillery Field Manual, Volume 1,
FM 4--65, CAFM SeacoastArtillen,-Service of the
Part 2, has been found of great value in training inex-
Piece, 1O-inchGuns (DisappEar-
perienced personnel in the magnitude method of fire ad-
ing Carriage) (present TR 435-
justment and has saved considerabletime in the applica-
265)' tion of corrections. By this method, the old bugbear of
FM 4-70, CAFM SeacoastArtillery-Service of the applying correctionsin the wrong direction is apparently
Piece, 6-inch Guns (Disappearing- removed because the elimination of the "axis of correc-
Carriage) (present TR 435-266). tion" has done away with the source of this too-frequent
FM 4-75, CAFM SeacoastArtillery-Service of the error. The proced~re has been approved as satisfactory
Piece, 6-inch Guns (pedestal and optional by the Chief of Coast Artillery.
mount) (present TR 435-267). The system might be termed the "correctionsspotted"
FM 4----80, CAFM SeacoastArtillerv-Service of the method, in contradistinction to the present "deviations
Piece, 12-and I4-inch Guns (Dis- spotted" method. The spotting board is modified by
appearing Carriage) (present TR pasting scales over the graduations on the board so as to
435-27°)' keep 300 as normal, but to make overs range from 300 to
1940 NEWS AND COMMENT 69
a Jnd shorts range from 300 to 600. Similar scales make GREAT BRITAIN
rights show as less than 300 and lefts as over 300. Hence,
Type Underage Total Buildinf!.
each spot will appear on the spotting board as the correc-
tion which would have placed that shot on the target. Capital ships 18 18 9
Aircraft carriers . 7 9 7
These spots are placed on the fire adjustment board as
Heavy cruisers . I-) I~ 0
read from the spotting board. The operators of the adjust- )
Light cruisers . 24 47 25
ment boards then have a series of corrections, and by tak-
Destroyers . 10] 178 37
ino-the center of impact of any. desired number of shots
b
Submarines . 45 55 18
or salvos, the reading of the fixed reference scale opposite
that center of impact is the correction necessary to bring JAPAN
thar center of impact on the target. To facilitate reading Capital ships . 10 10 ")
successive corrections, the reference graduations of the Aircraft carriers . II II 2
fixed scale should be repeated every inch or so vertically Heavy cruisers . 12 17 °
down the adjustment board. Thus the movable scale Light cruisers . IS 22 5
becomesmerely a device for placing the corrections for the Destroyers . 75 III
9
spotted deviations on the fire adjustment board, and its Submarines .
4° 59 3
use for reading corrections is eliminated. So, too, the FRANCE
"axis of correction" may be omitted, as the original line of
Capital ships 7 7 4
targets is along the 300 line, and each successive line of
Aircraft carriers 2 2 2
targets (positions of the normal-300-0f the movable slide)
Heavy cruisers 7 7
is the vertical line drawn through the last center of impact °
Light cruisers I I II
3
used for making corrections.
Destroyers 70 71
In operation, therefore, the spotting board operators fol- 3°
Submarines 75 75 27
low their usual routine. The readings sent to the fire ad-
justment boards, however, are opposite in sense to those ITALY
used at present. The adjustment board operator (range Capital ships 4 4 4
or deflection), starting with 300 as the original line of Aircraft carriers 0 0 0
targets, plots the spots (corrections) as received from the Heavv cruisers 7 7 0
spotting board. When a correction is indicated, he com- Light cruisers 12 14 14
putes the center of impact of the shots considered, as in Destrovers 100
13° 12
the present method. He then reads the figure on the Subm;rines 98 !O5 28
fixed reference scale at that center of impact to the range GERMANY
percentage corrector or the deflection board, draws a verti- Capital ships 5 7 4
cal line to indicate the new line of targets, and moves the Aircraft carriers ° 0 0
zero of the movable scale to this new line of targets for Heavy cruisers 2 2 3
subsequent shots or salvos. The time ordinarily consumed Light cruisers 6 6 4
in moving the zero of the movable scale to the new line Destrovers 32 44 10
of targets and reading carefull:, the correction called for Subm;rines 50 50 21
on the axis of correction is thus saved, frequentl:' per- -I -I -I
mitting corrections to be applied one salvo sooner than
under the present method of adjustment. Index
We have in process of preparation an index to the COAST
-I -I -I
ARTILLERY JOURNAL that will show by subject and author
World Navies all articles printed since the JOURNAL was first published.
The index will be exhaustively cross-referenced and when
The following figures on the navies of the World
completed will be a complete guide to our pages for nearly
Powersare taken from U. S. Naval Institute Proceedinf,s,
half a century .•
January, 1940:
Old-timers will recall that to begin with our title was
UNITED STATES Journal of the United States Artillery and that our first
Type number came off the press in Janu~ry, I~2. In July,
Underage Total Buildinf,
CapI't aI SIpS
h' 1~) 1922, we adopted our present name of the COAST ARTIL-
........... 14 8 LERY JOURNAL. Our index begins with the January, I~2,
Aircraft carriers 5 5 2 number and will be worked up to the present.
............ ,o ....
Any individllal, whether or not he is a member of the service, is invited to SHbmit constTt/ctive SHgges-
tions relating to problems IInder swdy by the Coast Artillery Board, or to present any new problems that
properly may be considered by the Board. Commllnications shollid be addressed to the President,
Coast Artillery Board, Fort j\1 onroe, Virginia.
ANGULAR UNITS FOR 155-:\1:\1. GUNS. (COAST ARTIL- both Case II and Case III pointing of 155-mm. guns has •
LERYBOARDSTUDY.) Questions in regard to the angular afforded an opportunity for introducing a unified svstem
units to be used with 155-mm. batteries have arisen at of angular measure in azimuth. This instrument is de- I
various times since the adoption of these guns as harbor scribed in the November-December, 1935, issue of the
defense weapons. Two types of sighting equipment have JOURNAL. The telescope, modified to employ degrees in
been developed. Sights and mounts emplo~'ing degrees place of mils as the angular unit, and with an additional
and hundredths for direction, and degrees and minutes subdial for Case II, has now been standardized as Pano-
for elevation have been adopted as standard for the 155- ramic Telescope !'vIS. The arrangement of the scales of
mm. guns in Panama. Another type standardized for use the telescope is shown in Figure I. It will be noted dlat
. elsewhere, including the mobile 155 regiments, employ the limb is graduated to ten degrees while the micrometers
mils for both direction and elevation. Having differing carry ten degrees with a le:lst gr:ldu:ltion of .05 degree.
sighting equipment for the same weapon has been dis- With this arr:lngement, suitable worm gear r:ltios and
advantageous from a procurement standpoint. Further- spacing of gr:lduations are obt:lined, without excessive
more, except for those in Panama, the 155-mm. guns are diameters of either limb or micrometer scales. It is
now the only seacoast weapons utilized in harbor defenses planned eventually to provide the Telescope MS for all
which employ the mil as the azimuth unit. The use of 155-mm. guns m:lnned by the CO:lst Artillery Corps.
other than a common azimuth unit for all seacoast artillery The telescope C:ln be installed on either the Telescope
introduces difficulties in connection with intelligence and Mount ivI4 (degrees) or the Telescope Mount M6
target assignment, as well as requiring the provision of (mils) .
fire control instruments to handle the extra unit. For In its study, the BO:lrd considered the effect of :ldopting
example, two types of azimuth instruments have been the degree unit for mobile 155-mm. regiments. These
supplied, one reading in mils and the other in degrees and may be employed in land warfare, possibl:, with Field
hundredths. Azimuth data from a depression position Artillery, which uses the mil unit. It W:lSconcluded that
finder cannot be utilized by 155-mm. guns unless a con- any difficulties due to the use of the degree unit would be
version is made from degrees and hundredths to mils. minor bec:luse of the comp:lr:ltive simplicity of fire con-
For the reasons noted, unification of the angular unit trol ag:linst land t:lrgets, :lnd the fact dut fire control :lnd
for all 155-mm. batteries in the hands of the Coast Artil- intelligence d:lt:l can be t:tken from grid maps in degrees
lee:' Corps has been considered desirable, with the degree :lnd hundredths quite as re:ldily :lS in mils.
system preferred for azimuth me~urement. The problem The Board considered :llso the angular unit to be used
has been complicated by the availability of stocks of mil for elevation. Unification in this feature is of minor im-
equipment, including ivII91S azimuth instruments, and port:lnce with present fire control equipment. The rela-
the fact that the degree graduated panoramic sights de- tion between range and elevation is distinctive for each
veloped for 155-mm. guns in Panama have not proven type of gun, or charge, and an individual device for settin~
entirely satisfactory. These sights have limb scales gradu- up the relation, such as a percentage corrector tape, is re-
ated to one degree, which results in a spacing of gradua- quired no matter what the elevation unit employed. How-
tions hardly sl;fficient for facility and positiveness in set- ever, the possible development of a mechanical compucor
ting. Proper spacing using this method of graduation for intermediate caliber guns points to the desirability of
would require an unduly large diameter limb. utilizing a common angular unit in elevation, as well as in
The development of the Panoramic Telescope T 2 for azimuth, for these weapons. Otherwise a separate design
19-W COAST ARTILLERY BOARD NOTES 71
INDEX
FIXED TO ROTATING HEAD
CASE m AZIMUTH SCALE
ADJUSTABLE AND CLAMPED
CASE m SCALE MICROMETER TO ROTATING HEAD
(ADJUSTABLE) GRADUATED 10 DEGREES
LEAST READING .05 DEGREES CASE m SCALE INDEX
FIXED
DEGREES
PANORAMIC TELESCOPE M8
ARRANGEMENT OF SCALES, INDICES AND MICROMETERS
FOR CASE n AND CASE m METHODS OF FIRING
FIGURE .I.
of computor may be required for 155-mm. guns, and for mitted to the Board for test in December, 1939, two new
6-inch or S-inch guns. The standard seacoast data trans- photo-theodolites and an electric time interval device for
missionsystem MS employs the mil as the elevation unit. synchronizing film records. Test of these instruments
In view of this, and the fact that the mil has been found a showed both to be very satisfactory. The camera move-
convenient elevation unit generally, the Board recom- ment in the new theodolites was considered to be greatly
mended adoption of this unit of elevation for 155-mm. superior to that in the previous theodolite and it is believed
guns. that all defects noted in the latter have been eliminated
The policy in effecting the necessary changes in equip- successfully. The Signal Corps has awarded a contract for
ment, as approved by the Chief of Coast Artillery, is as procurement of forty-two new theodolites and twenty-one
follows: electric time interval devices to the Mitchell Camera Cor-
(I) As rapidly as funds permit, all sighting and poration of West Hollywood, California.
other equipment using the mil as the azimuth unit will The electric time interval device will be almost identical
be replaced with new or modified equipment employing with the standard article listed in the Signal Corps Gen-
degrees and hundredths as the azimuth unit. eral Catalog as Time Interval Device PH-73. The latter
(2) New elevation equipment will employ the mil consists of two slow-acting relays, a rheostat, a milliam-
unit, but existing elevation apparatus, such as the degree meter, a resistor and four switches assembled on a panel
graduated sight mounts in Panama, will be retained in and mounted in a box 26)!z inches long by I 1)!z inches
service. wide by 5% inches deep. It is used for closing periodically
an electric circuit to operate simultaneously time counters
hIPROVE:-fENT OFSPOTTING SETPH-32. In Coast Artil-
of two theodolites by means of which the photographic
lery Board Notes appearing in the May-June, 1939, issue
records of these theodolites are synchronized. While the
of the JOURNAL,it was reported that the Chief of Coast
impulse period in the electric de';ice cannot be adjusted as
Artillery had requested the Chief Signal Officer to under-
take a redesign of antiaircraft spotting equipment with a accurately as in the metronome type time interval device,
view to eliminating certain troublesome features. the former has the following advantages:
In accordance with this request, the Signal Corps sub- a. No mercury contact cups are needed as in the metro-
72 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL !anuary-Februar,
nome type, thus eliminating difficulties with mercury dip visible through the red lenses when they could not be
contacts and making supply of mercury unnecessary. seen at all through amber glasses or with the naked eve.
b. Electric device will operate in any position. Under practically all conditions at least some impro~e_
c. Electric device requires no winding. ment in tracer visibility was apparent with the red lenses.
d. Electric device requires maintenance of no mechan- As a result of its recent experience with eyeglasses with
isms similar to the metronome clock. red lenses, the Board is of the opinion that such glassesare
A film viewer and editing machine called a Moviola will more satisfactory for spotters than Binoculars T-2 with
replace the projection equipment in the new spotting sets. filters, because the latter are heavy and awkward to hold
Twenty-one of these devices, which are standard com- and have an undesirably limited field of view which often
mercial products, have been purchased from the Moviola makes it difficult to follow both target and tracer stream.
Company of Hollywood, California. A viewing micro- T abIes of Basic Allowances for Coast Artillery Corps,
scope for use with the Moviola, instead of the viewing January 1, 1939, provide for the issue of two pairs of eve-
glass furnished as a standard part of the machine, is now glasses, amber colored, per machine gun of antiaircraft,
being designed by the Signal Corps. This viewing harbor defense, and tractor drawn units.
microscope will include a reticle ruled with a grid of The Board recommended that:
la-mil squares similar to that on the metal projection a. No further steps be taken to provide Binoculars 1-2
screen now provided with projection equipment. The for spotters in antiaircraft automatic weapon fire units.
negative will be viewed directly through the microscope b. Tables of Basic Allowances for Coast Artillery Corps
which will be designed so that the reticle grid may be be amended to provide two pairs of eyeglasses with red
rotated through the same angle as the camera prism. A lenses per machine gun in lieu of the amber-colored eye-
mil scale inscribed on the circumference of the reticle grid glasses now authorized.
will enable the operator to set the camera prism angle of c. Four pairs of eyeglasses with red lenses be authorized
elevation while looking through the viewing attachment. per 37-mm. gun.
Movement of the microscope along the X and Y axes of C
ALOBAR RAYFILTERS.The Coast Artillery Board re-
the reticle grid will be provided for, to permit centering I f
cent y tested a number 0 calobar ray filters, furnished
of the reticle on the target image. A magnification of b h
y t e Ordnance Department, with a view to determinin?;
about three-power is contemplated. The Moviola is h h h I I I
w et er t ey s 10U d rep ace existing standard filters used
operated either fotward or backward by an electric motor
in telescopic lenses for Coast Artillery purposes.
with variable speed contro.I A It h ou~h no shutter is used , T I
hree ca obar ray filters designed for the Elbow T e1e-
the film is so controlled by a Geneva movement that the
scope M2 were installed on the telescopes of a Tracker
observer sees a conventional motion picture as the fiIm T
1. Each calobar filter was of a different shade; light,
runs through the Moviola. This feature has proved of d d
me ium an dark shades being provided. A second
value in detecting bursts whose images are indistinct on T k T b d
rac er 1 was set up near y and equipped with stan -
the negative. d b d fil
ar am er an blue ters in turn. Airplane targets were
Existing standard projectors do not produce a motion k d I I b b
trac e simu taneous y y 0 servers at each telescope on
picture but permit only the laborious examination of single b h df
" ot instruments. Tracking tests were conducted on i-
frames projected successively by hand operation. These f d d
erent days and against iffering sky backgroun s in
Projectors have been found to scratch the negative con- d b
or er to 0 tain comparisons under various light con i-
d
siderably as it passes through the machine while the tions. Several sets of observers were used and each set was
Moviola can handle a negative repeatedly without scratch-
interchanged between instruments in order to obtain a
mg. record of individual opinions as to which type of filter was
Standardization of the new type theodolite and time best. Extreme limits to which a target could be tracked
interval device and reclassification of the old type instru- were noted in an effort to learn whether individual ob-
ments as limited standard have been recommended by the I
servers were enabled to track at increased range throug 1
Board. Replacement of existing equipment with new type h I f I I f h
t e use of a particu ar type 0 fi ter. Resu ts 0 t is test
instruments is not anticipated until the former has wort] I d
disc osed no advantages for calobar filters over the stan -
out. ard amber and blue filters.
EYEGLASSES WITH REDLENSESFORANTIAIRCRAFT Au- The three calobar filters provided for the Azimuth
TOMATICWEAPONSBATTERIES.During recent tests by Instrument Ml9IO were installed in three instruments
the Coast Artillery Board in connection with short range which were mounted on tripods near a fourth azimuth in-
antiaircraft automatic weapons firings, the Board obtained strument of the same type which was equipped with a
locally several pairs of eyeglasses with red lenses. These standard amber filter. Various members of the Coast
glasses were used extensively by spotters, adjusters, and Artillery Board using each instrument in turn observed
gunners (in individual tracer control) and were found to objects in water areas where bright sun glare was reflected
be much more satisfactory for observing the tracer stream from the surface. It was the consensus of opinion that the
than either glasses with lenses ~rother colors or binoculars standard amber filter provided with the Azimuth Instru-
with filters. ment MI9IO appeared to be quite as satisfactory as am"
Under certain background conditions the tracers were one of the calobar filters. Eye comfort, maximum range
-- 1940 COAST ARTILLERY BOARD NOTES 73
of.vision, clarity and definition of image, and reduction of In reference to the manufacture of telescopic lenses
obre seemed to be just as good for the amber filrer as for from calobar glass it is considered desirable to use clear
:>
[he calobar. glass for this purpose to insure maximum light transmis-
An examination of light transmission curves for three sion under conditions of poor light. The use of removable
sl13des of calobar glass and standard amber glass did not filters which can be used at will to produce the desired
Jppear to indicate any important advantages for calobar effects in the optical system of the observing instrument
obss as compared to amber glass. Because of the com- is believed to afford the more satisfactory arrangement.
pJr3tively shorr periods during which observing instru- Based on the results of this test, the Board recommended
ments are used continuousl:' by Coast Artillery troops, that:
[he difference between calobar and other types of glass is a. Existing standard filters for Coast Artillery fire con-
nor considered sufficiently important to warrant a change trol optical instruments not be replaced by calobar filters.
from the standard filters with which such instruments are b. Calobar glass not be used in the manufacture of
provided. telescopic lenses for Coast Artillery purposes.
~***************************
Notes from the Chief's Office
SEARCHLIGHTS AND SEARCHLIGHT EQUIPl\IENT engine which provides space for four or hve men in ad-
Transportation for 1939 antiaircraft searchlight eguip- dition to the driver. Two views of the truck which was
ment was discussed brieAy under "Coast Artillery Board manufactured by the Federal l'vIoror Truck Com P:U1\" ,
Notes" in the May-June issue of the JOURNAL. . Detroit, lvIichigan, are shown in the illustrations. The
As stated in the notes referred to, the 1939 equipment Rat Roar of the body facilitates manufacture and the pbc.
will be distributed in two trucks. Due to the reduction in ing of equipment. Since there is room in the cabs of tht
weight and size of the new sound locator a trailed load for two vehicles for an entire searchlight crew, no additional
that article will no longer be nece?sary. The trucks sup- folding or detachable seats :lre required in the body.
plied for this equipment arc rated as medium 2 ii-ton The hold down devices will be bolted to the body and
vehicles, 6 x 4 (4 d.t.) with all steel body and a cab-over may be transferred to other trucks when required. These
--
1940
COAST ARTILLERY ACTIVITIES 75
fixtures provide definite and secure fastening for all es- The Sperry equipment will be similar to 1939 and 1937
sential articles of equipment including the sound locator, types except that the power plant is designed for single-
searchlight, power plant, controller and cable. The search- speed operation for both listening and arc loads. This sim-
light, power plant and cable reels will be held in place by plification has been made possible by improvement in
turnbuckle fastenings. Ramps and block and tackle are sound proofing and quieting the power plant. The power
provided for loading the searchlight and power plant. The and controller cable reels will be supported in an "An
ramps when in use will be fastened to the tail gate. frame type of rack instead of on warehouse reels as in
Due to manufacturing delay the hold down devices recent models.
were not available when the trucks were delivered. It is The 1940 General Electric searchlight and power plant
understood, however, that deliveries will begin early in will follow conventional lines but with certain differences
Januarv. Instructions will be provided bv the manufac- in the lamp mechanism and distant control system.
turer t~ enable the organizations to complete this instal- T rucks for 1940 searchlight equipment will be similar
lation. to those described above. They are to be manufactured by
\Vhile the searchlight has been provided with pneu- General Nfotors ..
matic tires to provide against shock in transportation and DIESEL POWER PLANT
to assist movement over rough ground, the searchlight The Chief of Engineers is purchasing for comparative
should in no case be towed by a motor vehicle. The power test with gasoline powered equipment, a Diesel powered
plant is provided with an automobile type chassis and may generating set. It is expected that the study and test of
be towed by a motor vehicle if reasonable care is used in this set will permit further refinements of the character-
turning co;ners and driving over rough ground. istics of such plants in order that substitution of Diesel
SEARCHLIGHTS for gasoline motors may be made if the need for such sub-
The 1940 searchlights will be furnished in part by the stitution arises. It is als~ possible that certain locations may
Sperry Gyroscope Company and in part by the General favor the use of a limited number of Diesel plants.
Electric Company.
Fort Monroe
BRIGADIER GENERAL FREDERIC H. SMITH, Commanding
COLONEL WILLIAM S. BOWEN COLONEL ELI E. BENNETT
President, Coast Artillery Board Executit'e, Third Coast Artillery District
COLONEL FRANOS P. HARDAWAY
COLONEL RICHARD F. Cox
Post Executive; Commd1Jding Harbor Defenses of
Commanding 70th Coast Artillery (AA)
Chesapeake Bay and 2d Coast Artillery
LIEUTENANT COLONEL DELMAR S. LENZNER LIEUTENANT COLONEL HAROLD F. NICHOLS
Commallding Submarine Mine Depot Actitlg Assistd1Jt Commandant, Coast Artillery School
Recruit training is the order of the day for virtually all brackets. Comfortable gliders afford a vantage point at
organizations. The 70th is being steadily built up and the the junction of lounge and dance floor, from which non-
initial cadres in both the 2d and the 70th are working hard dancers may enjoy watching the dancers. An orchestra
to transform their organizations into homogeneous units. stand with curtain background adds a finishing touch to
In addition to this daily recruit drill, routine, school and the very smart club atmosphere which has been attained.
board firings, and submarine mine depot tests, make a Needless to say, the New Year's Eve Party held at the
full schedule for all hands in the harbor defenses. club was a decided success.
The Coast Artillery School has finished the home
PERSONNEL
stretch of its condensed course for the 1939-40 regular
officers' class. Fifty members were graduated on February Eleven new Thomason Act officers have joined the
I, 1940, with exercises at the school auditorium. Major harbor defenses for duty. They are: Lieutenants S. W.
General A. H. Sunderland, Chief of Coast Artillery, de- Hickey, W. C. Mahone}', Jr., T. J. Bricker, H. P. Fasig,
livered an address and presented the diplomas. Brigadier E. E. Bellonby, R. F. Hodge, J. C. Jeffries, Jr., W. J.
General F. H. Smith, commandant of the school, also de- Stricklin, Jr., T. H. Svmmes, Jr., J. E. Arthur, Jr., and
livered a talk of timely and cogent appeal to the graduates. C. F. Coffev, Jr ..
Officers just graduating will probably augment the for- Two newiv commissioned second lieutenants have also
eign service detachments now training at various Coast been welcOln:ed to the harbor defenses: Lieutenants Allen
Artillery posts, and some will doubtless participate in Bennett of Fort Monroe and John E. Hart of Holly HilL
maneuvers announced by the War Department for this South Carolina. These two officers won their per~anent
sprIng. commissions through competitive examination. Both are
DRAMATICS
assigned to the 70th Coast Artillery (AA).
First Lieutenant F. W. Regnier, Medical Corps, has
The Fort Monroe Dramatic Club has continued its joined the station hospital as assistant to the chief of
good offices and contributed much cheer to the garrison by medical service. His previous station was Hot Springs.
presenting a puppet show depicting the well known ad- Arkansas. First Lieutenant J. Z. McFarland, Jr., Dent.-
ventures of Ferdinand the Bull and a three act play, Res. has been ordered to active duty and is on duty in the
Candlelight. Mrs. Oscar D. McNeely prepared the entire dental surgeon's office. First Lieu'tenant W. B. 'Simms.
cast and scenery for the puppet show and Lieutenant R. G. Dental Corps, is on temporary duty at Carlisle Barracks,
Finkenaur wrote the script. P. G. W odehouse' s adaptation attending the Medical Field Service School. Second Lieu-
of Candlelight, by Siegfried Geyer, presented at the new tenant B. R. Painter, Ord-Res. has reported for active
Fort Monroe Theatre on January 21St added a new duty and is serving with the 6th Ordnance Company.
wreath to the laurels of the club. An enthusiastic audi-
J
ANTIAIRCRAFT PRACTICES
the success of the six advanced searchlight practices con- The following summary shows the brigade leaders for
ducted during the past year. Other departures and new the varioussports, during the past year:
stations include Lieutenants Peter Schmick (Fort Basketball-Harbor Defenses of Pearl Harbor, coached
Worden), J. M. Donohue (Fort Barrancas), L. J. Ellert by Lieutenant G. V. Underwood.
(Fort Totten), B. M. Warfield (Fort Crockett) and W. Boxing-Harbor Defenses of Honolulu, coached bv
G. Easton (Fort Sheridan). Lieutenant W. S. Coit. '
Lieutenant Colonel A. E. Potts arrived in the Islands Track-Harbor Defenses of Pearl Harbor, coached by
on December 13, and has been assigned as executive of Lieutenant L. A. Hall.
the Harbor Defenses of Honolulu. Major L. V. Warner Baseball-64th Coast Artillery, Ft. Shafter, coached
is the new adjutant general of the Hawaiian Separate by Lieutenant O. Swain.
Coast Artillery Brigade. He relieved Major Francis A. . Tennis-Harbor Defenses of Honolulu, coached bv
Macon who had been on duty at this headquarters for Lieutenant W. S. Coit.
Although the dry season in Panama supposedly begins ficulties are expected. One admirable feature of Rio Hato
in January, it appears that there has been a slight mix-up is the complete absence of shipping lanes and fishing
in dates this year. On one day early in Januarv there was boats. At last the Coast Artillery has found a firing range
more rainfali on the Pacific side th~n the normal average with a perpetually safe field of fire.
for the entire month during the preceding years! After- Battery 0, 73d Coast Artillery, left for Rio Hato on
noon downpours have been quite frequent, even during January 5 to construct the camp. Mess halls, latrines, and
the reception hour on New Year's Day. tent Hoors to accommodate one regiment at a time will be
The biggest event of the pre-holiday period was the ready by March 1. La Venta Inn, close by, offers accom-
brigade conference early in December. The 72d Coast modations for families.
Artillery officers from Forts Randolph and Sherman came PERSONNEL
to the Pacific side on the morning train and attended an
General Jarman has been relieved from his dual assign-
all-day session. Between maps, plans, and talks by Gen-
ment of commanding Fort Clayton and the antiaircraft
eral Jarman, members of his staff and Lieutenant Colonel
brigade and now devotes full time to commanding the
F. M. Brady, executive officer of the 19th Wing, the
brigade. Colonel Nichols left Quarry Heights on Decem-
present and future antiaircraft defense of the Canal was
ber 6 to assume command of the 4th Coast Artillerv
explained in detail. Battery T, 73d Coast Artillery (AA),
(HD) and the Harbor Defenses of Balboa. Several of-
at Fort Amador, was host to all the officers for dinner.
ficers' families have arrived from the States and are living
Afterward members of the 72d Coast Artillery were taken
in Panama City and Colon until quarters are available.
around to visit installations on the Pacific side.
72D COAST ARTILLERY (AA)
TRAINING
The 72d is making good its promise to create history.
Despite the prolonged rainy season, the Antiaircraft Rehabilitation of barracks and quarters, as well as new
Brigade-Air Corps exercises were conducted from January construction, is continuing with soldier labor at Fort Ran-
4 to ro. All units occupied war positions throughout the dolph. Battery I, commanded by Lieutenant F. B. Rev-
entire period. The 400 recruits who arrived on the Grant bold, won the beer prize for the battery showing the great-
on January 4 were assigned and sent to their batteries in est improvement since the organization of the regiment.
the field. While the exercises were primarily in prepara- Battery P, commanded by Captain D. J. Bailey, was a
tion for the department maneuvers in March, much valu- close second. Maneuvers over for a while, we hope to
able experience was gained, especially in the functioning make the most of what dry season there is to finish con-
of the antiaircraft artillery intelligence service. The plan struction.
for the exercises was based on the Fort Bragg Exercises of
73D COAST ARTILLERY (AA)
1938. For the sixteen officers in the brigade who were at
Fort Bragg, the exercises began where we left off when we Drill, maneuvers, construction, recruits to train-the
departed from that station. 73d never has a dull moment! The regiment is hitting its
stride and getting big things done in an artilleryman's
FIRING
manner. Officers and men are experiencing field' condi-
Because of unforeseen difficulties in supply and trans- tions, enjoying them, and boosting the morale. There
portation, the firing phase at Rio Hato has been postponed hasn't been much time to think of athletics as yet. The
until after department maneuvers. However, the rainy Amador golf course looks most inviting-but, there's
season doesn't begin up there until July so no weather dif- work to be done.
Fort Totten
COLO:-;EL OUVER L. SPILLER, Commanding
By Major S. E. Willard
PERSONNEL
Outdoor training activities are in full swing. With the tournament. In the Officers' Division, the Fort Mills
rainy season tapering off, materiel and personnel are com- team won the ten-pin event, and the Fort Mills Team A
ing out from under wraps and preparing for the target won the duckpin event. The 91st won the enlisted men's
practice season and the West Sector maneuvers, which this ten-pin tournament and the five-man duckpin congress,
year are to be on a larger scale than heretofore. Intensive and the 60th won the ten-pin five-man and two-man con-
training, to enable all organizations to perform their par- gress and also high singles.
ticular defense missions, is now going on. Beach defense The track season started November 1st and will extend
exercises, mobilization tests, preparation for maneuvers, through December. Each of the four regiments will con-
sub-caliber firing, artillery, communication, and search- duct a regimental meet followed by inter-regimental meets
light drills, supplementary AA firings, with infantry close between the 59th and 60th, and between the 91st and 92d,
order drill and ceremonies, occupy every available hour in for the post championship in the American and Scout
this intensive period. Divisions.
Admiral T. C. Hart (new commander of the Asiatic Baseball comes out officially on December 1st and does
Fleet) with Rear Admiral J. M. Smeallie and their staffs not withdraw from the athletic scene until June 1st. Sepa-
visited Corregidor recently and were conducted over the rate inter-battery post, and department leagues will be run
post by General W. K. Wilson and members of his staff. off in that order.
Not only have the local climatic conditions of Cor- For the benefit of our many ex-golfing addicts, we re-
regidor received their just recognition lately by officerswho port that the golfing season is in full swing. An energetic
have come here "to recuperate from the effects of the golf committee, good weather, the golf course in excellent
tropics," but the Navy has also been finding a welcome condition, have all combined to make this the main form
relief ashore on Corregidor from the confinement of de- of recreation among the officer personnel at this time of
stroyers and submarines operating in the uneasy China year.
Sea. Many replacements arrived on the transport Grant after
The new U. S. High Commissioner, Francis B. Sayre, an uneventful crossing of the Pacific. Among them are
and his staff will shortly visit Corregidor to inspect the Chaplain Philip F. Coholan; Major John D. Cook, the
fortified islands across the mouth of Manila Bay. new quartermaster; Major Edmund H. Stillman, the new
Sports on the Rock have lately hit a new high, largely post exchange officer; Major Leonard R. Crews, the new
through the efforts of Major D. J. Rutherford (recreation S-4; Major Samuel McCullough, the new 5-2; Lieutenant
officer) and his staff. Several excellent boxing cards have Harold L. Gard, MAC; Lieutenant Dwight D. Edison,
been put on, with both local and civilian talent, for the the new assistant provost marshal; Lieutenants Helen
benefit of large and enthusiastic audiences. The 59th Adams and K. L. Dollason, Army Nurse Corps.
Coast Artillery won a closely contested match with the Sailing on the Grant for the Golden Gate were Major
60th Coast Artillery, 4-3, thereby winning the post cham- James J. Firestone, QMC, to Fort Hayes; Major "Dad"
pionship in the American Division. The 91st Coast Artil- Lohmann, CAC, to Fort Monroe; Captain John HartY,
lery (PS) took a 3-2 decision from the 92d Coast Artillery CAC, to Fort Rosecrans; Lieutenant A. M. Lazar, CAC,
(PS), to win the post championship in the Scout Di- to Fort Monroe; Lieutenant F. LeR. Furphy, CAC, to
vision. Aberdeen Proving Ground; Lieutenant p, A. Roy, to Fort
Large crowds have been turning out to witness the de- MacArthur; and Lieutenant Thomas R. Jones, MAc'
partment basketball games that have been played on to Brooklyn Army Base. Good luck and best wishes from
Corregidor. The 59th finally won the department cham- us all on your new assignments.
pionship for 1939, with the 60th tied with Post of Manila
59TH COAST ARTILLERY
for second place. In the Scout Division, the department
championship in basketball was won by the 24th Field By Major Louis H. Thompson
Artillery, who nosed out the 91st Coast Artillery by one During the first part of October beach defense firing of
game. machine guns, 37-mm. and 7s-mm. guns was completed
Fort Mills teams fared well in the department bowling with excellent results. All gun batteries are now engaged
t940 COAST ARTILLERY ACTIVITIES 83
Insub-caliberpractice in preparation for the service practice that the usual bad weather breaks might beat the battery
[0 be held in January and February. again. The "night owls" reported that excellent weather
The October transport brought two new battery com- usually prevailed from 3:00 A.M. to dawn. As a result, the
mandersto the 59th, both of whom drew outpost details. battery has been in position and ready to go at 3:00 A.M.
Gptain Albert D. Miller was assigned to command Bat- daily for the past week and will continue this routine
relYG and Fort Hughes, and Captain Guy H. Stubbs to until service practice is held. It began to look as if their
command Battery E and Fort Drum. Captain H. E. fighting spirit had broken the jinx at last and that Battery
Breitungwas transferred from the 60th and from duty at A will not only have a target practice but an excellent
FortWint to command Battery C, relieving Captain R. R. one. The gun batteries are using all available missions for
Hendrix, who has been temporarily assigned to regimental their training with special emphasis on the stereoscopic
headquarters pending return to the U. S. on February height finders. While their intensive period will not begin
transport. Lieutenant Lawrence C. Baldwin was trans- for another month, their preparations are well under way
ferredfrom the 60th and was assigned to Battery G at Fort and point to a successful season.
Hughes. The big event of November was the celebration of
Included among the noncommissioned staff arriving organization day. The usual ceremonies were held in the
on the October transport, and assigned to the 59th were morning, followed by a baseball game between Topside
the following: Staff Sergeant Stephen J. Machuta (regi- and Middleside organizations, which Midd1esidewon, 2-I.
mentalsergeant major), Staff Sergeant Daniel O'Connor, Noon found all organizations sitting down to meals which
StaffSergeant Marion F. Greathouse, and 1st Sergeant H. make Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners look lean. Free
D. Whitfield. movies followed for the members of the 60th. In the
The Grant carried away from us and back to duty in evening a dinner was held at the Corregidor Club for the
the States the following: Lieutenant Aaron M. Lazar officersof the regiment and their guests, after which they
(popularly known as "Lazy," but whose characteristics joined the 60th rooting section for their department
arethe antithesis of this nomenclature), assigned to Fort basketball league game with Nichols Field.
~fonroe; Master Sergeant Richard Parry to Fort Winfield The 60th was fortunate in gaining the following officers
Scott; Staff Sergeant John F. Pray to Fort Totten; Staff on the October transport: Major Alexander H. Campbell
SergeantLaurie C. Martin to Fort Banks; Staff Sergeant (regimental executive and CO, 1st Battalion); Lieutenant
Foy K. Heath to Fort Barrancas; and Staff Sergeant Arthur C. Peterson (Battery A); Lieutenant Robert D.
Henricus LOoms to Fort Rosecrans. Technical Sergeant Glassburn (Battery D); Lieutenant William H. Ball
BarneyMachovic retired on October 31st and has estab- (DS Fort Wint). A further gain was Lieutenant James
lishedresidence in Manila. R. Holmes, transferred from the 59th. We had the mis-
During October the 59th won the post boxing cham- fortune of losing Captain E. W. Breitung and Lieutenant
pionship (American) by defeating the 60th in four out L. C. Baldwin, by transfer to the 59th, and Lieutenant
of sevenbouts scheduled. The 59th basketball team, after Earle M. Shiley, by transfer to the staff, as assistant post
losing the post championship (American) to the 60th, exchange officer.
won first place in the Philippine Department league. The 60th defeated the 59th for the post championship,
American Division. In the department championship
60TH CoAST ARTILLERY
series, we are now in third place, with excellent prospects
By Major Allison W. Jones of moving to second; the 59th obtained revenge for their
Following the completion of supplementary machine- earlier loss by going into a tie for first place. In boxing we
gun.firings by the other regiments for which the 60th lost to the 59th by one point, the meet hanging on the
furmshedthe records section and the directing personnel, decision of the heavyweight bout, which was fast and
BatteriesE and F commenced their final drive for the furious, with both fighters almost out at the last gong. In
heights of machine-gun excellence. Records are not as the recent department bowling congress the 60th won
yet entirely ready for check and for the computation of the ten-pin, five-man and two-man congress and also
scores,but indications are encouraging and a large number high singles. In the golfing world the 60th won the annual
of.gunners have received valuable training. One innova- golf marathon and the inter-regimental Caldwell cup
anon tried this year worked out very successfully. In the matches by a comfortable margin, after some tough com-
paStthe smallness of the landing field and the velocity of petition. Regimental golfers have placed well in the
the wind have made dropping targets difficult and more numerous tournaments that started with the dry season. In
than one has been lost. During the latter part of this sea- the post championship tournaments the 60th has lost out
sontargetswere dropped near the safety boat, their kapok- in the top flight but is doing well in the others.
filled seams keeping them afloat long enough for the 9IST COAST ARTILLERY (PS)
crashboat to pick them up. Our lost target problem ap-
~ar~ to be solved. The searchlight Battery (A), con- By Major V. P. Foster
sidenng old equipment, has been making marked prog- Intensive training on primary armament assignments is
ress:In spite of the long hours put in on overhauling, and now going on, in preparation for annual target practices,
tunmg up equipment and training personnel, it appeared scheduled to begin shortly after the first of the year.
84 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL la/1uar)'-Febrllar,
The regiment lost Major Leroy H. Lohmann when 92DCoASTARTILLERY (PS)
the Grant pulled out. The mine command gave him a By Major lV. C. Braly
lusty Mabuhay as he left the dock here, Manila bound. All batteries have completed their annual beach defense
Our new arrivals were: Major Joseph P. Kohn, who firings since our last report and are now engaged in sub-
became regimental executive; Captain Will K. Stennis caliber firing, preparation for the department maneuvers,
and Lieutenant John H. Davis, Jr., who went to outpost and conditioning of materiel for the target practice season.
duty, while Lieutenant Stephen M. Mellnik was assigned Small arms firing was completed in October, with much
to command Battery D. success, under the direction of Lieutenant Haynes, regi--
The inter-battery basketball league concluded with mental range officer.
Battery B - Captain Caluya, commanding-winning In a boxing match with National University of Manila
easily. The season's play produced several outstanding at Fort Mills the 92d won, 6 to 2, before a large and
players and the regimental basketball coach, Lieutenant enthusiastic audience. A joint smoker was staged with the
D'Arezzo, had little difficulty in organizing a highly 91St Coast Artillery (PS), also before a packed Arena.
promising regimental squad in preparation for play in the The 92d won three out of four preliminary bouts but
post championship against our arch-rivals, the 92d, and dropped three out of five of the championship matches.
for play in the department basketball tournament (Scout In the Caldwell Cup match for officers'golf teams, the
Division). The 91st won the post championship again 92d finished in second place, being nosed out by the 60th
this year by defeating the 92d in the first two games, by by a few points. The team consisted of Captain Kyster
scoresof 38-25 and 31-25, respectively. Thus for another (team captain), Lieutenant Croker, Lieutenant Colonel
year we are post champions (Scout Division). The sguad Crawford, Lieutenant Kessler, Major Braly, and Lieu-
of fifteen players is divided into three teams, all about tenant Harvey.
equal in ability. The veteran players-Imperial, Yambao, Organization day for the regiment was observed on
Alberto, Dela Cruz, Reyes, Benito-were augmented this November 15th. During the morning a short program was
year by several outstanding recruits, among whom are held in the Bottomside Cine, at which the commandinl!;
Denaga, L., and Cunanan. The entire regiment has been general made an inspiring address on teamwork. Trophies
behind the team as is evident by the large crowds which and medals were presented to winners in various depart-
witnessed every home game. In spite of the slow start ment and harbor defense athletic events by the command-
in the department tournament, the team finished in second ing general, after which the regimental commander pre-
place. sented cups to the following regimental champions for
On November 4th, the boxing team defeated the Far 1939:
Eastern University, last year's inter-collegiatechampions, Event Organization
bv the count of 6 to 2. The addition of RosalinoRojas, a Soft ball Battery C
f~atherweight, materially strengthened the 91st team. Volley ball Battery B
Rojas' unusually fast work and slynessis materialforsrudy. Duckpins " Battery D
Armistice Day the 91st and the University of the Philip- Ten-pins Guard Battalion
pines fought it out, with the 91st winning by the score of Basketball Battery C
5 to 2. Another newcomer to the 91st, Felix Villamor,
The regiment is pleased to welcome Lieutenant and
demonstrated his ability as a pug. Villamor's straight left Mrs. George H. Crawford, who arrived on the last trans-
jab is something worth watching. The annual "Army" port. Lieutenant Crawford is now commanding Battery E
boxing classic took place on November 22d, when the of the Guard Battalion.
91st defeated the 92d, 3 to 2. Sixto Fajardo, flyweight, Colonel Crawford is recovering splendidly from an ap-
RosalinoRojas, bantamweight, and Felix Villamor, light- pendectomy and will, with Mrs. Crawford, spend the
weight, were the stars for the 91st. month of December at Baguio.
First Coast Artillery District
CoLONEL RODNEY H. SMITH, Commanding
MAJOR ROBERT T. CHAPLIN, Adjutant
The winter training and maintenance program for the regiment lost--83 to 36-.1 start in regimental athletics
First Coast Artillery District is progressing toward all ob- has been made.
jectives scheduled. This work is proceeding smoothly in The Panama Coast Artillery Detachment, 8th Coast
conjunction with the many added duties of all personnel Artillery, was organized at Fort McKinley with a nucleus
incident to the intensive recruiting program; the formation of Lieutenants E. E. Hackman and W. M. Vann, both
of new units; training of personnel for the Coast Artillery from Fort Monroe, and twenty-seven enlisted men from
units in Panama; and, in some of our harbor defenses, the Fort H. G. Wright. This cadre was augmented by the
increased training activities of National Guard units. transfer of twenty men from the 8th to the Panama Coast
The District Commander and Mrs. Smith entertained Artillery Detachment.
at a parry at their home on the afternoon of November The 8th Coast Artillery proper continues its function of
24th. Over IS0 guests, including many of the officers and maintenance of harbor defense material with regard to the
ladies of the First Corps Area and the First Coast Artillery primary mission of the moment: recruiting for the Regu-
District and many prominent citizens, were invited to lar Armv.
meet Miss Lucy E. Worthington, daughter of Mr. and
HARBOR DEFENSES OF BOSTON
Mrs. Robert Briggs Worthington. The engagement of
Miss Worthington and Major Robert Chaplin, Coast During November and December many delightful
Artillery Corps, has recently been announced. parties were given both on and off the post. However, the
event of the season was the annual Christmas party for
HARBOR DEFENSES OF PORTLAND AND PORTSMOUTH the younger members of the garrison. There are many
The 68th Coast Artillery (AA) is a new antiaircraft children on the post, most of whom attended this very
unit, although not a new Coast Artillery regiment, as popular party at Fort Banks. It was thoroughly enjoyed by
the original 68th served overseas during the W orId War. eighty-one children as well as by the older members. The
The first week of November saw the activation of the post gym with its colorful decorations, amply reflected
regiment with station in the Harbor Defenses of Port- the season's spirit. The post commander gave a brief ad-
land, Maine, evacuated recently by the 5th Infantry. dress which was followed by spirited music by the
On November 15th a cadre of 184 enlisted men arrived orchestra. Santa Claus, played by Technical Sergeant
from Fort H. G. Wright, to provide the nucleus for the Henry H. Launspach, then made his appearance and pre-
regiment. In addition, several staff sergeants from the sented each child an appropriate gift. Refreshments com-
6gth Coast Artillery in Puerto Rico have augmented the pleted the entertainment. In charge of decorating the
original cadre. Recruits have been, for the most part, gym was Technical Sergeant Joseph F. Hardiman, as-
from the Fifth Corps Area, and are arriving in such num- sisted by Corporal Frank G. Underwood.
bers as to soon bring the regiment to full strength. Plans are under way for the construction of a skating
The new commanding officer of the Harbor Defenses rink in the vicinity of the barracks occupied by A Bat-
of Portland and Portsmouth, and the 68th Coast Artillery, tery, 9th Coast Artillery. However, the opening of the
Colonel Robert C. Garrett, arrived and assumed comma~d rink must be postponed until the arrival of freezing
on December 5th. weather. Winter sports are not unknown in Winthrop,
In December the Portland Chapter of the National but because of the usually very temperate climate in the
Sojourners welcomed the officers of the 68th with a recep- vicinity of Boston Harbor it is not expected that the rink
tion and dinner at the Columbia Hotel. At this time the will be in operation before the first of January.
regiment had reached such strength that the 2d Battalion, Bowling is now in full swing with nine teams com-
less Battery E, was able to move to its new home at Fort pleting the first half of the annual bowling tournament.
McKinley. Later, Battery E moved to Fort Preble. Headquarters Battery and the Quartermaster Corps tied
Training has necessarily been restricted to recruit in- for first place. After January 1st the second half of the
struction owing to the rapid expansion and high per- tournament starts and it is expected that a team from
centage of men with no previous service. Headquarters First Corps Area will be entered.
A basketball team has been organized and has played Approximately eighteen per cent of the Coast Artil-
one game with a civilian team from Sanford. Although the lery troops of this command were transferred to the 10th
86 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL 1anuary-Februa,.,
Coast Artillery, Fort Adams, to form the cadre for the Battery IVan Lost Percentage
training of 500 Coast Artillerymen in the Panama Recruit D 3;h 1;h .750
Detachment. C 3 2 .600
For the past month unit recruiting has been conducted B 2;h 2~ .500
with satisfactory results. Several recruits who have been A 2 3 .400
enlisted at this" post are making good progress in their E 2 3 .400
elementary training. Hq. 2 3 .400
HARBOR DEFENSES OF LONG ISLAND SOUND The duckpin bowling tournament is now in full swinj;
By Captain Frank T. Ostenberg with seven teams entered. At the half-way point no team
is sure of its ultimate position in the final standings.
On November 1 orders were received directing all the The post small-bore rifle team is doing well in the
Thomason Act officers at Fort H. G. Wright to report to Mohegan Rifle League. A special boat transports the
new stations. Three went to Fort Adams and three to Fort team to New London, twice a week for this competition.
Preble. The post basketball season will be at its best after the
The 1Ith Coast Artillery transferred twenty-seven men holidays.
to the 8th Coast Artillery, Fort Williams, and twenty men
HARBOR DEFENSES OF NARRAGANSETT BAY
to the 5th Coast Artillery, Fort Hamilton.
The 11th Coast Artillery furnished a cadre of 184 men By Captain Virgil M. Kimm
for the 68th Coast Artillery (AA) being organized at Recent departures from Fort Adams include the 2d
Fort Williams. The noncommissioned officers' club gave Battalion, 13th Infantry, to Panama, Major Edward L.
a farewell party for those departing from Fort H. G. Supple, to Organized Reserve duty, Duluth, and Colonel
Wright. Jere Baxter, to Salt Lake City.
Master Sergeant Charles E. Zonnevylle retired at Fort Colonel and Mrs. Baxter were tendered an aloha party
H. G. Wright in October. Master Sergeant Emil Myers prior to departure. Just before dinner all officers and their
retired in November, at this station. families met at the new Officers' Club where an appropri-
The following noncommissioned officers have recently ate ceremony was held in connection with the installation
arrived at Fort H. G. Wright: Staff Sergeants William of a bronze plaque over the fireplace with an inscription
H. Lebert, Norman R. Yeo, Alan D. Goucher and Horace as follows: "Dedicated to Colonel and Mrs. Jere Baxter.
B. Davis; and Sergeants Joseph Vinelli, Gustin J. whose creative efforts made possible this Fort Adams
Schwager, and Walter G. Streeter. Officers' Club."
The following members of the 11th Coast Artillery The recruit training center has given the post an en-
were recently promoted to master sergeants : Technical tirely new complexion. Five batteries are being recruited
Sergeants Edward L. Ledoux and Gordon L. Harrington. and trained for service in Panama. Cadres were furnished
Sergeant William J. Beggs and Privates First Class Statson by the 7th, 9th, loth, and 52d Coast Artillery.
Floyd and Luther Pierce, were promoted to staff sergeants. Appointments to staff NCO grade as a result of the
In December a detachment (Battery E) of the 242d new organization are: To be first sergeants: Staff Sergeanr
Coast Artillery (HD) Connecticut National Guard, com- Eugene K. Marx, Sergeants William R. Belyea, Thomas
manded by Major Raymond Watt, arrived at Fort H. G. P. Hogan, George F. McPhee, and Louis L. Rath. To Ix
Wright for one week of intensive training with antiaircraft staff sergeants: Sergeants David L. Dockerty and Ra\'-
guns. mond C. McCormick.
Later Battery D, 242d Coast Artillery (HD) Con- Plans are under way to have the newly formed organi-
necticut National Guard, commanded by Captain Donald zations fire service practices in the spring with Batteries
G. Kimball, replaced Battery E. Battery D fired a target Greene, Edgerton, Wheaton, Varnum, and Dickenson.
practice with the IO--inchguns with excellent results. Battery Edgerton has not fired a service practice since
1915' Battery Varnum since 19I1 and the others since
Colonel Russell Y. Moore, commanding the 242d, was
present for all firings. 1929'
Our oldest resident, Mr. Gilbert H. Burnham, the
Fort H. G. Wright was recently visited by the follow- Ordnance machinist, relates that the last service practice
ing officers from Corps Area Headquarters: Colonel of Battery Varnum was one of his earliest experiences here.
Charles L. Scott, Colonel Frank K. Chapin, and Lieu- The batrery was fired by the old 117th Company. After
tenant Colonel John S. Rice, Major Marshall J. Noyes, waiting all day, Battery Walbach, of which only the c~r-
and Captain Harry V. Ellis. riages remain to remind one of its former glory, fired ItS
The mine planter Baird, commanded by Captain practice. Then just before sundown, October 28, 191\.
Nathan A. McLamb, returned from the shipyard during Bartery Varnum opened up and scored a perfect pracrice
December. which gave the coveted E to the 117th. Present for the
The post football season ended with Battery D 11th firing was a Pathc~News cameraman, and this was pr~
Coast Artillery the winner. The final standings were: ably one of the earliest efforts at getting the Coast Aro!'
1940 COAST ARTILLERY ACTIVITIES 87
lerYinto the movies. At the first round both camera and Armistice Day. Congressman Charles L. Gifford was the
cameramantoppled over backwards. However, the camera- principal speaker on the program which did honor to the
man recovered and secured a few shots which were later fallen soldiers and sailors in our last war.
shown in Newport theaters. The majority of the buildings at Fort Rodman have now
Construction at Forts Adams and Wetherill continues. been completely renovated and the new paint has im-
The new boathouse is nearly finished. The dock and new proved the appearance of the post. It is hoped that it may
mine storehouse at Fort W~therill are well under way. A be possible to rehabilitate the remaining buildings, in-
WPA project to restore and repair the redoubt tower and cluding the main barracks, the guard house, and the fire
galleriesat Fort Adams has started. During the summer station, before the cessation of current WP A work here.
the old barracks at Fort Wetherill were repaired and made Officers of the 616th Coast Artillery (RAI), Lieutenant
habitable. Colonel R. C. Allen commanding, hold monthly troop
A new unit to train at Fort Adams is the 243d Coast schools at Fort Rodman. Use of available fire control in-
Artillery, Rhode Island National Guard, Colonel Earl C. struments is stressed at these meetings and the opportunity
Webster commanding. Batteries Greene and Edgerton and of these officers to couple theoretical with practical train-
a 155T.D. Battery have been made available to the 24,d ing is proving very satisfactory to all concerned. These
for week-end training throughout the fall and winter schools will be continued at Fort Rodman each month
seasons. until June, according to the present schedule.
HARBOR DEFENSES OF NEW BEDFORD
Several members of this garrison had house guests dur-
By Captain Charles N. Branham ing the Christmas holiday period. The children of the
All military, naval, and civil authorities in New Bed- post attended the annual children's Christmas party at
ford cooperated in the parade and ceremonies here on Fort Adams.
Puerto Rico
BRIGADIER GENERAL EDMUND L. DALEY, Commandinj;
By Lieutenant Peter S. Peca
The peace and quiet of Puerto Rico has been broken including band), our families and sweethearts on the pier
many times during the last two months. Numerous trans- we had just left. At the pier on the other side of us, lay two
ports have arrived-loaded with men, guns ammunition British ships being painted dark gray as fast as the painters
and supplies. Trucks, tractors, guns, and men have trav- could work. But the American flags painted on the sides
ersed the entire island. Never before in the history of of the St. Mihiellooked like a million dollars to us right
Puerto Rico has such activity been witnessed. then. However, that scene was the only event worth
In the overseas movement to Puerto Rico, Coast Artil- mentioning until we were met at the dock in San Juan by
lery troops played the important role. The 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel C. W. Bundy, Lieutenant Peter S.
6<Jrh Coast Artillery, Lieutenant Colonel o.tto G. Pitz, Peca, and Captain W. F. McKee, and his cohorts from.
commanding, completed its concentration on o.ctober 7, Battery D, who told us, "You can set your bags right
when Battery A (less one platoon) , B, and C arrived from there and start loading trucks." We gradually worked our
Galveston. Battery D, with one platoon, Battery A, 6<jth way out to Camp Buchanan. After getting ourselves com-
CoastArtillery attached, was already here. First Battalion, fortably fixed, we then had the privilege of unloading
51st Coast Artillery, Lieutenant Colonel G. L. Flanigen another transport filled to the gunwales with the equip-
commanding, arrived on o.ctober 20 from Fort Montoe. ment of the 51st Coast Artillery and 2d Battalion, 7th
The password in the Puerto Rican Department is in- Field Artillery.
tensivefield service. o.ur definition of field service can be With the arrival of the troops of the 51st and 7th, we
foundby reading the accounts that follow. put our shirts back on and retired from the stevedoring
business. Since then, we have been engaged in practicing
1ST BATTALION, ~TH CoAST ARTILLERY (AA) some of the things you read about in books, but seldom do,
By Captain J. E. Mortimer namely, reconnaissance, occupation and organization of
positions in virgin territory. This island, old as it is, is so
On October 2d, the 1st Battalion, ~th Coast Artillery virgin that there is not even a contour line or datum point
participatedin a grim scene. As we stood in the interstices to get in your way.
betweentrucks on the deck of the St. Mihiel in Galveston, Between road marches, we have been getting plenty of
We saw the rest of the regiment (four officersand 126 men drill, Spanish lessons, basketball, volley ball, swimming,
88 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL January-February
excursions to historic points, many opportunities to see the Shortly after midnight, November 25, both batteries
beautiful scenery, and last but not least, free movies in accompanied by the CO, Colonel Flanigen, moved out of
our open air the~ter. At present the theater consists of the Camp Buchanan for a four-hour march to the town of
side of a hill, a screen on poles and a shanty housing the Bayamon and return. At the time this is being written.
projector. Sometimes it rains, but so far, it has always Battery A is undertaking the longest march since OUr
stopped. arrival. As a test of its mobility, it is moving at top speed
With three weeks of maneuvers next month and an along the north shore of the island in order to determine
augmented target practice season to give the finishing the minimum time in which it can move from San Juan to
touch, this battalion will not dip its colors to any other. Punta Borinquen, the army air base some ninety-five miles
When our tour is over, will we snow them under back away. Battery B is expected to march up into"the moun-
home with "How we fought the battle of Puerto Rico!" tains within a few days to further test the equipment, this
time under more difficult road conditions.
IST BATTALION, 5IST CoAST ARTILLERY
While these tests were being initiated, small reconnais_
By Captain George R. Burgess sance parties were sent out daily to various parts of the
island. Detailed reports from each party have resulted
Rounding EI Morro early on the morning of October
in an unusually complete study of all roads and the coast-
20, the transport St. Mihiel brought the 5Ist Coast Artil-
line of the island.
lery its first glimpse of its new station. The advance de-
Firing positions have been located in at least two places
tachment of the battalion, commanded by Lieutenant W.
around the harbor of San Juan, and both batteries have
G. Fritz, was on hand at the dock with transportation
fired sub-caliber at towed targets from the position at
and the battalion proceeded immediately to Camp Bu-
Escambron Beach. These firings were the first efforts bv
chanan where camping facilities had already been prepared.
Coast Artillery troops to prepare for their primary mis-
The arrival of this battalion, together with the 7th Field
sion. Curiously enough these were the first shots fired ar
Artillery (now the 25th Field Artillery), completed the
water targets from the Island of Puerto Rico since the old
bulk of the troops stationed at Camp Buchanan, bringing
Spanish regime. Both batteries have also camped for two-
the total complement of officersand men to almost I, 300.
week periods at Punta Salinas where artillery drill ha~
Lieutenant Colonel B. L. Flanigen established his sepa-
been carried on simultaneously with instructi~n in their
rate headquarters and within a few days the troops had
new weapon-the caliber .50 machine gun. Headquarters
settled down to a routine which embraces the intensive
Battery has maintained two-way radio communication
field training schedule of this new department.
with camp sites, towing vessel, and Camp Buchanan.
The problem confronting the battalion has been two-
fold: first, the training in the use of its many new pieces The organization assignments are as follows:
of equipment and materiel, and, second, the thorough 69th Coast Artillery-Commanding, Lieutenant Colo-
reconnaissance of the Island of Puerto Rico. Both fields of nel Otto G. Pitz; Executive, Major Eugene T. Conwa\";
activity have been carried out simultaneously and with a Adjutant, Captain John E. Mortimer; Battery C, Captain
great deal of dispatch. The additional problem of accli- Charles H. Crim; Batterv B, Captain Ernest A. Merkle:
matizing the personnel to tropical service has required Battery D, Captain William F. McKee; Hq. Btry. &
constant attention. While the two firing batteries, Bat- Com. Trn., Lieutenant Preston Steele; Battery A, lieu-
tery B, commanded by Captain G. R. Burgess, and Bat- tenant Ethan A. Chapman; Battery D, Lieutenant Rob-
tery A, commanded by Captain R. H. Grinder, proceeded ert Totten; Hq. Btry. & Com. T tn., Lieutenant Wilford
with the training on their new guns and tractors, Head- E. H. Voehl; Battery A, Lieutenant Harrison F. Turner:
quarters Battery, commanded by Captain E. D. Peddi- Battery B, Lieutenant Kermit R. Schweidel; Hq. Btry. &
cord, undertook the training of field radio operators and Com. Trn., Lieutenant Josephus A. Bowman; Battery B.
meteorological details, at the same time setting up the Lieutenant Lionel B. DeVille; Battery D, Lieutenant Lee
battalion motor pool and repair shop. The transition of M. Kirby; Battery C, Lieutenant John P. Mial; Batten'
the 5Ist from an integral unit of the Harbor Defenses of C, Lieutenant Richard F. Ludeman; Battery A, lieuten-
Chesapeake Bay to a self-sufficient, field-operating bat- ant Calvin O. Smith.
talion has been a difficult, but highly interesting accom- 51st Coast Artillery-Commanding, Lieutenant Colo-
plishment. nel Barrington L. Flanigen; Executive, Major Mario
Both firing batteries are equipped with new I55-mm. Cordero; Battery B, Captain George R. Burgess; Batten'
guns mounted on roller bearing wheels and eguipped with A, Captain Richard H. Grinder; Hq. Battery, Captain
electric brakes. In place of the traditional Holt tractor, so Everett D. Peddicord; Hq. Battery, Lieutenant Edgar Q.
familiar to all tractor drawn units, the batteries are pow- Taylor; Hq. Battery, Lieutenant William G. Fritz; Bat-
ered with new Caterpillar Diesel Tractors, Model D7. tery A, Lieutenant Maurice M. Simons; Battery B, lieu-
Tests of this new equipment were undertaken immediate- tenant William J. A. Hussey; Battery B, Lieutenant
ly around the vicinity of the camp and the operation of the Oliver K. Marshall, Jr.; Battery A, Lieutenant Charles
new tractors proved to be far in excess of expectations. W. Reeves; Hq. Battery, Lieutenant John R. Snow.
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~f.-\STERSERGEANTWILLIAl\1H. BROWNis the draftsman Technology (193 I). He is a graduate of the Ordnance
whose maps you have been admiring in the JOURNAL School (193 I) and the Coast Artillery School Regular
these past three years. A native of Petersburg, Virginia, Course (1937). He is on duty with the 4th Coast Artil-
he enlisted in 1925 at Fort Nfonroe as a private, Coast lery in the Canal Zone.
Artillery Corps. After graduation from the Coast Artil- f f f
lery School master gunners' course in 1927 he was ap-
H. CHARLESJ\ICBARRON,JR., is the artist who illustrated
pointed staff sergeant and reached his present grade in
"Old Rough and Ready." A native of Chicago, he at-
1939. He has drawn the maps and diagrams for many
tended the local schools and ROTC and later studied at
military books and for various service magazines. Ser-
the Chicago Art Institute. He has been chiefly engaged
geant Brown is on duty in the office of the Chief of
in commercial illustration and his work has appeared
Coast Artillerv. /
in magazines of national circulation. For hobby, he col-
l' f f
lects old American military uniforms and equipment.
~\'L"'JORJ. HALPINCONNOLLYwill be recalled as the author He painted a series of Revolutionary Nfarine Corps uni-
of "War in a Mechanistic Civilization" in the July- forms for 1vfarine Corps Headquarters and designed the
August, 1939, number of the JOURNAL. uniform now worn by the Chicago Black Horse Troop.
f f f Nfr. NfcBarron makes his home in Chicago.
DOCTORH. A. DEWEERD,professor of history at Denison f f l'
University, is also editor of our learned contemporary BRIGADIERGENERALHENRYJ. REILLY,ORC, was born at
the Journal of the American Military Institute. Fort Barrancas, Florida. He is the son of Captain H. J.
f f f Reilly who died in action in 1900 at the ~ates of Pekin
CAPTAINFAIRFAXDOWNEYis a writer living in New York. while commandin~ the famous Reilly's Battery. Gen-
Born in Utah, he was educated at Yale (A.B. 1916). eral Reilly was graduated from the U. S. Military Acad-
After service as a sergeant with the Yale Batteries he emy as a second lieutenant of cavalry in 19<>4, He re-
was commissioned a second lieutenant of Field Artillery signed in 1914 to devote his time to newspaper work,
and served with the 12th Field Artillery (2d Division) becomin~ the war correspondent for the Chicago T ri-
during the \Vorld War. When he resi~ned he held the bune in Mexico and in Europe. Upon our entry into
grade of captain, 31 st Field Artillery. Captain Downey the World War he rejoined the service as a captain,
is the author of a number of books, and his work has rising shortly to the grade of colonel, Field Artillery.
also appeared in many magazines. At various times he He commanded the 149th Field Artillery and 8"1d In-
was a member of the staff on the Kansas City Star, New fantry Brigade of the 42d (Rainbow) Division. For his
York Tribune and Herald Tribune and the New York World War service he holds the Disting-uished Service
Sun. Medal, the French Croix de Guerre, and the Legion of
Honor. Later, as war correspondent he covered the
\V ARRANTOFFICERB. C. ELDERS,Army Mine Planter Serv- Polish-Soviet war of 1920-1921, the Manchurian cam-
ice, was born in Missouri. After wartime service in the paign of 192), and the recent Spanish Civil War. He
SA TC he enlisted in the Coast Artillery Corps in 1920. has written for various magazines and newspapers and
He is a graduate of the Electrical Course, the Coast is the author of several books. General Reilly makes his
Artillery Enlisted Specialists School. He won his ap- home in New York City.
pointment as warrant officer of the Army Mine Planter f f f
Service in 1933, Mr. Elders is licensed a~ chief engineer LIEUTENANTJ. H. TWYl'-IAN,JR., Coast Artillery Corps, is
of steam vessels by the Bureau of Steamboat Inspection. a native of Virginia. Graduating from the U. S. Mili-
He is stationed at Fort Monroe. tary Academy with the Class of 1930, he was appointed
f f f a second lieutenant, Coast Artillery Corps. He is a
CAPTAINJ. F. GAl\IBER,Coast Artillery Corps, hails from graduate of the Coast Artillery School Regular Course
Ohio. Enlisting in the Infantry, Re~ular Army in 1919, (1937)' Lieutenant Twyman is on duty with the 3d
he won a cadetship at the U. S. Military Academy in Coast Artillery, Fort MacArthur.
1921. Graduating with the Class of '25 he was appoint- l' f l'
ed in the Coast Artillery Corps. Captain Gamber holds W. A. WINDASis a writer-artist who makes his home in
the degree of BS in ME from 1vfassachusetts Institute of California.
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-
Coast a'ttilleJL~ O't~e'ts
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c
But the contrary is, in their minds and in Mr. Villard's, picting a fort and the shield of the "C
United States superimposed on a =
unnecessary to prove; it has become an article of faith, to i
crossed saber and rifle above the e
be accepted without questioning. letters U.S.A. !:
'\l
And that suggests that perhaps it has been unfair to GOLD OVERLA Y
'"::
~
.
...
f,
characteristic of crusading editors. (ReRections on the :E;
The single magazine binder is used extensively in a distinguished field officer on the active list, now the
waiting rooms and reading rooms of libraries, offices, editor of a service journal, is accused of writing Hpoisonous
steamships and other public places. Besides lending
a dignified appearance, when on the reading table or
Nazi stuff" (p. 136) because he had occasion to publish
in the magazine rack, it keeps the copy clean and his findings on the psychology of military leadership.
inviting. Inadvertently, people often carry off maga- If 'Nlr. Villard were more interested in facts than in
zines which are lying around loose, whereas it is less fascist footprints under the bed, he would not compare
likely to happen if book is contained in a binder. The
adversely the large number of our Reserve officers with the
key lock mechanism locks the rod which holds maga-
zine fastened to binder. Binding is made of stiff much smaller number of officers in the pre-war German
boards, covered with canvas, genuine or imitation army (p. 9S)' The fact is that the German officer corps
leather. Also made in Flexible Covers. Supplied in opposed any increase in its numbers, when Germany's
colors, if desired, for any size magazine. military program required such an increase, for fear that
Three lines of lettering in gilt allowed without
the purity of its Prussian Junkerdom might be diluted by
charge, i.e. name of magazine, organization and loca-
tion. Instead of location you may substitute "Do Not the admixture of bourgeois strains. Unbiased observers
Remove From Day Room." might suggest that a large body of Reserve officers, drawn
from all walks of life, and entering into the Regular Armv
through the Thomason Act and similar legislation, would
militate against the ascendancy of a particular caste, and
insure the essentially citizen character of the military
forces. But Mr. Villard views the O. R. C. differently, and
sees Reserve officers as potential spies, in industrial centers,
upon the working class (p. ISO).
As an objective text, Mr. Villard's book hardly merits
extended consideration. As the product of a highly
emotional state of mind, however, it deserves the closest
kind of study. Indeed, there is need for psychological re-
search into the complexes and neuroses of political life and
public affairs. There have been papers galore on the in-
feriority complex, on the mother-fixation, on the many
curious attitudes and points of view recorded and classified
by Krafft-Ebing and Havelock Ellis. Is it not time to de-
vote some attention to the various kinds of tariff enthusi-
asts, to the single-taxer, to the bureaucrat, or-save the
mark-to the congenital pacifist?
Key Lock lIIcchani.m For the work under review is the product of emotion,
not of reason. 1vlr. Villard clings to his first love, pacifism,
Prices let the logic of events be what it may. Therefore he dedi-
Style MK - Imitation Leather ~tes the volume "to the American business men"-we
I to 25-$2.25 each, any size may disregard them; they are no friends of his-Hand to
26 Up--$2.00 each, any size the liberals who will not see." That is to say, to those
F.O.B. NEW YORK liberals who, in a world where only the strong are re-
spected, which has seen the submergence of Ethiopia,
ADDITIONAL QUOTATIONS AND
Austria, Czechoslovakia, Albania, and Poland-must we
INFORMATION FURNISHED
now add Finland, too?-have abandoned the easy shib-
ON REQUEST
boleth of non-resistance and the peace that is no peace.
Order from If they will not see through Mr. Villard's eyes, it is
The Coast Artillery Journal because their instinct is sounder and their vision clearer.
FREDERICK BERNAYS WIENER,
1115 17th Street, N.\X'. \X'ashington, D. C.
Captain, lAG-Reserve.
1940 BOOK REVIE\VS 95
ECONO~fIC PROBLEJ'vfS OF THE NEXT WAR. ~~~
B,' P:lUl Einzig. New York: TIle ~/f:tcmillan Company,
1939, 146 Pages; $2.50' ~
ECONOMIC
~facmillan,
ASPECTS OF DEFENSE. By Harold
:M.P. New York: The ~vfacmillan Com-
MAGAZINES U
U
pan)', 1939. 67 Pages; $'50'
These books were written by Englishmen to persuade
their countrymen and their Government to prepare the
Empire's economic resources for the war that has now ar-
rived. Printed words thus mn to obsolescence more rapidly The JOURNAL'S periodical department
than a publisher might desire. is the most efficient agent for handling
However, there is a certain interest in arguments which
your magazine business-both organ-
rum out to be post facto. Dr. Einzig, in his conclusion,
lisrs twenty-nine reasons for an English victory. They ap- izational and individual. It is speedy
pear to be based on six general premises: (I) a long war; and accurate: speedy because orders
(2) British ability to isolate Germany economically; (3) are sent to the various publishers on
German lack of gold reserves and foreign credits; (4)
British superiority in all mattcrs relating to cash and the date of receipt; accurate because
credits, and the ability to use them in the right places; the JOURNAL understands the idiosyn-
(5) a greater potcntial productive capacity among Britain crasies of military addresses.
and her allies; and (6) economic aid, at least, from the
United Srates.
Reason No. 19, which says that Britain will win "be- No matter how many magazines YOlt
cause among the potential allies of Great Britain, Soviet order, )'ou have but ONE letter to
Russia possesses immense economic resources and is more
than self-sufficient," now looks very sick and makes somc
write. If a change of address becomes
of the other reasons look a little peaked too. Einzig could necessary} ONE letter does the trick.
see the possibility of a Russo-Gcrman pact but he could ONE letter suffices to renew a group
not see British statesmcnship so "utterly short-sighted" as
to allow such a situation to develop. Just how much short-
of magazines no matter what the ex-
sightcdness was involved-and when it came into play- piration dates.
now remains to be seen.
Einzig is a money cconomist, and though he surveys
We guarantee to meet the best price
brieRy the prospcctive internal control of war-time
consumption and production, his best work is in the field quoted by any responsible agent for
of budgetary control, foreign trade and exchange, and any magazine or group of magazines.
monetary control. Me. Macmillan, a member of Com-
\Y/ e will supply any periodical, pub-
mons, is primarily concerned with the political aspects of
economic defense and with war objectives. His brief tract lished anywhere, in any language, at
discusses problems connected with the attempt to accom- publishers' rates or less.
modatc democratic means to the social end of war, an cnd
which is collectivistic-if not totalitarian-in its economic
characteristics. Both books are suggestive and persuasive,
rather than detailed .
. Einzig's discussions of the problem of inRation result- Tbe next time you order periodicals
II1gfrom war financing are worth noting. The Nazi cco-
for tbe club, day room, or yourself, get
~o~ic and financial system, he says, while it has worked
satisfactorily" in time of peacc, is not likely to stand the a quotation from
sh~ks of a long war, especially in view of an inRation-
mll1ded public. Economists have been fond of predicting
the downfall of Nazi financial schemes, perhaps without The Coast Artillery Journal
recognizing the revolutionary aspects of the regime. The 1115 17th Street N.W. Washington, D. C.
question of foreign credits, particularly the length Ger-
many will go to receive economic aid from Russia, seems to
pco':ide the more crucial problem for Germany to solve.
WhIch revolution will swallow which? W. C. G.
96 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL lallllarY-FebmaJ
S!~~ fa THE WAR GASES. By Dr. ~fario Sartori. Transbt~~ 1
by L. \V. ~'farrison. New York: D. Van Nostrand
Company, 1939.360 Pages; Index; $7.50'
TABLE
•
OF CONTENTS
ered .
The book is notJble for the thoroughness of the liter:1-
ture study which went into its preparJtion and for the
scientific :1nd technicJI ability of its Juthor, who is the
The Army As A Career. by Life Insurance Analysis
Gen. J. G. Harbord. ChaIr- Provisions In Anticipation chemist of the Itali:1n Chemical Warfare Service. The
man of the Board, the of Death
R. C. A.
The Army of the United
author index covers five pJges.
First Station States
Orientation The National Guard
The trJnsbtion is well and accurately done. It is :1wel-
Uniforms and Equipment The Organized Reserves come :1ddition to the comparJtively few books on chemid
Assumption of Command
The Reserve Officers' Train- wJrfare published in the English bnguJge. Incidentally, so
Exerclse of Command Ing Corps
Mess Management The Organization Staff and br JS known by this reviewer, this is the only published
Supply Its Functions
Military Courtesy A Background for Peace
tr:1nsbtion into English of Jny book on chemical w:1rfare
Customs of the Service and War published in a foreign bnguJge. A. L. K.
Pay and Allowances Discipline and Leadership
by Gen. G. V. H. Moseley
Leaves of Absences. Promo-
tion. Retirement Manall:ement of the Ameri-
can Soldier by Gen. D. C.
Efficiency Reports Shanks
Foreign Sen'lce Army Posts and DOL As- HOW STRONG IS BRITAIN? By C. E. Count Puck-
Army Educational System signments In Each State
Prlvlleges. Rights and Re- and Territory ler. New York: Veritas Press, 1939.239 Pages; $2.50.
strictions of Officers Tactical Definitions and
Participation In Post Ac- Special Map Symbols
tivities Index This is essentially an economic estimate of British
strength by one of Germany's leading journalists who has
Price $2.50, Postpaid long been recognized both at home and in Engbnd as an
Juthority on just this subject. Its fairness is best attested
by the glowing reviews it has received in the leading
THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL British papers and this in spite of the fJct thJt it glosses
none of the weaknesses of the British Empire. Personally
1115 17th Street, N.W.
we got J better and clearer picture of just what England ~s
Washington, D. C. up Jgainst from Herr Puckler than from any other est!-
mJte that has come our way. Therefore this book naturally
~------'rJ n wins our hearty and unqualified endorsement.
Every Unit, Officer, and Nonconl1nissioned Officer
Needs This New Edition
• In addition to the NEW! DRILL REGULATIONS, this manual contains markmanship for
both the new Semi-Automatic rifle (M 1), and the Springfield; Military Discipline, Courtesies,
and Customs of the Service; Interior Guard Duty; and Infantry Pack and Equipment.
CONTENTS:
GENERAL Drill for Vehicles in Single Column or Line
THE SOLDIER \X'ITHOUT ARMS Drill for Vehicles in Mass Formation
General Company Drill
Positions
Steps and Marching FORMATIONS OF THE BATT ALlON AND
REGIMENT
THE SOLDIER WITH ARMS General
General The Battalion
Manual of Arms for the Rifle The Regiment
Loadings and Firings
CEREMONIES
Carrying the Automatic Rifle
Reviews and Presentations of Decorations
Manual of the Pistol
Escorts
Manual of the Guidon
Parades
Manual of the Color Standard
Inspections
Manual of the Saber
Funerals
DRILL FOR FOOT TROOPS EXTENDED ORDliRS
The Squad General
The Platoon Rifle Squad
The Company Rifle Platoon
DRILL FOR UNITS WITH ANIMAL DRAWN Company
CARTS OR PACK ANIMALS \X1eapons, Squads, Sections and Platoons
DRILL FOR UNITS WITH MOTOR CARRIERS SIGNALS
General General
The Squad and Section Whistle Signals
The Platoon General Arm-and-Hand Signals
The Company Additional Arm-and-Hand Signals for \\1eapons Units
DRILL FOR MOTOR AND WAGON UNITS Arm-and-Hand Signals for Motor Vehicles
General APPEi\TOIX
The Single Vehicle Ceremonial Parades
1'1
AMERICAN
CAMPAIGNS
By MATTHEW FORNEY STEELE
I Colonial \\'ars
Revolutionary
Re\'olutionary
\\'ar of 1812
\"ar-Northern
\"ar-Southern
~Iexican \"ar-Taylor's
~lexican \\'ar-Scott's
First Battle oi Bull Run
O::>NTENTS
Campaigns
Campaigns
Campaigr
Camllaign
OF VOLUME I:
Stones River Campaign
Battle oi Chancellors ville
Campai~n of Gettysburg-Fir,;t
Campaign of Gettysburg-Secoll(l
Vicksburg Campaign
Chickamauga Campaign
Battles Around Chattanooga
Day
and Thinl Day,;
1
~
1
~
I
Second Battle of Bull Run Campaign oi Franklill and :\ a~hvi1le [
:\ntietam Campaign Spanish-American \"ar l
Frederick,;burg Campaign Index '{
n CONTENTS OF VOLUME II: 311 maps to illustrate the battles described 10 Volume I. J
B Formerly $10,00 NOW REDUCED TO 1
B '8~OO for both volumes. 1
B
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