Evening star., 1939-08-09
Armies LineUp
For Big Push
In Virginia
go Tanks Take Part
In River-Crossing
Test at Meade Today
By JOSEPH S. EDGERTON,
Star Staff Correspondent.

FIELD HEADQUARTERS, 3rd
CORPS, 1st ARMY, Manassas. Va,
Aug. 9-Rapidly hardening them
selves to the rigors of camp life in
the dusty fields of the Virginia Pied
mont, National Guard officers and
men from the District, Maryland,
Virginia and Pennsylvania today
continued the process of Welding
their hitherto scattered organizations
into progressively larger military
units in preparation to meet the
assaults next week of a provisional
division of the Regular Army
equipped with many of the most
modern devices of war.
Today in the zones of the 28th
and 29th Divisions, centered at
Manassas and Groveton, respective
ly, training maneuvers were being
carried on by regiments, following
two days of battalion problems. A
climax for thousands of the guards
men, who never have operated as
parts OF any unit larger than a
regiment, will come tomorrow. when
they will be assembled into brigades
for two-sided maneuvers, and Fri
day, when the two divisions will
take the field against each other.
Next week the two Guard Divi-
slons will be united in the field.
away from even the temporary
camps they now call home to meet
the attacks of the Regular Army
division now being assembled at
Fort Meade, Md, and Fort Bel
voir, Va.
Preliminary Exercises.
Sixty Regular Army tanks. about
to take the field against the Ma
tlonal Guard divisions, were to par
tlclpate today in preliminary ex-
erclses at Fort Meade involving the
| crossing of river under battle con-
ditionS.
The 3rd Corps Area maneuvers
will be essentially a test of the large
division of somewhat the World
War type against the much smaller,
more compact, harder hitting
"streamlined" division designed to
make the fullest possible use of the
new mechanized equipment and
faster-fring weapons of the mod
ern Army.
The Guard divisions will have
their own Infantry tanks. in smaller
numbers and earlier models than
the Regulars. Capt. D. w. Line
burner of the 28th Division Tank
/ Company, received a cracked rib in
one OF the Guard tanks yesterday.
/ Capt. Lineburner. of NorristoWn, Pa,
was in the turret of his tank when it
dropped sharply into depression
| and as sharply stuck its nose up on
the other side, throwing him of
balance and into the side of the
turret. With a heavily tapped side,
he returned to duty.
Although the proposed Stream
lined division will be entirely mech
anized, without even a traditional
Army mule as reminder of the
good old days" the provisional di-
vision which Brig Gen. Maxwell
Murray will take into the field
against the Guard divisions next
week will have horse cavalry and
horse-drawn field artillery. from the
garrison of Fort Myer, Va. These
outfits were moved yesterday to
Fort Belvoir, from which they will
take the field next week.
The Regulars also will take into
the field the new 1st Observation
Battalion, first one of its kind in
/ existence. This battalion will be
used by the field artillery for de-
tectlng enemy artillery by record
| ing the flashes and sounds of the
guns. The new battalion. thoroughly
modernized in all respects. will take
! into the field a new type of gas
burning rolling kitchen, also. like
the battalion, the first of its kind.
| Ihls week the Guardsmen, fresh
from civil life, are living in camps
OF the seml-permanent type where
they have such luxuries as shower
| paths. Next week, however. thev
will leave these camps, presumably
narder, f1eld-wiser men. to bivouac
away from their home camps. They
VIII leave behind their showers and
tnelr present ample water supplies
ana Will receive water in milk cans
oy truck. Their use of the canned
water Will be checked to prevent
waste
Spectacular Air Duel.
Although it had little to do with
the battalion exercises, which were
yesterdays order of the day, there
was spectacular airplane-machine
gun duel yesterday-staged bv
Pennsylvania Guardsmen for the
benefit of cameramen. 1t. Col.
victor Qallin, commander of the
pennsylvania National Guard OBJ
servation Squadron and air officer
OF the 18th Division, made the air
attack on Company M, 11lth In
1antry, from Delaware County, Pa.
commanded by Capt. Philip Black
| ourn. The gunners, emplaced on
Signal Hill, near Manassas, fought
on series of hedge-hopping at
tacKs delivered by Col. Dallin from
many dlf1erent angles. A little later
divisional anti-aircraft gunners.
manning a 3-inch anti aircraft gun.
were given workout with blank
ammunition against circling planes.
1t. Gen. Hugh A. Drum, COM
mandlng general of the lst Army
and the I'd Corps Area, elevated
yesterday to the second highest
| rank in the American Army by an
act OF Congress providing this rank
for the commanders of the four field
armies, will arrive at Union Sta
ton in Washington, at 4:30 pm.
Friday. He will be given a military
escort to the headquarters of the
18th Division, where he and the
Governors of Maryland, Virginia
and Pennsylvania will be the guests