Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-04-28
New Army
Is Valiant but
III Equipped
Wars Can't Be Won With
Sample Artillery
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

-
(The opinions expressed by
General Johnson are his own
and not necessoriiy those of The
Detroit Times.)
GENERAL TWADDLE is re-
VI ported to have told con-
gressional committee that our
new army could fight tomorrow
if it had to fight. That is prob
ably, though not certainly, true.
1t may not be true because
even the bravest new soldiers,
if not expertly led and with a
good basic training, sometimes
suffer panic-as our raw militia
men in the unsuccessful defense
of Washington in the. War of
1912 did and as happened to the
Union army at the first battle OF
Manassas or Bull Run.
General Marshall says that
the morale of these new levies
is very high, which confirms
nearly all other observations.
That means that they are eager,
obey regulations well and COM
plain little.
General Marshall might have
added that. because of the Wig
orous standards of examinations.
this army is the very cream
SKINNED off the top of Ameri-
can youth. These men are a JOY
to observe.
IN THE necessity for basic
" training, methods of giving
that have been speeded up
greatly by the experiences of the
World War. These boys are
learning fast.
AS to troop leadership in COM
panies and platoons. it would be
a kind of miracle if this is as yet
very good. Younger reserve and
national guard officers usually
do not have a proper chance to
get more than a smatterlng or
get-rich-quick course Of train
ing, and a good army officers
Job is as much profession as a
doctors
Nevertheless. In this case also,
methods of intensive instruction
have been speeded and stream
lined. Furthermore the raw ma
terial here, in physique, ediica-
ton, appearance and outlook is
by far the best have ever seen.
DUT after considering all these
ID pros and cons and trying TO
give each its fair relative
weight. it is a little hard to see
how General Twaddle can say
that this army could fight to-
morrow if occasion required.
Sure it could fight and doubt
less would even if il had nothing
more than baseball bats and
Irish confetti. But if there Is
one outstanding lesson of this
war. it is that patriotism.
bravery and physical condition
alone are not enough.
AS this column has repeated.
probably ad nauseam, it is as
cruel to send brave men. not
similarly equipped, up against
modern motorized, mechanical,
armored land and aerial equip
ment as it would be to send
naked bow-and.arrow savages in
canoes out against a battleship.
DECENTLY in the New York
IL Times appeared an appar-
emily inspired news release on
American artillery.
If you read that piece, It
would be hard to escape the be-
lief that careful long-term plan
ming had kept our army abreast
of developments-for example in
the necessity, now proved. for
substituting 105-mm. howitzers
for World War 75-mm. rifles.
It just isn't true.
At the beginning of the pres
ent rearmament program, the
war department, admonished by
congressional action and attitude
not to expect substantial appro-
priations, recorded the facts of
the proved superiority of the
105-mm. howitZers but con-
tented itself with a very modest
request for money to recondition
old World War 75-mm. S, many
of which were sent abroad both
before and after Dunkirk and
some of which were doubtless
lost to Hitler.
l doubt whether this army
has more than a sample or two
- maybe five - 105-mm. how
tiers.
1 know that It hasn't more
than a few samples of such 81
ton tanks as were reported from
Greece has having, in German
hands, crushed British lighter
tanks like egg Shells
WHETHER in the air, on the
w ground, or in respect of guns
back of the front, our army has
no more than samples-much
less than enough to train these
splendid specimens of young
manhood-far more than much
less to enable them ito fight if
they have to do so."
With all our industrial re-
sources, TO send our American
boys into battle with less than
the best weapons that the SCI
onca IF armament has develoDed