The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-10-22


 assignments.
 They are It. Gen. Hugh Drum, 62. co of the First Army with headquarters in New York City; Lt.-Gen. Ben Lear, @, co of the Second Army, with headquarters in Memphis; and Lt.-Gen. John l.. Dewitt, 6l, co of the Fourth Army, on the West Coast.
 No immediate change is con. templated in the command of the Third Army, headed by tough- jaWed Lt.-Gen. Walter Krueger, 60, with headquarters in San An tonio.
 AS In the case of the hundreds of other officers busted or shifted the three Acknowledgements will be replaced chiefly on the basis of their showing in the field ma neuvers this year. Those directed by Drum are still in progress, but there has been a lot wanting IT, the caliber of leadership so far displayed.
 Drum, Lear and Dewitt are able
 The three army commanders will be succeeded by younger men with greater tactical ability. organizers and trainers. Generally they have done a good job in whipping their new armies of citizen soldiers Into shape. The troops are far more fit and better trained than the AEF was when 1t went to France.
 But the need now is for corrl- manders with outstanding tactical skill who can lead large armies in the field. That's the next ii1l- portant requirement. of army train ing--as the maneuvers and war games conclusively demonstrated.
 Of the four army commanders, Kreuger displayed the best tac- tlcaI skill. Much of this was due Co his brilliant staff, but he Is given high credit for surround ing himself with such crack ns- sistants. Since the Louisiana war games, Kreuger has added another tactical ace to his staff, Lt..C,ol. Al Grunther, as deputy chief of staff.
 NOTE U Like General George Marehall, chief of staff Of the army, nine of the four COS are West Pointers. They all entered the Army from civil life during the spanish- American war and were commissioned as second lieu- tenants.
 BRITTsH-FRENCH CLASH
 British and French forces have clashed on American soil the last few days, but news of the eii- counter has not leaked out ge1i- orally.
 However, there was nothing see cret about the battle. Iil fact, 1t occurred in broad daylight and was witnessed by a big crowd.
 The clash occurred between men on the Free French submarine, surcouf, lying in the harbor of Porthmouth, N. H., and the crew. of two British submarines in the same harbor. Actual scene of the encounter was the playing fields of the Phillips Exeter Aca- deny, about fifteen miles from Porthmouth.
 The French wore green shirts, while the British were dressed in blue. Length of the encounter was an hour and a half, divided into two 45-minute halves, with 8 fifteen minute intermission.
 I'm short, the sailors of the French submarine played sOc~ cer match with the sailors of the British submarines, and the re- suit was tie, 2-2!
 AMERICA FIRST BOLSTER
 It's c good odds bet that a prominent member of the Amer lea First Committee will resign soon.
 He is Louis Taber, aggressive, white -thatched head of the na- tlon's largest farm organization, the National Grange.
 Taber joined the Committee be- lieving sincerely in its professed aim of keeping the United States cut os war;" but now frankly ad- mits he made a mistake and has been listening attentively to inti- mates who have been urging him to get out.
 Though he isn't saying so pub~ Ilnly. Taher strongly iasagrees with M4NMmw&s& Net@M84s af@s4@ ssNN&t#sN* MS34s