The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-09-06
Best Tank Troops Develop ''Nose for Mud'- Y Greatest Enemy of The Iron Cavalry
DEVELOP "FEEL" FOR DREADED
 "GUMBO" TRAPS
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By RALPH MARTIN (NEA Special Correspondent

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 WITH THE THIRD ARMY IN LOUISIANA, Sept. 6--Arnly tank men hate mud with Q fervent in- tensity that is unequaled.
 Take @ cussword--take any newly coined cussword--and if 1t is blis- teringly and sincerely expressive then the odds are that some sweat ing, pestered tank-man in the sloth- cry "gurnho mud" of west, Louisiana manufactured 1t.
 Mud is the tanks greatest nat ural enemy. Sun-roasted, experi- enced tankers say that even the new light, 13-ton tanks can ride down trees 14 inches in diameter They can wallow up steep inclines at A5 degree angles. They can ford streams as deep as feet and . inches--if the bottom is reasonably solid. They can crush through thickets and blast through frame houses. Tanks can gather their multiple feet under them and scale concrete obstacles and they can sprint across open stretches at 66 miles per hour. The medium and heavy tanks can outdo even most of this.
 But really bad mud stops them ell.
 And once e tank is inmobilized 1t is forse than useless-it Is fair game for anti-tank guns.
 TANKERs MUST DEVELOP
 FEEL" FOR TERRAIN
 The big-scale war maneuvers in west Louisiana and east Texas, con- centrating half a million troops for the biggest peacetime war naneuver ever staged on this continent, has two objectives for tankmen;
 Tn the simulated combat of un- controlled war games the tankerS and warplane aviators will get in- tenslve training in close coordina- ton, developing the steel spearhead of the vital "break. through" force.
 But development of mud in- stifict" among the tank-men is equally important.
 The leSrd c. 1T. e. Tank Bat- talion, federalized National Guard companies from Texas, Alabama, and Georgia, for instance, has been gcrImmaging in preliminary exer- cises, designed to develop an in. stlnctive "feel for terrain"
 OfIicers of this crack combat force have noted that c few tank-rnen have 0 queer instinct for nosing out uueasy ground. The instinct is akin to the "feel" outline steamboat pilotn had for ferreting out treach- erouE shoal waters, enabling them to gnide c safe but zig-zag course through deep channels. The answer to the mud menace is ot learn to detect and avoid it.
 The men who can do this make tank-drivers and tank command CTS.
 The average rookie trains for four months before he becomes a seasoned tanker. A few recruits take to the tank service with irs stinctiye ease-others can never develop the knack and are shifted to the administrative unit or else- where. It is required that every man in the tank be able to drive the battle wagon in case Of emer- gency. ARMY'S "STEEL INVERTEBRATES"
 Tho main requirement. Is 8 love of machinery. Ofiicers of a tank battalion wear grins on their faces when they see their young tankers lovingly grooming their "steel sweethearts" during off-hours. It is believed that the armored cavalry men are developing the same afiec. ton for their marvellous steel centipedes as the traditional love borne by horse cavalrymen for their steeds.
 It requires top-crust physical stamina also to take hours- -on-end of the bruising battering that even "crash helmets" cannot altogether fend of. The hellish roar Of the radial, airplane type diesel or gaso- line motors is nerve wracking. The odor of hot luhricating oil makes many men "tank-sick"--and the heat Is ovenlike.