Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-06-03
u. S. Panzers
Still Await
More Tanks
Gen. Marshall Tells Why
Amy Appears Slow
By PAUL MALLON

By PAUL MALLON
WASHINGTON, June 3
w Those uniformed souls who
believe Mr.. Roosevelt was not
sufficiently belliGerent in his
cooling-SyStemsidc chat. may
find out why if they Will look
up tho statement Of General
Marshall, chief OF staff, issued
May -. lie says his training
army is in the high school stage
AT present
General MarShaH'S frank dis
cuSSion may not have gained de-
served attention It dtd not
disclose al what he was shoot
ing. Actually he was aiming at
the charges Of Congressman
Ross Collins that he was ac-
cumulaung a mass army of men
IN preparation for a foe who IS
highly mechanical
Narshall'S answer. in essence,
is that he does not have the
equipment (mainly tankSl with
which TO start training a large
panzcr force or its equivalent.
Every soldier must learn the
hardening disciplinary methods
of an infantryman before he can
graduate into specialized war
fare methods. So while tanks
are being made be IS giving
them their high school training.
4" : PRODUCTION of mate
rieI catches up with our
development of the manpower
our army will contain a higher
percentage of mechanical units
than any other army" Marshall
said, although his figures showed
immediate and presumably
only tentative plans called fer
a total of eight aFmored divi-
Slons, whereas Hitler had 10 at
the break-through at Sedan.
The head of the United States
Army Is a man in whom even
the strongest critics of army
methods have sincere confidence
He is not known as a devotee of
the old army game of passing
the buck, game with which
the name Of the army has been
associated throughout history.
His statement clearly suggests
that if this countrys army
proves insufficient to meet de-
fenSive requirements in time,
the blame will be with strikers
and non producers who did not
give II the weapons in time.
low France fell in this same
IL pit has never been better
told than in a paper, in Circula-
ton among military men here,
by young French officer,
Robert Girard, now a student in
the Harvard school Of business
administration.
Girard was in a mechanical
suicide squad of $50 Frenchmen
who volunteered 10 cover the re-
treat 100 were killed, 30
wounded. so taken prisoner.
only II came back). He is not
guessing how The Germans did
II. He was there, and writes
uncenSorcd.
Instead OF the popular con-
Ceptlon of masses OF tanks roll
ing IN waves, Lieutenant Girard
saw them coming as thin single
columns, stabbing like needles,
long columns of about 80 me-
dium-Sized tanks (of which we
have nonc), 10 light tanks, SO
nm. artillery guns. 90 miles or
more ahead of the German
troops.
CIRARD'S sui d Q squad
" started out with 10 tanks,
which got - Of the Germans
before they were all lost in the
fighting Once he lay low IN
the woods with the remnants of
his force, watching single lines
of armorcd NaZi divisions COM
ing in such continuous file he
was unable to escape across the
road all day long
This he calls a war by inGltra-
ton. He found the now AZ nm.
anti-tank guns and = MN. field
artillery effective. but they could
not be used long because their
crows were exposed.
Big bitches Will never stop
tanks. he says. unless YOU build
big bitches all around your coun-
try. The best TO start, he thinks.
is 10 get bigger tank forces. The
big armor-plerclng guns should
be in these tanks where the gun
ners are better protected.
EIFTlf ColumniStS Lieutenant
Il Girard saw them at work.
one afternoon his commanding
captain received a visit from a
major who said IL French tanks
would be passing along the road
~ twilight These could be dis
tinguiShcd by a white flag wav-
Ing from the turrctS They were