The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-10-15
COASTAL FORT
 PRACTICESRAID
 BY COMMANDOS
BL THOMAS ". BYNuM. IT..

BL THOMAS w. BYNUM, Jr. United Press Staff Correspondent
 Fort Monroe, Va.-(UPl-Rifies cracked, machlne-gunS chattered and mortars spat. Mined" areas exploded with devastating force and planes roared overhead drop- ping first "parachutists" and then "incindiary" and demolition" bombs and returned to strafe.
 Out of the concealing pillows of smoke screen attacking commar- dos poured forth in a surprise as- sault, deadly intent on, smashing vital shore installations.
 For an hour this U. s. coast artil- lary post could have been small portion of the French coast on the receiving end of the hit-arld-with- draw commando tactics. But in this instance 1t was raid by forces stimulating Axis units employing United Nations developed warfare in blow on United States soil dur ing commando field maneuvers at this historic old fort.
 Fort Held By Small Force
 The situation presented in the full-dress problem assumed that the Axis powers were in possession of the British Isles and had Vestab- lished naval superiority in the At- lantic. A major attack had been launched against the Chesapeak Bay area and Axis forces already had entered the bay and landed at various beaches and isolated Fort Story across Hampton Roads from Monroe. Coast defense batteries at Fort Monroe had been put out of action and Axis troops had landed and were in possession of greater portion of the fort. The area inside the old forts moat, however, Is held by a small holding force and 8 few troops manning the sector com- mand post, radio stations and sig nal station. It was the design of the "enemy" commandos to render those installations more vulnerable to capture which was necessary be- fore the invaders" could consoli- date their positions.
 In action that lent a grim and realistic touch to the field problem, the commandoS on a pre-arranged signal began their drive. They inched foreward to the outer para pets of the moat under a heavy protective covering of fire by flank supporters.
 The planes skinned over the assault point pounding the de- lenders beachhead with simulated incendiaries and demolition bombs. and strafing. Under this wall of protection and heavy smoke screens from burning chemical pots pulled on rafts in the water of the moat and others earlier hidden at stra- tegic parts of the meats walls, the commandos decended the outer parapet on cargo nets.
 Raiders Climb Parapet
 They crossed the 100-foot width of the moat quickly and with few casualties despite the exploding mined areas (dynamite charg:s) and continuous barrage of fire from the fort. The raiders swarmed over the inner parapets by means of other cargo nets secured on the wall by purported parachutists dropped by plane when the drive was launched. Inside the ramparts the commandos dispatched units to destroy or gain control of their ob- jectives.
 Overwhelming numbers forced back the defenders despite stiff re- sistance and accurate fire of snip- CTS who wrecked havoc among the invaders, and the radio stations and signal station fell into the hands of the attackers.
 But an excellently executed de- laying action of retreating move ments plus last-ditch stand by the holding force at sector head quarters resulted in a different ending than that planned for the problem. Instead of knocking out their obtectives and returning to their base, the commandos were brought to 8 standstill within 8 hundred yards of the vital com- mand post and the maneuver pe- riod ended with headquarters still in the hands of the defenders.