Evening star., 1942-11-15

snaked through the brush to a camou-
|laged regimental CP on . hilltop half
|a mile away.
Meanwhile Signal Corps men had set
up an ingenious self propelled generator
to provide power. and the airplane radio
Immediately went into communication
with the base $50 miles away.
The regimental commander, getting
reports from his walkie -talkie men min
ute by minute, relayed his message
through the airplane radio to corps COM
mand scores of miles away. Clever and
versatile? Yes. And it was just routine
job for the Signal Corps.
Communication CenterS.
On purely ground force operations
communications center for each large
tactical unit is set up in truck carrying
complete phone and radio equipment.
Your new Army won't lack information.
In the last war the big communications
job was done by runners. Remember
Whittlesey and the Lost Battalion in the
Argonne? There won't be any more OF
that lack of communications while the
walkie- -talkie and Signal Corps persist
in front line jobs. And they do.
Runners may be killed or wounded.
Wire communica tions may be shelled out
of existence But there's always the radio
as last resort. Signal Corps uses them
all.
You can see how important all COM
munication branches are. But there's no
blatant attitude about the Signal Corps.
just as there isn't in the advanced dress
ing stations of the Medical Corps where
a shell might scream down and wipe out
a group of men any time. The Medical
Corps does a job, too Stretcher bearers
are important people in this mans Army.
where saving life is important.
An isolated battalion, cut off from sup
plies, and surrounded Theoretically by
the enemy, received ammunition, food.
gasoline and water dropped by parachute
from low flying airplanes. They had
signaled their plight by walkie-talkie
and their position was identified by white
panels, spread high on a Texas hilltop.
The Signal Corps arranged for that job.
There may be scme jobs like that during
the big push. somewhere in the world.
Just another routine assignment for the
men who keep communications open,
Combined Operations.
In the process of soundly whipping
o1aS,, nf Ayte
every arm of military power will be used,
OF these one of the most potent and
powerful striking forces. with the titanic
wallop Of a million triphammers, is
combined air force ground troop opera
ton. seizing terrain by air invasion, con-
solidating positions by air-borne forces
landing on enemy territory and organic
ing lines OF communication for forward
push Of ground forces from rear bases.
Germany did it In Norway, dropping
paratroopers in strategic spots to smooth
the way for ground force invasion. But
the classic example Of invasion from the
air was Crete, which was entirely an air
borne job.
Almost every civilian knows Uncle
Sam is building an air invasion force,
but few people know the vast scale on
which this force is being built. You see
these cocky paratroopers, insignia on
their overseas caps, trousers tucked into
high boots, swinging their way through
the crowds. But you don't see the way
infantry and artillery, medical units,
artillery complete with ammunition-all
components of an invasion force-can be
landed in enemy territory until you sec
the operation In full swing as saw It
In the Southwest The details and ex-
tent OF the operation stagger the imagi-
nation.
Air.Borne Armies.
Imagine, for instance. covering UNI
brella of protective friendly air attack
and bombardment planes many thou
sands in number covering an air-borne
operation $50 miles In length. The thun-
dering diapason Of mighty motors fills
the sky above the passage of numbering
troop transports speeding at 180 miles
an hour to dump ground forces on an
airfield.
Air protection needed is fantastic. It
numbers thousands of attack and bonn
bardment ships. "And even then We
could not insure complete control of
the air over the entire operational
distance at all times" says Maj. Beales
Ross of the Army Air Forces. Eve must
Continued on Page B-5)
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