The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-08-23


least 1,400 enemy troops were esti-
mated to have been stationed on
that beach.
Blasted From AGRA
They simply were blasted out OF
| the area. Prisoners with whom /
talked said it would have been sui
cidal to stick by their posts through
the blistering 10-minute lombard
mcnt from our cruisers, destroyers
and small boats which preceded the
landing. Reports from other beaches
told the same story.
Military observers are inclined to
disqualify as an Axis propaganda
plant" the idea that Europe's en-
tire coastline from the Dardanelles
to the Arctic Circle has been forti-
fled with great mazes of barbed
wire, hidden mines, long range guns,
sWarms of fighter planes, thousands
of concrete pillboXes and a half
dozen varieties OF secret weapons.
They don't question that Europe
Is well defended, but they expect
and probably know for fact on
the basis OF intelligence informa-
tion-that it's defenses vary in di-
rect relationship to Axis ideas on
the fitness or each beach for an
Allied landing.
Axis Mistaken
The Sicily invasion proved how
wrong such Axis ideas can be. AT
Scoglitti, for instance; Italian pris-
oners said the beach mad been for
titled relatively lightly because
there were no good road outlets to
the interior and no good harbor in
the vicinity.
The Allies simply weren't sup
posed 10 land there. The enemy I'M
questionably has the same attitude
toward scores OF usuable European
beaches.
We can be sure the Allies won't
strike where there are long grange
guns, for instance, which cannot
be wiped out by paratroopers OF
naval gunfire. They won't strike
without unquestioned control OIL
the skies. And we can he sure they
will try to strike where the enemy
least expects us.
Another axiom OF amphibious
warfare is the strategy OF landing
in enough places TO force the en-
envy to disperse his defending
troops.
The landings which won't sue
coed, If there are any. will be costly
Transports will be sunk. Thousands
Of lives may be lost. They will be
the landings at beaches where the
enemy outguessed us. where we
were unable to knock out shore
defenses and where the enemy had
at least temporary air superiority.
If that happens, the tragedy
must be balanced against the over
all gain. Wars are like that.
Not much can be said until after
the war of the tactical phases OF
amphibious warfare - how the as
sault units are organized. how they
are armed, how they effect their
attack, how the various parts of an
amphibious forces are coordinated
and what new weapons have been
developed.
But the basic idea is to balance
an American doughboy with a
tommygun against every Axis SOL
der with rifle.
Air power is used, as in Sicily. to
knock out enemy communications
and reserve concentrations = by So
called strategic bombing"-and to
provide direct support for the land
ing forces by protecting them from
enemy air attack and by bombing
strong points Of enemy resistance
on the ground
Each Team a Unit
The basic units of an amphibi-
Gus force. the landing teams" rep
resent an approach to the ultimate
in simplicity. Each Is totally indie
pendent, like a miniature army in
itself, carrying all the weapons
equipment and supplies it will need
for the expected duration of the
initial assault. Any one team thus
can be knocked out without dis
rupting any other part Of the force
| Each man In the team Is highly