Evening star., 1943-04-07
Fighting in Africa
Again Proves Worth
Of Rifle Infantry
Even Stop Axis Tanks;
Other Ground Branches
Quick.:With Tribute
BY HAROLD v. BOYLE.


Associated Press War Correspondent.
WITH THE AMERICAN FORCES
IN SOUTHERN TUNISIA.-The
American doughboy is back on his
pedestal.
The campaign in Tunisia has
shown the necessity Of having rifle
and mortar platoons, ary-arched
infantry of the World War variety
In both quality and quantity.
One of the surest signs that this Is
80 is the complete willingness of
other ground branches OF the Army
to pay tribute to the work of the in
fantry.
Tank men who drove to within IL
miles Of Tunis at the start of the
campaign say that if enough Allied
infantry had been available to con-
solidate and exploit their gains, the
fight in that sector would have been
over in a month.
Quickly Ask Help.
That may or may not have been
the case. At any rate, tank and ar
tillery units threatened with envelop-
ment by enemy troops are quick to
call for the support Of their own
doughboys.
The foot soldiers can go up cliffs
and crags that stop all wheeled We
hicles and he can pack enough fire.
power to make life withering for all
below him. He can, in Shakespeares
phrase, Laugh siege to scorn."
Artillery and aircraft may harass
but cannot dislodge him. Only the
bullets and bayonets Of rival rifle
men can do that. This was well il
lustrated in the Ousseltia Valley
campaign in January, when tanks
and artillery laid down one Of the
finest barrages Of the campaign but
couldn't rout Italians dug in like
moles in the hills bordering the road
to Kairouan.
The artillery fire was beautiful to
see, but they couldn't do the job
alone Finally, American infantry
swarmed up the hills at night and
flushed the Italians out in droves
with hand grenades and the pointed
persuasion of their bayonets.
EnectlVe Near FL Guetar.
At Kasserine Gap the infantry
saved the American right flank
from being enve,cped and left the
artillery and tanks free to meet and
break the main Axis drive down the
valley.
More precious still has been the
work of the infantry in the Ell
Guetar sector They have taken a
great many prisoners and mountain
positions which opened the Gabes
road for armored tnrusts toward the
coast.
Prisoners volunteered information
that they had placed their guns in
the hills in the expectation of break
ing up tank attack. but the in
fantry hit them first. They were all
but helpless, for their own infantry
was not there in numbers sufficient
to cope with the Americans.
They went in at night over
extremely rugged terrain carrying
mortars, extra bandoliers and
water" said one officer. I'm some
cases they got as far as 10 miles in
one night and worked around behind
enemy positions for a surprise at
tack at dawn. They captured many
guns intact, q rare feat for In
fantry. because any artillery battery
considers 1t disgrace to have its
guns captured in usable condition
and will blow them up themselves
rather than let them be taken"
Praising the infantrymen for their
speed In maneuver as well as the
resolution of their attack, a mill
tary observer who saw infantry ac-
ton In France, Spain, Libya, Syria
and Egypt said:
I've never seen better perform
ance by infantry troops anywhere
In the Army. It was their first
large-scale engagement with the
best troops that both the Germans
and Italians have to offer-panzers
and crack Italians-and they out
fought them all the way"
Even Stop Tanks.
On March % the same infantry,
aided by strong artillery fire and a
tank destroyer unit, broke up
German counterattack employing
100 tanks without the help OF
single American tank. The same
observer said
They had to let those tanks get
within IS to $50 yards to use their
rifle grenades successfully. They
did this while being subjected