Evening star., 1944-03-26
Victory Depends
On Americans
By OUen L. Scott.

By O,oen L. Scott.
1t is coming as rude shock to the
country to discover that there apparent
ly is to be no easy way to win the war
In Europe.
1 The idea persisted for a long time
that Russia and England, If given the
tools, could win the war. Then there was
the idea that Russia alone would win
through her successes on the eastern
'front.'. After that, Winston Churchill
held out the idea that bombing might
win the war. He insisted that the bomb
ing experiment be given full try. a.
Now it is quite evident that none of
these easy ways to victory is to succeed
alone or in combination.
Great Britain lacks the manpower to
utilize on land the weapons that the
United States can provide in such great
volume. The Russians are able to force
German armies to give up great amounts
OF conquered territory, but there is
nothing as yet to suggest that they win
succeed in destroying Germany's main
armies. The Germans themselves show
no evidence that they are to surrender
because of bombing
| A result of all of this is that an Ameri-
can Army of great size is to be called
| upon to win this war if it is to be won
decisively. Our Army must break into
Europe at some time in 1914 and must
then undertake to defeat the expert
enced armies that Hitler has at his
| command.
That fact explains why the Army is
| insisting that local draft boards at once
| make up a deficiency of 100000 men
| that they have permitted to develop.
| The selective service machinery per-
| mitted this lag in the draft on the theory
| that after all it would be an easy war
| in which such large numbers Of men
| probably were not needed.
Industry suddenly Is shocked to find
| that it must give up most of its skilled
| workers aged 25 and under. Farmers
| find that young workers on farms must
either meet higher production require
ments or face the draft. In the months
| ahead, even more stringent orders may
| go out to draw into service all physically
| III men dReQ uIlQeT 81.
1t now is apparent that the Army is
more interested in getting men than it
is in seeing that production records are
! broken each month. The war weapons
now are On hand. The next job is to use
them. If in the process of preparing to
use the available weapons, civilian in
dustry may be squeezed further or pro-
| I,,otiO,o IF 10
that price will be paid because it is
cheaper than the price of chance Of
failure due to too few men in combat
forces.
All Of this is part Of the shock of dis
llusionment that must accompany
realization that large American Army
actually is to be called upon to win the
| war.
At first the country sold itself on the
idea that small army, highly mechan-
lied, was the kind Of an army that would
win modern wars. The cry then was for
tanks and more tanks. The trouble,
however, is that counterweapons have
made the tank something less than the
decisive weapon the country thought 1t
was. Today an ordinary infantryman
with rifle must clear the way before
tank can venture through mine fields
and tank-destroyer forces.
Then the country became sold on the
airplane as a decisive weapon. Yet, in
Italy where American airplanes DOM
mate the air, the plane has failed to
prove a decisive weapon in actual COM
bat with ground forces. The difhculty,
in part, appears to be that war is not
fought according to union rules. The
plane can serve effectively as an aid to
ground troops only during certain hours
of the day and only when the weather
is right War, however, goes on at night
and in the fog and rain. Then, on top
Of that, it is discovered that before the
airplane can operate effectively, an or
dinary infantryman with a rifle must
take and hold fields from which planes
can fly. There also must be elaborate
provision for supplying these planes. e
Right now the shortage is not air.
planes or pilots or tanks or tank op-
orators or engineers or any of the spe-
cialists in warfare. Instead, the short-
age is in ordinary doughboys, in young,
hardened men with rifles who possess
the stamina to do the really hard jobs
of fighting on the ground.
1t is to make good that shortage that
the Army is insisting today that young
men be drafted out of industry and of
farms. This shortage forced the drastic
curtailment of Army college training
programs. These young men from in
dustry and farms will be trained largely
as infantrymen to help with the fight
ing that lies ahead. Now that the show
down battles of the war are approach
ing the emphasis is upon infantrymen
with rifles, not upon tanks, airplanes
and other more glamorous weapons Of
war. a.
The American Army that is to 60 into
Europe will be a large army and a pow,
erful one. Yet it is relatively untried in,
combat on the scale that lies ahead
Only few of its divisions have gained
experience by the fighting in North,
Africa and Italy. There has been moth
ing in the record of its tactical air force,
as contrasted with the strategic bombing
force, 20 suggest that it has anything,
revolutionary to offer. Some evidence
has developed, as the shooting down of
American planes by American guns IN
Sicily indicated, that the coordination.
between air forces and ground forces
leaves much to be desired.