closely studied, are as interesting and impressive as those of the strictly combat elements. The Army numbers roughly 900,000 men in uniform. About 70% are volunteers; the other 30% were brought in by the operation of the Selective Service system. They include individuals of every social and educational stratum, who contribute the many different aptitudes and skills needed in the military service. Assisting the uniformed personnel are over 600,000 civilians, either directly hired by the Government or employed through contract agreements with foreign countries in our oversea commands. Officers and enlisted men of the Ready Reserve, not at the moment on extended active duty, number another million. This mass of personnel poses an enormous and continuing problem of training and education, the more SO because of the rapid turnover. Yearly the Army must give basic training to nearly 300,000 men, and continue unit training in its various organized elements. It operates a system of 35 schools, whose courses run from those intended for the lowest grade specialists to those providing for the intellectual and professional development of senior officers. About 500 courses are taught, and 140,000 students are graduated every year. Among them are military students from upwards of 50 foreign nations. To supply and equip itself, the Army must spend $5,000,000,000 a year in the United States alone-taxpayers' money poured back into our agriculture and industry. It procures, stocks, and distributes about a million different kinds of individual items. Its customers are scattered all over the world: uniformed and civilian personnel at home and overseas, reserve personnel, other military departments under the "single manager plan," our allies in the Mutual Assistance Program, and the American public in case of any local disaster. It operates 48 general depots with 100,000,000 square feet of storage space. In the item of food alone it buys three and a third billion pounds a year, at a cost of three-quarters of a billion dollars, and serves hundreds of millions of meals in its messes in accordance with scientifically devised master menus. It has a construction program running to hundreds of millions a year. It transports annually, by rail, truck, ship and air, millions of men, millions of tons of materials. It operates a worldwide radio and teletype net, which at the peak of World War II had a capacity of a hundred million words a day. In its posts and installations it provides housing and utilities, medical care, and shopping, educational, recreational, and religious facilities for hundreds of thousands of its members and their families. Finally, in scores of arsenals, research centers, laboratories, test centers, and civilian institutions, the technical services of the Army operate an unending program of research and development; creating, testing, and putting into production improved missiles, improved small arms and artillery, improved surveillance techniques, more effective applications of nuclear physics to both destructive and creative ends, and better devices and procedures in transportation, medicine, signal communications, and a long list of other fields. So much for the Army in its material and mechanical aspect. It is a vital aspect, for modern war is a war of machines. But behind the machine stands always the man; and, in the end, he is the most important element of all. In carrying out its tasks, the Army is committed to a set of principles by which it lives, and which are reflected 8 Taylor Report, pp. 5-6; italics mine. in its day-to-day leadership, training, and routine. For a summary of them I cannot do better than quote again from the Taylor Reports: "1. The Army is in the first line of defense of the United States. By its oversea deployments, it presents to the enemy the United States soldier as an initial obstacle to his aggression, covering the forward bases of the three Services. "2. The Army is the versatile member of the defense team, with a flexible system of weapons at its command. While possessing atomic weapons of great power, it retains the ability to vary the application of military force to the needs of the moment, to make "measured" rather than "mass" retaliation. "3. The Army is a progressive Service, looking ahead to the future. While respecting experience and avoiding fads, the Army concerns itself with the next war, not the last one. "4. The Army respects its civilian leadership, and traditionally abstains from any suspicion of involvement in politics. It respects the role of Congress, and responds quickly and accurately to the legitimate requests of its members. "5. The Army, by the nature of its requirements, attaches the greatest importance to human values. It recognizes man as the basic element of military strength. Hence, it works constantly to improve the moral, physical, and intellectual capacity of its men. It creates for them an environment of decent, clean living and of intolerance of vice, dissipation, or flabbiness. "6. In the Army, authority imposes its weight by the professional competence of its leaders rather than by the arbitrary or despotic methods of martinets. Second only to accomplishing his military mission, the officer's duty is to the welfare of his men. Rank is a badge of responsibility, not of privilege. "7. Because of the essentiality of its mission and the complexities of its tasks, the Army must have its share of the best manpower. It offers a worthwhile career for every talent. "8. The Army strives to get the most defense for the money from the resources provided to it. It spends its money prudently for the essentials of defense in accord with good business practices. It is constantly self-critical, trying on its own initiative to uncover inefficiency and malpractice. "9. The Active Army is aware of the importance of the civilian components and supports wholeheartedly the program to strengthen and improve them. It insists, however, on getting a fair return in efficiency and combat readi ness. "10. In its inter-Service relationships, the Army is a loyal member of the national defense team, resisting encroachments on its own legitimate responsibilities, but scrupulously avoiding trespass on those of the other Services. It is open-minded, and will listen to reason on any subject. "11. The Army does not forget its old soldiers after they retire. It remains interested in their welfare, and wants them to serve in their civilian communities as loyal, informed representatives of the Army." Such, in brief outline, are the nature, the missions, and the conceptual foundations of our Army. The purpose of this book is to describe them in detail, both in historical perspective and as they exist today. Washington, D. C. 1 October 1958. GORDON R. YOUNG Brig. Gen., U.S. Army Retired Chapter 1 THE COMBAT ARMS The combat arms (sometimes spoken of simply as "arms") are those branches of the Army whose primary task in war is to defeat the enemy, seize and hold ground. Today they are infantry, artillery, and armor. Army aviation, while not a separate arm in the strict sense, has become an indispensable adjunct to the Army. There have been other combat arms in the past, adapted to the weapons, tactics, and techniques then in vogue. For example, cavalry was until recently a major arm; It has ceased to exist in the sense of horse cavalry, although its name INFANTRY The infantry, assisted by other arms and services, insures final victory in war by completing the destruction of the enemy, seizing and holding land, and controlling the people thereon. Because of its mission-to close with and kill or capture the enemy-and its versatility, it is the fighting nucleus and ultimate arm of decision of the Army. It can move by land, sea, or air, arriving at its destination ready to fight; land by parachute; operate effectively in light or darkness under almost all climatic and atmospheric conditions; and overcome natural and manmade obstacles that stop other forces. Its ability to apply measured force, and its mobility and adaptability, insure the continued need for strong infantry in any conflict, whether atomic, nonatomic, local, or general. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. The First Regiment of Infantry was authorized by act of 3 March 1791; the Second, by act of 12 April 1808; the Third, our oldest regiment, by act of 3 June 1784. The number of regiments was fixed at seven by act of 2 March 1821, at which time they were all renumbered. The Eighth Regiment was added by act of 5 July 1838. Nine temporary regiments were authorized for the Mexican War and were later disbanded. The Ninth and Tenth Regiments were authorized by the act of 3 March 1855. The Eleventh to Nineteenth, inclusive, were confirmed by the act of 29 July 1861. Twenty-five regiments, the 20th to 45th, inclusive, were authorized by the act of 28 July 1866, four of them to be colored, and four others to be composed of those wounded in the line of duty and to constitute a Veteran Reserve Corps. These new regiments were formed by the expansion of battalions of the old regiments. Over the next fifty years there were other reorganizations and changes in the number of regiments. In 1866 the number of companies in a regiment was set at 10. In 1898 this was changed to give the regiment 2 battalions of 3 companies each, plus 2 skeleton or un manned companies. In 1917 the number of battalions was increased to 3 per regiment, of 4 companies each; 2 regiments constituted an infantry brigade, and 2 brigades, together with other troops, a division. Shortly before World War II the brigade was eliminated and the division reorganized on the "triangular" basis 3 battalions to a regiment and 3 regiments to a division. During and after World War II there were several changes in the authorized strength of the infantry division. In 1954 it stood at 17,452. Infantry divisional units were reorganized by directive of the Chief of Staff of the Army, dated 22 October 1956, under the pentagonal concept. This "reorganization of current infantry divisions" (ROCID) provided for replacement of the infantry regiment with the battle group, a combat unit smaller than the regiment but larger than the battalion, and consisting of 4 rifle companies and 1 mortar battery. There are 5 battle groups per infantry division. The division aggregate strength was reduced to 13,748; however, the "foxhole" strength of combat soldiers was materially increased. CAPABILITIES AND TACTICAL EMPLOYMENT. Infantry tactical doctrine emphasizes dispersion, combined with passive and active security measures, to minimize the effects of enemy use of atomic and other weapons. In the attack, speed, deception, rapid exploitation of atomic strikes, and sudden closing with the enemy are desired. The infantry, mechanized when feasible, strikes hard and fast toward deep objectives. Concentration is limited to the minimum necessary and is followed by rapid dispersion. In defense, dispersed units organize a very deep area, which consists of security echelons, forward positions, and blocking positions in depth. The enemy is stopped forward of the battle area, or is successively weakened and caused to concentrate so that counterattacking forces, supported by atomic and other fires, can complete his destruction. Modern infantry tactics demand great firepower and mobility (air and ground), dependable communications, and battlefield surveillance devices. Tactical capabilities for prolonged dismounted operations and nonatomic conflict necessarily are retained. AIRBORNE INFANTRY. The mission of the airborne infantry is to destroy enemy forces by offensive action involving airborne assault, fire, maneuver, and close combat. It can execute vertical envelopment operations by parachute drop or air landing, and can conduct all types of ground operations when augmented by additional combat and administrative units. During World War I, Winston Churchill and the late Brigadier General William (Billy) Mitchell tried unsuccessfully to promote the use of parachute troops. However, by 1927 many armies of the world had experimented in dropping equipment by parachute and in moving troops by aircraft. Some experiments in moving combat troops by glider had also been made before World War II. That war was the proving ground for the airborne theories of the warring nations. The Russians had dropped small units by parachute during their war with Finland, but the first major airborne assaults were made by the Germans in Crete and Holland. Our own airborne training started at Fort Benning (Ga.) with the formation of a test platoon on 5 July 1940. The experiment proved that troops could be delivered by parachute. On 2 October the 501st Parachute Battalion was activated. By mid-1941, plans had been made for the orderly but rapid expansion of our airborne forces. By October of that year three more parachute battalions had been activated and a provisional group headquarters established. The first air landing (glider as distinguished from parachute) units also were organized during the summer and fall of 1941; the 550th Airborne Battalion in the Panama Canal Zone and the 88th at Fort Benning. In February of 1942 four parachute regiments were activated, each to have as its nucleus one of the existing battalions. Air-landed (glider) units were to be expanded later. At this time the airborne division was viewed as a task force to be formed for a particular mission. Air transportation was to be assigned to elements of a normal infantry division, which would be reinforced by parachute or glider units. However, with parachute regiments and glider units constituted and parachute artillery batteries contemplated, the way was open for the activiation of larger units. In August 1942 the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions were created, each consisting of 2 parachute regiments and 1 glider regiment. The regiments were augmented by necessary combat and administrative-type units, all of which could be delivered by parachute or glider. By the end of the war a total of 5 airborne divisions and 1 airborne corps had been activated, as well as a number of separate parachute regimental combat teams. Training of paratroopers was started at Fort Benning in the spring of 1941, and the Parachute School was established there in May of 1942. At its peak, in 1944, it was qualifying 1,250 students per week. Today it is a department of the U. S. Army Infantry School. As of 1 July 1957, it had qualified almost 200,000 paratroopers and had conducted well over a million jumps. The successes of airborne troops in World War II and later in Korea, and the additional emphasis on air mobility (which is an inherent requirement of atomic warfare) has resulted in the retention of the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 11th, 82d, and 101st Airborne Divisions in our peacetime Army. However, to meet the demands of the atomic battlefield and better prepare airborne units for sustained combat, new organizational concepts have been instituted. The new "ROTAD" (Reorganization of the Airborne Division) airborne division has an aggregate strength of 11,486 officers and men. TRADITION AND ESPRIT DE CORPS. The colors and insignia of infantry units employ the principles and symbolism of heraldry that can be traced to the knights of the Middle Ages. Regimental colors bearing a coat of arms and crest today symbolize the location of the commander or headquarters of the unit. The shield and motto form the distinctive insignia of the soldiers of the unit. The basic organization of the infantry has always been the regiment, the principal repository of U.S. Army history and traditions. Continuation of the regiment as the "home outfit" of our line soldiers, even in the era of pentag as onal organizational concepts, was sured when the Secretary of the Army, on 24 January 1957, approved the Combat Arms Regimental System. This action designated 55 infantry regiments as parent regiments of Active Army combat units; 9 of them are airborne and 10 are armored. These parent regimental headquarters, assigned to permanent Continental United States (CONUS) locations, will maintain the regimental history and tradition; maintain records of members; perform personnel services for members; conduct regimental recruiting; supervise reserve personnel and units; and operate regimental training units adequate to provide personnel for all battle groups belonging to the regiment. Thus, the infantry soldier may always feel that he belongs to a regiment-one whose history and accomplishments will give him reason to feel proud. For further details see chapter 5. QUALIFICATIONS FOR ASSIGNMENT. The successful infantryman must be a well trained and highly versatile individual, physically able to stand up to the rigors of combat. Initial determination of his qualification is based on his physique; his aptitude for certain activities, as evidenced by tests; his previous military experience if any; his civilian skills, especially those which show that he has leadership; his teachability; and his own wishes. The infantry soldier must know- individual of Visual signals used by the infantry. How to read maps and air photographs (fundamentals). How to use a compass, and to make rough maps, sketches, and overlays. Field sanitation; first aid. How to recognize enemy personnel and equipment. These and others are skills that he needs to do his job. But first and last, he must be dedicated to his mission of closing with, and destroying, the enemy. QUALIFICATIONS FOR COMMISSION. An individual desiring to be commissioned as an officer in the infantry may, upon application, be considered provided he— |