NOT SO TOUGH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23968, 19 May 1941, Page 8

NOT SO TOUGH

GERMAN SOLDIERS EXPLOSION OF WAR MYTH

AUSTRALIANS' EXPERIENCES ] SYDNEY, May 17 , Now there has been time to compare notes on the Greek campaign, one ot tho most striking facts to emerge is the • surprisingly low calibre of the German infantryman, says the war correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald in , a despatch from Cairo. j Australian soldiers who have fought > the Germans in conditions most favourable to the enemy unanimously endorse . tho opinion of a Greek colonel, who said: "Once you get a German out < of a tank he is no better than a chauffeur." Bewildered by Opposition The German soldier's reputation for toughness apparently has been one .of the most decisive factors in the blitzkreigs which have overwhelmed country after country, but at no time during ( the Greek "show" did Anzac troops find anything to support this reputation. On the contrary they found that, while German infantrymen came on steadily enough when supported by tanks, on which they quite evidently had been trained to rely, once. they had been deprived of the protection ot tanks they seemed to become bewildered and shaken when they encountered determined opposition and heavy fire. _ . German prisoners wearing decorations won in Poland and Norway obviously were sincere in saving they had not met previously anything like the Australian troops. Indeed, it does the German Army little credit that our small expeditionary iorce was able to withdraw successfully. Not "Death or Glory Boys" Australian soldiers who. before meet- j ing the Germans, expected their infantry to be rugged fighters, were surprised to find that the prisoners taken were unexpectedly youthful and not particularly self-reliant. . Anzaes who fought in Prance in the last war say that the Germans they encountered in Greece did not match up to the Imperial German Army. The veterans add that one feature is common to the old and the new German Army—once th?ir leaders are killed the soldiers apparently arc unable to act on their own initiative. One interesting feature on which many officers and men commented is that the much-vaunted German "suicide troops," such as commandos and parachutists, are by no means —as one private put it —"death or glory boys." On the contrary, their tactics were to inflict as much damage and create as much confusion as possible, and then, when attacked bv any considerable; force, to surrender at once. Surrender When Pressed An example of this was the German commando which launched a surprise attack on a small party of Australians embarking at Kalamata. .This commando was armed, in addition to the usual repeating weapons such as machine-guns and "tommy" guns, with one 60-pounder cannon. It opened a heavy fire and did some damage. An Australian officer hastily assembled a little group of soldiers and rushed the Gorman position with the bayonet The Germans turned a very heavv fire on the attacks, but when the bayonets got close the German commander waved a white handkerchief and the entire commando surrendered — much to the fury of the Australians. Parachutists were used very rarely. The enemy made more effective use of commandos heavilv-armed. self-con-tained bodies of picked troops, whose job was to infiltrate our lines and do what damage they could in the rear and to lines of communication. Best Types Concentrated Discussing the comparatively poor quality of the averaga German infantryman. senior Australian Imperial Force officers said this was probably due to the "milking'' of the Army of the best types for such corps d'elite as the Air Force, Panzer divisions, and special | troops like the S.S. (Schutzstaffel—-black-uniformed Nazi Guards). They contend that this view is supported by tho fact that, while German infantry prisoners arc unimpressive, captured German pilots generally are fine types of fighting men. '•'lf this campaign has done nothing else," commented one colonel, "it at least has exploded a lot of myths about the German soldiery. Our men's confidence in themselves, which is just another way of saying morale, is now reinforced bv the knowledge that man for man they are superior to their enemy. All we ask is a chance to have a go at them on more or less even terms."