EXPERT ON TANKS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25625, 28 August 1944, Page 6

EXPERT ON TANKS

LEADER OF NEW INVASION ADMIRATION FOR BRITISH LONDON, Aug. 16. General Jacob Loucks Devers—pronounced Deevers—who commands the Mediterranean invasion army, is recognised as the greatest American exponent of tank warfare, and an expert organiser and administrator. He is 57, of Irish-Dutch descent, six feet tall, close-cropped, and clean-shaven. His troops consider him a “ tough guy and “go-getter.” "But his normal greeting is a smile, said a United States officer who served under him. American troops in England welcomed his appointment as commander of the United States forces in the European theatre in May, 1943. Last December he was appointed commander of the American forces and deputy to General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson in the Mediterranean theatre. He is nicknamed "Jakie." On his appointment, to his new command, he told his troops he wanted action, not reports, especially “ lazy reports” He rather startled his personnel bv stating: “ I’ve got a good army, but it has to be better.” Devers is tredited with ending the rivalry between the cavalry ana _ infantry for control of the American armoured force. He convinced the men of the older service branches, including hardened “ blimps,” that it was their duty to look upon the mechanised regiments to which they had been transferred as an entirely new branch of the army. He told them: “Think tanks, breathe tanks, and live tanks.” British troops under him know they have a commander full of admiration for the Tommy. “I have not seen healthier-looking soldiers than the British,” he once said. “They are battle-hardened, neat in appearance, and mentally alert.”