INFANTRY “CANNOT BE REPLACED”

Southland Times, Issue 23376, 7 December 1937, Page 7

INFANTRY “CANNOT BE REPLACED”

TANKS AND PLANES AS AUXILIARIES ONLY

(Received December 6, 10.25 p.m.) WASHINGTON, December 5. The Chief of Staff of the United States Army (General Malin Craig) m his annual report stated that the wars in Spain and China had demonstrated that tanks and aviation were valuable auxiliaries to infantry, but for a decision in war “we must still look to the man on foot. New arms can aid him, but cannot replace him.” MECHANIZED WARFARE IN SPAIN BRITISH EXPERT DISCOUNTS VALUE OF TANKS LONDON, November 22. Major-General J. F. C. Fuller, one of the leading British authorities on mechanized warfare, in a letter to The Times largely discounts the value of the terms “mechanized” and “motorized” as employed by the Spanish belligerents. He points out that his observations on the battlefields have established the virtual impossibility of either side utilizing adeouately organized forces of this character.

Light tanks, because of their inherent limitations, were of doubtful value, the Italian, German, and Russian types being mere runabouts. There were no tank tactics. These machines were being used singly or scattered over wide areas in rough terrain, which hampered their mobility, which was only practicable on main roads. Every village was a fortress, secondary roads were unavailable, lorries were scarce, and light tanks in such country were like destroyers in a rough sea.

Their accommodation was so restricted that the inmates felt as if they were in a mobile coffin.