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Vol . II . No . v 2 Feb . 1911W tt ( : 2 /S SPECIAL SERV ICEARMYTALKST he food G eneral

RestrictedARMY TADS is a classified official publication of the United States Army in the EuropeanThan it of Operation. The material contained herein may not be quoted or republished, inw~airor is part, nor may it be communicated, directly or indirectly, to persons not authorizedto receive it, except by authority of the Commanding General, ETOUSA.

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T AB L E O F . CO NTENT S

The Good General . . . . . . . . . . . :Supply Lines of the World . . . . . . 89Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Questions for the Discussion . . . . . . . . 16

A R M Y T A L KS :The PURPOSE of ARMY TALKS is to helpAmerican officers and enlisted personnel become betterinformed men andwomen and therefore better soldiers.ARMY TALKS are designed to stimulate discussion and thought, and,by their very nature, thus may often be controversial in content . They arenot to promote or to propagandize any particular causes, beliefs or theories.Rather, they drawupon all suitable sources for fact and comment, in the

American tradition, with each individual retaining his American right andheritage so far as his own opinion is concerned.THEREFORE, the statements and opinions expressed herein are notnecessarily' verified by, nor'-do they necessarily reflect the opinions of, theUnited States Army ;`THE SOURCE OF MATERIAL must therefore be made clear at each

discussion. Ail written material appearing in this publication has been writtenMid edited= by uniformed members of the Army and/or Navy, except wheres ated`tbat a civilian or other outside sourceisbeing quoted.

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ARMYcTALI{SEUROPEAN THEATER O F OPERATIONSTHE GOOD GENERAL

OMPARATIVELY few of you are Now, the first point that attracts meOMPARATIVELYC likely to become generals ; about that definition is the order inand all of you are likely to have which it is arranged . It begins with theopportunity to criticize generals . I matter of administration, which is theshould like your criticism to be as real crux of generalship, to my mind ;well informed as possible . Generalship, and places tactics, the handling ofand especially British generalship, has troops in battle, at the end of hishad a bad press_ since the late war. qualifications instead of at theI am not proposing to deliver to you beginning, where most people place it.an apologia for generals, but to explain Also it insists on practical sense andthe qualities necessary for a general and energy as two of the most importantthe conditions in which he has to qualifications ; while the list of theexercise his calling. many and contrasted qualities that ageneral must have rightly gives anAdm inistration Comes First impression of the great field of activitySocrates ' description of a general that generalship covers and the varietyreads as follows of the situations with which it has toThe general must know how to get deal, and the need for adaptability inhis men their rations and every other themake-up of a general.kind of stores needed for w ar . He

m ust have imagination to originate Robustness is Also Neededplans, pr actical sense and energy to But even this definition of Socratescarry them t hrough. He m ust be does not to my mind emphasize suffi-observant, untiring, shrewd ; kindly ciently what I hold to be the firstand cruel ; simp le . and cr afty ; " a essential of a general, the qualitywatchman and a robber ; lavish and of robustness, the ability to stand themiserly; generous and stingy ; rash and shock of war . Probably this factor didconservative . All those and many other not apply so much in Socrates ' time.qualities,natural People did notand acquired, he This issue of A RMY TALKS was then suffer frommust have . H e condensed f rom the book " Generals what is nowshould also, as and Generalship, " by Field Marshal elegantly knowna matter of Lord W avell, formerly commander of as " the jitters."British Forces in the Middle East,course, know his Com m anderinChief in India and I can perhapstactics ; for a now V iceroy of India. It is reproduced best explain whatdisorderly mob is by special permission of the I mean by roa v e l lno more an army family, and w as prepared by the bustness b y athan a heap of ARMY TALKS section for American physical illustra-troops in the European Theater ofbuilding m ate Operations. tion. I remem-rial is a house ber long ago,

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4when I was a very youn g officer,being told by a mountain gunner friendthat whenever in the old days a newdesign of mountain gun was submittedto the Artillery Committee, that augustbody had it taken to the top of a tower,some hundred feet high, and thencedropped on to the ground below. Ifit was still capable of functioning itwas given further trial ; if not, it wasrejected as flimsy . The . committeereasoned that mu les and tnountainguns might easily fall down the hillsideand must be made capable of survivingso trivial a misadventure . On similargrounds rifles and automatic weaponssubmitted to the Small Arms Committeeare, I believe, buried in mud for 48hours or so before being tested fortheir rapid firing qualities.

Ross R ifle Failed in 1918The necessity for such a test was very

aptly illustrated in the late war, whenthe original Canadian contingent arrivedin France armed with the Ross rifle, aweapon which had shown its superiorqualities in target shooting at theBisley range in peace . In the m ud ofthe trenches it was found to jam aftera very few rounds ; and after a shortexperience of the weapon under activeservice conditions the Canadian soldiersrefused to have anything to do with itand insisted on being armed with theBritish rifle.

Generals Get Similar TestBut it Lasts for W eeks

Now, the mind of the general in waris buried, not merely for 48 hours, butfor days and weeks, in the mud andsand of unreliable inform ation anduncertain factors, and may at any timereceive, from an unsuspected move ofthe enemy, an unforeseen accident, ora treacherous turn in the weather, abump equivalent to a drop of at leasta hundred feet on to something hard.

Delicate mechanism is of little use

ARMY TALKSin war ; and this applies to the mind ofthe commander as well as to his body ;to the spirit of an army as well as to theweapons and instruments with whichit is equipped . All material of war,including the gene ral, must have acertain solidity, a high margin over thenormal breaking strain.

The civil comparison to war must bethat of a game, a very rough and dirtygame, for which a robust body and mindare essential . The general is dealingwith men's lives, and m ust have acertain mental robustness to stand thestrain . How great that strain is youmay judge by the sudden deaths ofmany of the commanders of the latewar . When you read military historytake note of the failures due to lack ofthis quality of robustness.

Personal Courage TakesSecondary Place Today

I propose to say a few words aboutthe physical attributes of a generalcourage, health, and youth . Personalappearance we need not worry about :an imposing presence can be a mostuseful asset : but good generals, asthey say of good racehorses, " run inall shapes " Physical courage is not soessential a factor in reaching high rankas it was in the old days of closerangefighting, but it still is of very consider-able importance today .in determiningthe degree of risk a comm ander willtake to see for himself what is going on ;and in mechanized warfare we m ayagain see the general leading his troopsalmost in the front of the fighting, orpossibly reconnoitring and commandingfrom the air.

Casualty Rate Has A lteredAs an example of the extent to whichgenerals came under fire in the .old days

you m ay like to know that at Marl-borough ' s assault on the Schellenbergduring the Blenheim cam paign sixlieutenantgenerals were killed and

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5February 1911

five wounded in the Allied army, whilethe 1,500 British casualties at the actionincluded four majorgenerals and 28brigadiers, colonels or lieutenantcolonels.

Courage, physical and moral, ageneral undoubtedly must have.Voltaire Praises in Marlborough " thatcalm courage in the midst of tumult,that serenity of soul in danger, whichis the greatest gift of nature for com-mand ."Joffre's Calm Offset BlundersA later military writer, who hadno great admiration for Joffre, wascompelled to admit that his stolid calmand obstinate determination in thedarkest days of the retreat had aninfluence which offset many of thegrave strategical blunders which he

committed . Health in a general is, ofcourse, most important, but it is arelative quality only. We would all ofus, I imagine, sooner have Napoleonsick on our side than many of hisopponents whole . A great spirit canrule in a frail body, as Wolfe and othershave shown us . Marlborough duringhis great campaigns would have beenploughed by most modern medicalboards.

Both Young Old GeneralsHave Been Great LeadersAt exactly what age a general ceasesto be dangerous to the enemy and a

Don Juan to the other sex is not easy todetermine. Hann ibal, Alexander,Napoleon, Wellington, Wolfe, andothers may be quoted as proof that thehighest prizes of war are for the youngman . On the other hand, Julius Caesarand Cromwell began their serioussoldiering when well over the age of40 ; Marlborough was 61 at the time ofhis most admired maneuver, when heforced the Ne Plus Ultra lines ;Turenne' s last campaign at the age of63 is said to have been his boldest and

best. Moltke, the most competent ofthe moderns, made his name at the ageof 66 and confirmed his reputation at70. Roberts was 67 when he went outto South Africa after our first disastrousdefeats, and restored the situation bysurrounding the Boer Army at Paarde-burg and capturing Bloemfontein andPretoria . Foch at 67 still possessedenergy and vitality and great origin-ality . We must remember, in makingcomparisons with the past, that mendevelop later nowadays ; for instance,Wellington, Wolfe, Moore, Craufurdwere all commissioned at about the ageof 15, and some of them saw eryicesoon after joining.

Ageyouth ComparisonIs Impossible To MakeIt is impossible really to give exactvalues to the fire and boldness of youthas against the judgement and experience

of riper years ; if the mature mind stillhas the capacity to conceive and toabsorb new ideas, to withstand un-expected shocks, and to put into execu-tion bold and unorthodox designs, itssuperior knowledge and judgement willgive the advantage over youth At thesame time there is no doubt that a goodyoung general will usually beat a goodold one ; and the recent lowering ofage of our generals is undoubtedly astep in the right direction, even if itmay sometimes lose us prematurely agood commander . I don't think I needexpatiate for long on the moral qualitiesof a leader, No amount of study orlearning will make a man a leaderunless he has the natural qualities ofone.Leader Must Know What He Wants

He must have " character," whichsimply means that he knows what hewants and has the courage and deter-mination to get it He should have agenuine interest in, and a realknowledge of, humanity, the raw

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6

material of his trade ; and, most vitalof all, he must have what we call thefighting spirit, the will to win . Youall know and recognize it in sport,the man who plays his best when thingsare going badly, who has the power tocome back at you when apparentlybeaten, and who refuses to acknowledgedefeat . There is one other moralquality I would stress as the markof the really great commander asdistinguished from the ordinary general.He must have a spirit of adventure, atouch of the gam bler in him. AsNapoleon said : " If the art of warconsisted merely in not taking risksglory would be at the mercy of verymediocre talent "

Napoleon Demanded " Luck "Napoleon always asked if a generalwas " lucky." What he really meant

was, " W as he bold ? " A boldgeneral must be lucky, but no generalcan be lucky unless he is bold.The general who allows himself tobe bound and hampered by regulationss unlikely to win a battle.

SIIJIJIAR YThe first duty of a general .0

administration, knowing how " toget his men their rations and everyother kind of stores needed for war "Perhaps even more important is thequality of robustness, the abilityto absorb punishment . Phy sicalcourage of a personal nature is notso important as it once whs.What is the nearest equivalentof war ? W hat were the fightingyears of some of history's greatestgenerals ? W hat is the generalconclusion to be drawn in answerto the question : Is mature judge-m ent or y outhful enthusiasm the

m ore v aluable ? Ar e f ightinggenerals in t his w ar younger,or older than in the last ?

A R M Y T A L K SSo far we have dealt with the general 's

physical and moral makeup . Now forhis mental qualities . The mostimportant is what the French call lelens du praticable, and we call commonsense, knowledge of what is and whatis not possible . It must be based on areally sound k now ledge of the" mechanism of war, " i .e ., topography,movement, and supply . These are thereal foundations of military knowledge,not strategy and tactics as most peoplethink . It is the lack of this knowledgeof the principles and practice o fmilitary movement and administration the " logistics " of war, some peoplecall it w hich puts w hat w e callamateur strategists w rong, not theprinciples of strategy themselves, whichcan be apprehended in a very shorttime by any reasonable intelligence.

Books Stress Strategy,Ignore Administration

Unfortunately, in " most militarybooks strategy and tactics areemphasized at the . expense of theadministrative factors. For instance,there are to military students who cantell you how Blenheim was won forone who has any knowledge at all ofthe administrative preparations thatmade the march to Blenheim possible.There were months of administrativeplanning to make A llenby 's maneuverat the third battle of Gaza practicable.A gain, Marlborough's most admiredstratagem, the forcing of the Ne PlusUltra lines in 1711, w as one that achild could have thought of but thatprobably no other general could haveexecuted.

Thorough Planning SucceedsRoberts' s maneuver before Paarde-burg in 1900, Allenby' s at Gazabeer-sheba in 1917, were both variationsof the same very simple theme asMarlborough used in 1711 ; but again

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2 February 19-11

it required very intelligent and carefulpreparation to execute it. I shouldlike you always to bear in mind whenyou study military history or militaryevents the importance of this adminis-trtive factor, because it is where mostcritics and many generals go wrong.

In conclusion, I wonder if yourealize what a very complicatedbusiness this modem soldiering is.A commander today has now tolearn to handle air forces, armoredmechanical vehicles, antiaircraft artil-lery ; he has to consider the use ofgas and smoke, offensively anddefensively ; to know enough ofwireless to make proper use of it forcommunication ; to understand some-thing of . the art of camouflage, of thebusiness of propaganda ; to keephimself up to date in the developmentsof military engineering : all this inaddition to the more normal require-ments of his trade.Battlefields Completely Changed

On the battlefield, of course, con-ditions are completely different.Marlborough at Blenheim, after placingthe batteries himself and riding alonghis whole front, lunches on thebattlefield under cannon fire waitingfor his colleague Eugene on the rightflank, four miles away, a great distancefor those days . Napoleon at Austerlitzcan with his own eyes see the enemyexpose himself hopelessly and irre-trievably to the prepared counterstroke, and can judge the exact momentat which to launch it.

War a Confused MassOf Conflicting ReportsIn the conditions of the late war nobattalion commander launching hisreserve company had anything likesuch a clear picture of the situation

as any of these, while the Commander-iaChief was not on the battlefield atall, but sitting in an office many miles

back or restlessly pacing the garden ofa chateau waiting for news that seemednever to come, and when it came was.usually misleading.

So much for the past, now for thefuture. The re are new forces tohandle, both on the ground and in theair, with potentialities that are largelyunexplored . Some of them werepartially exploited in the late war,but have since been greatly improvedand extended, some have been onlyrecently developed, some are stillwholly untried. The commander withthe imaginationthe genius, in factto use the new forces may have hisname w ritten among the " greatcaptains " But he will not win thetitle lightly or easily ; consider for amoment the qualifications. he w illrequire.

Highspeed Units MoveAt Enormous DistancesOn the ground he w ill have tohandle forces moving at a speed andranging at a distance far exceedingthat of the most mobile cavalry of the

past ; a study of naval strategy andtactics as well as those of cavalry willbe essential to him. Some ideas onhis position in battle and the speed atwhich he must make his decisions maybe derived from the battle of Jutland ;not much from Salisbury Plain or theLong Valley . Needless to say, hemust be able to handle air forces withthe same knowledge as forces on land.

SUMMARYCommon sense is the most impor-

tant factor in the good gelteral'smakeup particularly as it has todo with administration, supply andm ovem ent of troops and theirequipment . Modern generalship isHighly complicated, requiring aknowledge of air forces, armoredunits and antiaircraft, to mentiononly a few m odern branches . It is the

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R ARMY TALKS 2 February 1944 8

Field Marshal Lord Wavell mak es it clear that, in his opinion, Socrates was on the righttrack when he cited, as the first duty of a general, that he know " how to get his men

their rations and every other kind of stores needed for war ."The above m ap, reprinted from an earlier issue of ARMY TALKS, graphically illustratesthe supply problem which must be faced by modern generals fighting this war .

The Stars and Stripes Mop by Fay

Note how the enemy is able to operate on short interior lines while the United Nationsmust transport arms, munitions and food from the " arsenal of Democracy " overextended sea-lanes to far-flung fighting areas.The first battle to be won was :the battle of the supply lines . With that victory in our grasp,we are now able to send men and equipment, in comparative safety, to every part of theworld where they are needed against the enemy .

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last test of a soldier's confidence inthe com m and and his pride inserv ice and sense of personalparticipation.W hat effect have long-range

weapons- had up on the ability ofmilitary leaders to control troopsin action ? Is there any connectionbetween the present-day problemsof generalship and the need for athorough know ledge of the causesand progress of the w ar on thepart of the m en in the ranks ?W hat are the two prnciple caresof the soldier, as outl ined byLord W avell ?

I will give you two simple rules whichevery general should observe : first,never try to do his own staff work ;and secondly, never let his staff getbetween him and his troops.

Staff Wants eliar Ord ers,Details -left Up to T hemW hat a staff appreciates is that it

should receive clear and definite in-structions, and then be left to work outthe details without interference . W hattroops and subordinate commanders.appreciate is that a general should beconstantly in personal contact w iththem, and should not see everythingsimply through the eyes of his staff.The less time a general spends in hisoffice and the more with his troops thebetter.

As to a general ' s relations with hissubordinate com manders, it is im-portant to him to know their character-istics : which must be held back and .which urged on, which can be trustedwith an independen t mission, andwhich m ust be kept under his owneye. Som e wan t very detailed andprecise orders, others merely a generalindication.

M any G enerals Fail AloneThere are many generals who are

excellent executive commanders . as

AitSIW 'I'AI .ICJlong as they are controlled by a highercommander, but who get out of theirdepth at once, and sometimes losetheir nerve, if given an independentcommand . Others are difficult subordi-nates, but may be trusted on their own.It is important not to get the two sortsmixed : in other w ords, a highercomm ander must be a good judge ofcharacter.

N ow to come to the general'srelations with the troops themselves.You will realize what a w ide subjectit is, and how impossible to dogmatizeabout .

Troops R eact DifferentlyThe ou tlook of the officer the

regimental officer differs naturallyfrom that of the men . And differentnationalities demand different treat-ment. " M es enfants " " My ch il-dren "says the Frenchman, and mayspeak of glory and the Fatherland ;" M en," says the Englishman on therare occasions when he feels called onto address h is troops collectively ;" Comrades," says the Soviet Russian ;the German commander of the futurewill perhaps cause a thrill of prideto run through the ranks with a cry of" Fellow Aryans . " But whatever thenationality, whatever the conditions,there remains the basic problem :What induces the m an to risk his lifebravely, and w hat is the gen eral'spart in fostering his endurance ? Noman w ants to die ; what causes himto face death ? Maybe hope of lootor glory, discipline and tradition,devotion to a cause or country, devotionto a man.

Loot and Glory NowAppeal to Very Few

Glory or loot appeals to few thesedays ; nor, indeed, is much glory orloot to be had . Decorations andpromotions count for something, butmay cause m uch heartburning (unless

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11February 1944carefully d istributed. Belief in acause may count for much, especiallyif fostered by mass propaganda ; yetthere is truth in the following from abook on the late war :

A man does not flee because he isf ighting in an unrighteous cause, hedoes not attack because his cause isjust ; he flees because he is the weaker,he conquers because he is the stronger,or because his leader has made himfeel the stronger.Soldiers Will AcceptSevere but Just CodeDevotion to a man has sometimes

inspired soldiers in the past. W ill itdo so again in the totalitarian countries?But tradition and discipline, anyway

as far as the B ritish are concerned,are the real root of the matter . I hav enot the time here to enter into anydiscussion on the subject of discipline ;I will only remark that with nationalarmiesas all armies, even the British,will be in a future war and generaleduc ation, discipline sho uld be adifferent matter from the old traditionalmilitary discipline.

Com fort Soldier's First NeedIt has changed greatly since I joined,

and ' is changing still . But whateverthe system, it is the general's businessto see justice done . The soldier doesnot mind a severe code provided it isadministered fairly and reasonably.As an instance, here is the verdict ofa private soldier on Craufurd in theretreat to Corunna : " If he floggedtwo, he saved hundreds from death ."Discipline apart, the soldier's chiefcares are : First, his personal comforti .e., regular rations, proper clothing,good billets, and pro per hosp italarrangeme nts (square m eals and asquare deal, in fact) ; and secondly,his personal safetyi .e ., that he shallbe , put into a fight w ith as goo d achance a s possible of victory andsurvival . Guns an d butter, in other

words. I t m ay be rem arked thatRussian morale in the late war brokethrough lack of guns, Germans largelythrough lack of butter.

Consideration W ins ConfidenceThe general who sees that the soldier

is well fed and looked after, and whoputs him into a good show and winsbattles, will naturally have his confi-dence. W hether he w ill also havehis affect ion is another s tory.Wellington was most meticulous abouthis administrative arrangem ents, andwas a m ost successful general whonever lost a battle . But he was certainlynot popular, though on one occasionsom e of his troops, put into a tightplace by a blunde r of one of hissubordinates, gave a spontaneous cheerat his arrival on the scene of action.

Men's Appreciation, Respectis Sufficient for G eneral

Bu t does it m atter to a generalwhether he has his men ' s affection solong as he has their confidence ?He must certainly never court popu-larity. If he ha s their apprec iationand respect it is sufficient. Efficiencyin a general his soldiers have a rightto expect ; geniality they are usuallyright .to suspect. M arlborough wasperhaps the only great general towhom geniality was always natural.

SUMMARYTwo rules for generalship : heshould never try to do his own staff

work, he should never let his staffget betw een him and his troops.Generals should k now the character-istics of their subordinates . Theless time he spends in his office andthe more with his troops the better.The conf idence of the m en w ill reposein the generaland the wholestructure of command if he is wellfed, w ell clothed and well lookedafter if he goes into battle with

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13February 1944memoirs, historical novels, such as" The Road to Glory " or " SchonbrunnGet at the flesh and blood of it, not theskeleton.

Napoleon's Greatness WasKnowledge of Human NatureNapoleon did not gain the positionhe did* so much by a study of rulesand strategy as by a profound know-ledge of human nature in war. A storyof him in his early days shows his

knowledge of psychology. W hen anartillery officer at the siege of Toulonhe built a battery in such an exposedposition that he was told he wouldnever find men to hold it . He put upa placard, " Ttie battery of menwithout fear," ' and it was alwaysmanned

Strictness a Leadership MaximHere are a few principles that seemto me to embody the practice ofsuccessful commanders in their rela-tions with their troops . A general mustkeep strict, though not necessarilystern, discipline. He should give praisewhere praise is due, ungrudgingly byword of mouth or written order. H eshould show himself as frequently aspossible to his troops, and as impres-sively as possible . Ceremony has itsuses . He should never indulge insarcasm, which is being clever at some-one else 's expense, andalways offends.He should tell his soldiers the truth,save when absolutely necessary toconceal plans, etc.

A general must drive his men attimes . Some of the best and mostsuccessful riders and horsemasters are'not those who are fondest of horses.A general may succeed for some timein persuading his superiors that he isa good commander : he will neverpersuade his army that he is a goodcomm ander unless he has the realqualities of one

No Interference a RuleThe relations of that great and wiseman Lincoln with his generals arewell worth study: Having after manytrials found a man whom he trusted in

Grant, he left him to fight hiscampaigns without interference. I amgoing to quote an extract from aletter written by Lincoln to one of hisgenerals which will, 'I think, show youhis quality . '

It was written to General Hooker,informing him that he had been placedin command of the Army of thePotomac during a critical period ofthe American Civil War . In it PresidentLincoln said :

T have placed you at the head ofthe Army of the Potomac. Of courseI have done this upon what "appearsto me sufficient reason, and yet I thinkit best for you to know that there aresom e" things in' regard to which I amnot quite satisfied with you. I believeyou to be a brave and skilful soldier,which, of course, I like. I also believeyou do not mix politics with yourprofession, in which you are right.Y ou have confidence in yourself, whichis a valuable, if not an indispensablequality . Y ou are ambitious, which,within reasonable . bounds, does goodrather than harm ; I think that duringGeneral Burnside's command of theA rmy you have taken counsel of yourambition .and thwarted him as muchas you could, in which you did a greatwrong to the country and to a mostmeritorious and honorable brotherofficer. I have heard, in such a way asto believe it, of y our recently sayingthat both the A rmy and, the Govern-ment needed a dictator. Of courseit was not for this, but in spite of it,that I have given you the command.Only those generals who gain successescan set up as : dictators. W hat I nowask of you is military success, and I

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15February 41944and shrewd soldier the connection will be there, regardless of the operationor form of duty . The chances are that you will be able to discover it . Theconnection would be less visible in a large headquarters than in a fighting zone.For as the author has stated, a good general never lets his staff get between himand his troops.

A word about the Author of the article is appropriate as he has becomeone of the foremost soldiers of his time . When the contents of this issue werefirst made public in addresses delivered at Cambridge University in 1939, GeneralSir Archibald Wavell was recognized as a distinguished officer among membersof his own profession, and was almost unheard of outside it . The fortunes ofwar altered his status, and he helped to mould history as CommanderinChief,Middle East, and later in 1941 as CommanderinChief, India . Now, as FieldMarshal Lord Wavell, he has been appointed the Viceroy of India.

Ihiterestingly enough the fame of these rather simple and unassuming wordshas soared to a place almost as remarkable as that of the author who wrote there.In its own sphere, Wavell's work has become a classic, and yet, like so manynotable works, appears upon scrutiny, quiet Ind disarmingly easy . It is theeasiness of a man as much at home with words as with weapons . No one who issoldiering today can fail to have a finer understanding of the profession he hasadopted after reading the text. And all of you who have been in active operationswill recognize at once the sure touch of a master.

In preparing. for the discussion it is suggested that the leader invite thecommanding officer, and if he is not available, the .highest ranking officer, tolead the discussion on this topic. Ask him to read ARMY TALKS and cometo the group ready to show the need for a mutual understanding and respectbetween officers and men . It might prove helpful to secure a number of pictures,sketches, or photographs of prominent generals of the present war and examine inwhat way each one filled the measure of being a good general, or where he failed,if he has failed . For example, the pictures of Generals Gamelin, De Gaulle,Rommel, Montgomery, MacArthur and Eisenhower would offer an interestingsurvey of accomplishment and defeat . Gamelin's, position has now becomehistory and represents a particular school of thought . Rommel has scored invictory and suffered in defeat . Montgomery has an enviable battle record .The other three Generals are at the high points of their careers. No matter howthe fortune of war has dealt with them, each one has made some contribution tothe art of warfare, and will find a niche in history .

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