SECTION V HINTS ON THE HEINIE
Reading edition
Reverse Slope Tactics Second Lieutenant S. W. Malkin, Infantry, Platoon Leader, Sicily: “Enemy machine guns, mortars, and automatic rifles were located on the reverse side of the hills so as to catch our advancing infantry as they came over the skyline.”
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Don’t Gawk! Private George Scott, Infantry, Sicily: “Several times German planes pretended that they were involved in a dog-fight to secure the attention of the ground troops. Then they swooped down in a strafing run.”
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Traps and Mines Private First Class Edward Borycz, Infantry, Sicily: “The enemy abandoned his tanks with motor running. When we tried to stop the motors they blew up.
“The Germans would put a mine in a road with another mine a sufficient depth under it so that it would not be seen if the top mine were removed. For a while our sappers did not run the mine detector over the area again where the first mine had been found. But after the dirt became packed down sufficiently by traffic, the second mine would go off.”
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Minor Tactics Staff Sergeants Richard E. Deland and Robert J. Kemp, Infantry, Sicily: “Never let an apparently lone machine gun suck you into a trap. The Germans will usually not fire on the individual but will wait, watch where he goes, and get a whole flock.
“Germans always approach their positions from the end and under cover so as not to give them away.
“In the counterattack the Jerry machine gun is always well forward. German weapons are faster but are less accurate than ours; they scare you more than they hurt you. The German 81mm mortar is the worst goat-grabber; it gives you no notice when it is coming in.
“Germans use tanks to maneuver and fire from a distance in attack. When the going gets hot they pull the tanks in and, after a minute, bring them out again.”
Typical Attack and Withdrawal Lieutenant Colonel P. H. Perkins, Tank Battalion Commander, Italy: “The standard German attack here consists of three or four tanks in line in the lead. They are followed by infantry in trucks at four to five hundred yards. The rest of the tanks follow the infantry. When fire is drawn the infantry dismounts. The leading tanks mill about, fire, and withdraw. We have never seen the reserve tanks committed.
“In their withdrawals the Germans use tanks to good advantage. They do not have to contend with mines and blown bridges. Their tanks fire a few shots and withdraw, then move up again, fire a few more shots and withdraw, and so on.”
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Rearguard Action Lieutenant Colonel Taylor, Infantry, Battalion Commander, Italy: “My experience has been that we first meet two armored vehicles which open fire for a few minutes with everything they have on the first man of ours they see; they then withdraw rapidly down the road.
“Next we hit their outpost, which, I estimate, consists of about two squads. This outpost, protecting the road, has groups on the sides of the mountains on the flanks. It takes four to six hours to drive this outpost in due to its fine observation over us and the difficulties of maneuver.”
COMMENT: It should be remembered that this is the experience of one battalion commander in one theater.
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1944