"the that fear of killing"
This is a question that has always interested me. I have read "Slam" Marshall, who wrote on this subject, and I have read about him.
When you read books by successful combat leaders, who have commanded right down at the sharp end, they will usually mention that they want a combat unit composed of farm boys who had done a lot of hunting and camping. A polite way of saying that they like to command hillbillies in combat, who have lived "rough". The meaner, the better.
On the other end of it, It was a German Colonel, named Piper, I believe, who credited the German loss of momentum at the "Battle of the Bulge" to "those damn engineers"; the American combat engineering battalions who were part of the 5th and 7th corps of the US Army, and fought well. This has been credited to the higher intelligence of the GI's in those units. You had to do well on the test scores to get in them.
One of the US Armys' objection to the Paratroop units was the high score needed to get in them, which took men away from regular units who would have made good Officers and NCOs. But, it made for very effective combat units. |
