Do Something, Even if it's Wrong

WW2 recruiting image.

In our basic infantry training it was constantly drilled into us that we should "do something, even if it's wrong". This rule applied, no matter what the situation or circumstance. The rule was intended to emphasize that it was better to do the wrong thing than to do nothing. Doing nothing when confronted by the enemy was the worse thing possible. Even doing the wrong thing might turn out to be the best thing, because the enemy would not be expecting it.

This episode is about the time that an officer seized upon a golden opportunity to demonstrate this point to us.

We were in the hand grenade-throwing phase of our training. We had been drilled in the proper way to throw grenades, but using dummy grenades. Now we were at the hand grenade range for our first experience in throwing real, live, grenades.

They were running one squad at a time through the training procedure. There were a total of twelve men in a rifle squad. So, for safety, there were thirteen foxholes previously prepared for participants to jump into after the grenades were thrown. Twelve holes were in a line, one for each man in the squad. One hole for the Range Officer was located to the right of the enlisted men's line of holes. It was also a few feet in front of the enlisted men's line of holes so that he could observe each man to see if he was using the "proper" technique and "form". Under the procedure, all twelve grenades would be thrown simultaneously.

The procedure required four specific commands from the Range Officer. They were:

1. "Stand". At this command, every soldier was to take up his throwing stance that called for both hands to be in front of the thrower and below his waist. The grenade must be in the throwing hand with the safety lever against the palm. (If the fingers hold the safety lever, it could be accidentally released prematurely if the thrower relaxed his grip on the grenade.) The ring that is attached to the safety pin must be well in the grasp of the index finger of the non-throwing hand.
2. "Pull pin". At this command, the soldier simply pulled the safety pin and remained motionless with both hands still below the waist while the Range Officer checked each man to determined that his pin had been properly pulled, and that the soldier was still maintaining proper form.
3. "Prepare to throw". At this command, the soldier must bring his throwing arm up and behind him in the proper manner. The non-throwing arm must be extended horizontally and pointing at the intended target, and with the fingers also extended. The soldier must hold this pose while the Range Officer checked each man for proper form and technique.
4. "Throw". At this command, the soldiers finally get to throw their grenades simultaneously and jump into their foxholes for protection. At this point, the Range Officer also jumps into the hole prepared for him.

When my squad was having its turn at demonstrating its throwing skill, we only got as far as the "Pull pin" command. After pulling the pin on his grenade, one of the soldiers lost confidence in the safety provided by the safety lever. He promptly threw his grenade. When the grenade is thrown, or released, the safety lever flies off, permitting the firing mechanism to strike a percussion cap, which in turn, ignites the fuse. At this point the grenade will explode in five seconds.

When the percussion cap is struck, it makes the same sound as a cap pistol. Hearing the cap pistol crack of the other soldier's grenade, the rest of us immediately threw our grenades and leapt into our holes without awaiting further orders from the Range Officer. The first grenade exploded, and two seconds later, eleven more exploded almost as one.

When I, and the other soldiers, raised our heads above the ground, there stood the Range Officer outside his hole. He had not moved. Not expecting what happened, he was caught off guard and had done nothing. By some miracle he had not been hit by one of the fragments from the twelve grenades.

I saw this incident as an excellent example of the "Do something, even if it's wrong" rule. The eleven soldiers, who threw the grenades after hearing the firing cap of the first grenade, did what was wrong under the range procedures, but were much safer than the Officer who did nothing.

Shell Holes and Bomb Craters

There are three types of holes made by bombs, rockets, mortar shells and artillery shells.

Type I Hole: No hole

Now, "no hole" sounds like a very good thing, but really it is not. No-holers are the worst kind because they produce a much wider dispersion of shrapnel. No-holers are normally produced in three ways. One way is by fuses set to explode a certain height above ground. Another way is when, in a forest, the shells strike tree limbs and explode prior to reaching the ground. No-holers also occur in rocky, mountainous terrain. Shells exploding on rocks do not make holes, but they do produce a maximum of shrapnel in all directions. This type is especially vicious because one cannot dig a hole in rocky terrain. All three No-holer types should be avoided whenever possible. All are equally effective on the target.

Type II Hole: Small narrow hole

These are the best kind and are most favored by those on the receiving end. They are produced by what is termed "a dud". While these are the most favored, it is also very wise to move away from one as fast a possible. You never know when a dud will change its mind.

Type III: Relatively large bowl-shaped hole

These are made by bombs, rockets, mortar shells and artillery shells that strike the ground and do what they are supposed to do, explode.

The diameter and depth of these holes vary substantially. There are many factors that affect the diameter and depth of Type III holes. The most common factors are:

1. Size of the projectile.
2. Angl e of approach.
3. Condition of the ground that it lands in. Soft, wet, ground permits deeper penetration prior to exploding, thus, creating a deeper and wider hole than if it lands on hard ground. Ground can be naturally hard or it can be frozen.
4. Type of fuse. The fuse can be timed for ignition at impact, or it can be set for a brief delay. Delayed fuses are used when trying to penetrate buildings, bunkers, or armored vehicles. When these shells miss the intended target and strike the ground, they make a deeper and larger hole than the so called "point detonation" shells do.

Generally speaking, the larger and deeper the hole, the better the recipient likes it. Deeper penetration results in more shrapnel being absorbed into the ground. Deeper penetration also results in shrapnel flying more upward than outward.

Albert S. Brown |  Infantrymen |  Dull Day |  Foreword |  Do Something, ...
Anzio |  Southern France |  Colmar |  Germany |  Epilogue