Infantry in Battle

by Infantry Journal

Fine in Fine jacket, 5 3/4 By 8 1/2`` 3rd Edition, Second Printing of 1939 original. Owner's name stamp inside, No other damage. Loaded with stratagem maps and details.

422 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1982

Reviews

[Yoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as FMFRP 12-2 Infantry in Battle, which I believe is the same book. This is a concise, well-written, well-illustrated (maps and diagrams) overview of tactics and problems of command. Although all the examples are drawn from the Great War, many of the observations seem to be more generally applicable. Excellent read, well worth your time.

[Terry Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

in 1934, George C. Marshall penned the Introduction to this book. He was an Infantry Colonel at the Infantry School. The goal of this book was to use selected lessons from the Great War to show that there is a difference between what we acquire in peace time training vs actual experience. "...By the use of [tactical] historical examples, the reader is acquainted with the realities of war and the difficult and disconcerting conditions which tactical problems must be solved in the face of the enemy..."
in 1957, 25 lockers of student curricula material for the period 1919 - 1940 were discovered. The Green Book Series on Army Strategic Planning and Coalition Warfare was published four years before this material was discovered. In 1932, the former Chief of Staff, Gen. Peyton March, said that the US Army was impotent- this was true. However, by 1938 the War Department and the AWC concurred. The two editions of Infantry in Battle, the first ed. of 1934, and the second ed., printed in 1938, are attempts to correct known problems in officer education and training. the 2nd ed, was extensively revised.
The 1939 edition has an introduction and 27 chapters. There are chapters on simplicity, decisions, command, control, communication, battle reconnaissance, and fire and movement to name a few. Each chapter has two or three examples and maps. What makes this book also valuable are the index. there is an index of persons, an index to units, publications quoted and a geographical index.
This book is a window on the growth and development of the US Army and is very interesting reading.

[Paul Holloway]

Infantry in Battle by Infantry Journal Incorporated (1939)