Embed Size px x x x x The Kasserine Pass battles fought by the U. II Corps in Tunisia between 30January and 25 February offer valuable lessons for commanders preparing totake units into combat. One facet of this preparation involves the reading of writtenhistorical accounts.
Yet commanders realize that ground combat is so complex andfast-paced that they doubt the historian's ability to capture its essence in smooth-flowing narrative. They also know that participants seldom grasp the Big Picture andoften lack the eloquence and opportunity to tell their stories. At this century'sbeginning, Lt. Frequently seen as a short quote, the longer text of his comment is moreapropos :.
If facts are hurriedly issued, fresh from the mint of battle, they cannot be expected to supplyan account which is either well balanced or exhaustive. On the other hand, it is equally certain that,when once the fight has been fairly lost or won, it is the tendency of all ranks to combine and recastthe story of their achievement into a shape which shall satisfy the susceptibilities of national andregimental vain-glory.
It is then already too late for the painstaking historian to set to work. He mayrecord the orders given and the movements which ensued, and he may build hopes and fears whichdictated those orders, and to the spirit and method in which those movements were executed, he hasfor ever lost the clue.
On the actual day of battle naked truths may be picked up for the asking ; by thefollowing morning they have already begun to get into their uniform.
