Col. Drake's Orders

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JamesL
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Col. Drake's Orders

#1

Post by JamesL » 18 Jan 2007, 19:40

I happened to be scanning the US Army Center for Military History website when I came across an interesting PDF about Kasserine. In it was a snip from the history of the US 168th Infantry Regiment. Recent other threads caused me to post it here for comment.

The 168th Infantry had moved up to the front lines at Kasserine. The commander of the regiment, a Col. Drake, issued the following order according to the PDF.


"Col. Drake issued instructions to all officers that no one would leave the line under fire. They would be ordered back to the line by an officer and if they disobeyed they were to be killed at once. “Teach all personnel to hate the Germans and to kill them at every opportunity. I will notify you when I want prisoners taken.”



Link - see page 125.
http://www.army.mil/CMH-PG/books/Staff- ... Part_1.pdf

2d and 3d Battalions, 168th Infantry, History
(Extract), 3-19 February 1943


It appears that Col. Drake not only ordered that no German prisoners be taken but he also ordered retreating US troops to be shot on the spot.

Does anyone have a different take on this?

Of course I read this as only an order and have no evidence that actual shootings took place.

Carl Schwamberger
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#2

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 02 Mar 2007, 15:52

If this sort of shooting took place its been poorly documented. Drakes command was surrounded & shot to pieces by two German armored divsions on the first two days of the German attack. & ironically Drake was taken prisoner as the remnanats of his command tried to infitrate west out of the small pocket.

Many of the US battalions in the Tunisian campaign were poorly disciplined & trained. That is their commanders had emphasised the wrong training and sort of discipline. This was aggravated by several of the senior US commanders, particularly the Corps commander jumping the chain of command down to battlaion level & undercutting the authority of the intermediate comanders. Finally the battalions of Drakes regiment & the 1st Armored Div in general had been on to losing end of several small but important battles in the previous December from which they had not entirely recovered their morale. Drakes remark or order probablly came out frustration over diffculty in getting his men to act aggresively and keeping control of them.

Pattons shock treatment during his brief stint as corps commander & Bradleys subsequent steady methodical leadership turned things in the right direction.


UMachine
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#3

Post by UMachine » 04 Mar 2007, 16:18

JamesL,shootings of that kind were rarely documented.From what I understand from private sources on both sides,shooting prisoners was not uncommon in North Africa.As for leaving the line under fire,suprising they put it on paper.Others did not apparently...

Carl Schwamberger
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#4

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 07 Apr 2007, 21:12

Strictlly from unsientific annecdotal evidence, I'm guessing most prisoners shot were killed in the first hour after surrender. They were shot by soldiers who were either angry with the enemy or very nervous & fearfull. Once they reached the battalion collection poit they were reasonablly safe. Remarks like Col Drakes obviouslly would erode dicipline & lead to such shootings. Of course in the USSR & Pacific policys and attitudes were different.

There is a theory broached by a battalion staff officer that Drakes remark was in response to a battalions commanders inquiry about sending patrols out to take prisoners for interrogation. Drake was anoyed with the officer which led to his shouting out a ill advised remark. Since everyone involved is dead this theory cant easily be investigated.

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