 weapons coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier stands ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country you the American people against aggression this is the big picture an official television report to the nation from the United States Army now to show you part of the big picture here is sergeant Stuart Queen 15 years ago the state of Louisiana was host to a vast military maneuver during which an officer named Dwight D. Eisenhower and his first general star last November and December the Army and the Air Force held joint maneuvers over almost exactly the same area a joint testing and training exercise deployed over seven million acres of Western Louisiana here is the Army's television report to the nation on operation sagebrush operation sagebrush is a war the bullets and the casualties are theoretical but everything else is for real the men in this convoy are going to see an invasion an enemy of the United States attacking through the Gulf of Mexico has secured a foothold on the shores of southern Louisiana and remarkably although these men are American soldiers they don't care who wins these are the umpires here at the umpire school they learn the rules whereby they will decide the outcome of the battles they will soon observe it is their judgment which will determine who wins and who loses stationed on both sides of the impending conflict they will communicate through a top secret radio network atomic weapons require wide dispersal of troops thus complicating the problems of communication and control both for combat commanders and during sagebrush for the umpires simulated atomic weapons are a major feature of the maneuver sagebrush is a joint operation of the Army and the Air Force here the headquarters staff await the arrival of the maneuver director Air Force General O. P. Wayland in scope sagebrush equals a theater of operations in a major war as maneuver director and unified commander general Wayland directs a ground war being played across seven million acres of western Louisiana and an air war over seven southern states an incidental feature of the exercise is the elevation of camp Polk to full fledged status as a permanent force town of Manny town spoke and youngsters get acquainted with the men who will be a permanent fixture of their newly created form the anna seems to like the army its people can remember the days when 750,000 soldiers including lieutenant colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower trained here for future battles against Germany and Japan today they are again playing host to a war this is something new the 280 millimeter atomic cannon new to Louisiana and to most of the rest of the world 37 visiting military attaches from as many countries find the atomic cannon especially intriguing although it weighs 85 tons the atomic weapon can be put into action with greater speed than any heavy field artillery piece now in use the secretary of the army Wilbur M. Brooker arrives for a tour of the operation discussing the significance of this gigantic maneuver secretary Brooker later observed that this is a tremendously costly operation but it is the only way we have for finding out whether we are equipped to meet any enemy anywhere at any time the connoisseurs one of the best ways we have of maintaining a day-to-day check on the enemy's battle potential jet reconnaissance planes equipped with the most advanced aerial cameras can do much to remove the element of surprise from an aggressor's attack photographs are used for mapping enemy terrain spotting his troop concentrations studying the effects of bombing missions and artillery barrages reconnaissance work has been perfected to the point where photo interpreters can often determine what product is being manufactured in an enemy factory merely by studying the color of the smoke coming from its chimneys the importance of aerial photography to a military operation is graphically revealed in a single statistic the fact that by the end of world war two aerial photographers were making over 20 million photographs a month because of the destructive capability of atomic weapons the detection of worthwhile targets such as large concentrations of troops or supplies takes on added significance for both sides to avoid offering targets on the atomic battlefield troops supplies and munitions must be spread thinly over a wide area and be continuously on the move sky cab another form of combat reconnaissance still in the experimental stage the backbone of sky cab is the modern helicopter here we see a type often called the flying banana this sky cab unit belongs to the aggressor that make-believe invader operating from his southern Louisiana beachhead this operations officer wears the aggressor uniform the name sky cab was selected because of the similarity between the functions of this new type outfit and the old horse cavalry its main job is making a continuous series of rapid sorties behind enemy lines to probe his defenses capture prisoners gain information just as jeb stewart's horse cavalry used to do sky cab uses many electronic devices including airborne television cameras but its real value is the combination of many different types of vehicles and technical specialists into a single compact unit sky cab is a good example of the kind of information being sought in this maneuver the application of new methods to old problems can be hedge hopped over enemy positions for use by sky cab units on the other side another flying banana does the job the copter ride would be like well come along with one of our big picture camera man and find out inside things get rather shaky despite its apparent simplicity the whirly bird is not an easy machine to fly aviators with ratings good for fixed wing planes needs special instruction before they take on helicopters for that purpose the army provides helicopter training in its aviation school at Fort Rucker Alabama images of the mobile low-flying helicopter for frontline reconnaissance are obvious the reply to enemy reconnaissance of course is camouflage as the art of aerial reconnaissance progresses the counter art of camouflage advances right with it for as atomic weapons become part of the military picture letting yourself be seen by the enemy invites instant destruction even telltale tracks must be removed with proper concealment life proceeds unmolested affording time to build up strength you're soon going to need finally early on a weekday morning it comes the aggressors attempt that a breakthrough his big push north from his base on the Louisiana coast exercise sagebrush includes some of the largest paratroop maneuvers ever held lift operations during sagebrush are conducted by the tactical air commands 18th Air Force the aggressor paratroopers of the famed 82nd Airborne Division the concept of troop carrier operations began in 1930 when stalling made it a major part of the Moscow war games Hitler also took the aerial route into Poland Norway Crete and the Netherlands taking Hitler's paratroop invasions as a warning the United States began extensive airborne training early in 1940 they've come a long way in 16 years doubtedly the most important advance has been the development of techniques for parachute delivery of heavy equipment jeeps artillery even armor can now be delivered airmail fries and instant action on the paratroopers stock in trade even so opposition on the ground is stiff enemy armor like this is always a particularly serious threat to paratroops pushing out irresistibly from their drop zone the aggressors force defending US troops slowly northward this is the advanced party of an infantry column like artillery flown in by air hammers at US defenses the aggressor's success becomes clear as the rear guard of US troops break off the engagement and flee north toward the Red River staying behind to delay the enemy these troops have made possible and orderly organized withdrawal the lucky ones ride the rest of them walk out the men move cautiously on the watch for possible ambush by aggressor airborne units the aggressor forces following them up are an organized full-scale army complete with distinctive uniforms forward in strength knocking out US opposition wherever it appears for benefit of the umpires they put on a realistic performance reaping the fruits of planning and surprise the aggressor pushes forward until he has backed our troops up to Louisiana's Red River a hundred miles from the aggressor's original beachhead on the go now begins one of the most hazardous operations of war a full-scale river crossing under fire smoke generators blank at the area this phase of the maneuver belongs to the army engineers it is their responsibility to throw down the bridges over which our retreating forces must cross the face of defeat it is a remarkable thing about soldiers that their morale takes a slump during an artificial maneuver which greatly resembles their reaction to an actual retreat in the face of an enemy nobody likes to lose even for exercise as atomic weapons have complicated the logistical problem of supply so they have increased the difficulty of such tactical maneuvers as crossing a river bridges have a way of not lasting very long the breach rafts are used a machine gun team fights a risky and vital delaying action scratch one tank here comes the man with a white hat and the big white card that says you've had it the ever-present umpires watching each engagement decide who lives and who dies they base their decisions on what would have happened had the shells and bullets been real the medics follow in their trail providing on paper the treatment required by the umpires verdict but there's a good side to everything if you have to be a casualty this is the way to do it assault ended situation static with the aggressor in full control of the area south of the river it is a time for rest and recuperation this operation is for real it's an uneasy piece and one which won't last jets of the tactical air command stream into the air to begin the softening up of the enemy as us forces prepare to move back across the river smoke and perhaps something more sinister nerve gas developed during world war two by Nazi scientists was never used we may pray that it never will be we must also be prepared as ground forces prepare to follow up the airstrike and artillery barrages a forward observer searches for enemy gun emplacements rumble and dust of convoys becomes an omnipresent thing as many miles apart the widely dispersed units of an atomic age army begin a coordinated assault great ugly snouted tanks which have been lying dormant in their camouflage positions take to the road and swing southward many of the vehicles in this convoy belong to the first armored division old iron sides which will be permanently located at Fort Polk after the maneuvers opposing the first is the fourth armored division a member of the aggressor forces up comes an umpire and down goes another tank watching the action along the road an umpire plants an explosive charge to signal the destruction of still another iron plated vehicle these umpire teams are among the hardest working men of the maneuver but nobody works harder than a paratrooper of course for the paratrooper the start of the trip is the easiest his problems will begin when he gets there an easy life it may seem odd but easy as this looks there are a lot of people who still prefer to walk even so vast an area as 7 million acres is small challenge to a paratrooper nor does it afford full play to the tactics which are his chief reliance far-ranging maneuver and sudden attack in unexpected places but expected or unexpected they will manage to make themselves thoroughly unwelcome to the enemy troops fight for possession of an aggressor airstrip always a prime objective once the airfield is secured men supplies and heavy equipment can be flown in by the Air Force carrier outfits unfortunately the aggressor is still aggressive he doesn't seem to know he's losing to open another hole in the aggressor's lines it must go through the actual motions of firing before the umpires miles away will set off the charge which simulates an atomic explosion makes move up to exploit the havoc wreaked by atomic artillery all part of the same coordinated advanced friendly forces following up the atomic barrage still encounter opposition and plenty of it this is an important lesson atomic bombs and atomic artillery are terrible weapons but they still leave the enemy with some fight in him to find out just how much fight is the chief purpose of our a bomb test and one of the reasons for sagebrush the aggressor starts pulling out overwhelmed by superior forces backed by superior weapons he begins his long retreat toward the Gulf of Mexico from whence he came u.s. infantry moves southward following him up keeping him on the run a month ago they reluctantly retreated north there's no reluctance now for the end is in sight the aggressor strength dissipated his forces disorganized his men cease to be part of an organized army his last ditch gorilla fighters are destroyed or rounded up and imprisoned aggressor troops not only wear distinctive uniforms but have their own field manuals and even in some respects a special language in this way frontline intelligence officers are confronted with realistic problems as they interrogate prisoners the battle is over the war is one all that remains is to pick up the pieces pick up and clean up and by now the awesome atomic cannon has become simply droopy thus ends four weeks of simulated atomic havoc over seven million acres of Louisiana marshes and farmlands the largest non-combat maneuver since world war two these aircraft their very size alone would have seemed fantastic to us in the last world war to those who remember the first war the second was itself an incredible performance wars are always different and a nation dies when its leaders make the terrible error of trying to fight the next war in terms of the last to avoid that catastrophe is the reason sagebrush was held while troops are packing up and heading for home bases top army and air force officials have already begun their laborious review of the gigantic maneuvers as they try to assess the lessons learned then themselves begin their long journey home through the night they may travel secure in the knowledge that their own efforts have done much to ensure that the sun will rise tomorrow on a peaceful America rations so gigantic and scope as operation sagebrush many months are required for the experts to analyze its fullest significance army and air force policies for many years to come will reflect knowledge gained in Louisiana during the fall of 1955 this is sergeant stewart queen inviting you to be with us again next week for another look at your army in action on the big picture the big picture is a weekly television report to the nation on the activities of the army at home and overseas produced by the signal core pictorial center presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station you too can be an important part of the big picture you can proudly serve with the best equipped the best trained the best fighting team in the world today the United States Army