 Echoes of World War II. July 10, 1943. The 7th United States Army is born at sea. Within hours, this powerful force of men and equipment would begin the invasion of Sicily. The long road toward the liberation of Europe would start here. Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr. led his newly formed army ashore. On Sicily, the 7th received its baptism in blood during a 38-day campaign. In August 1944, France experienced its second tourist influx that year as the combat-tested 7th Army, under its new commander, Lieutenant General Alexander Patch, made its way ashore along the southern coast of France. The 7th Army gaining momentum struck toward the Rome Valley, enjoyed the brief exhilaration of a liberating army, achieved dramatic contact with our 3rd Army at Saint-Bernard, maintained relentless pressure as it drove into Alsace-Lorraine. During the bitter winter of 1944-1945, the Nazi counter-offensive resulted in savage combat in the Colmar region. With the collapse of this desperate enemy assault, 7th Army regained its momentum and entered Germany as it pierced the legendary dragon's teeth of the Siegfried line. Across the heartland of the 3rd Reich, the 7th Army rolled through Frankfurt, Wurzburg, and the once beautiful city of Nuremberg. The symbol of Nazi tyranny was obliterated forever. The 7th Army, crowned in glory, paid tribute to its fallen colleagues as the war in Europe ended. This big picture is the story of the 7th Army, 20 years later. Patient is still Western Germany, and as an integral part of NATO, it is a checkmate to aggression through its leaders, the men who respond to that leadership, and its staggering array of equipment and firepower. Headquarters of 7th Army. From this headquarters comes the policy, direction and guidance required to maintain army-wide operations. The commanding general, Hugh Harris, prior to his new assignment, spoke about this Army which he had commanded and which he had come to know so well. 7th Army is perhaps the most formidable combat force that the people of the United States have ever maintained in peacetime. It is relatively large, it is mobile, and it is powerful. It has dual capable forces, able to fight in an atomic or in a more conventional environment. It is the key to the successful defense of the central portion of Western Europe. It takes a variety of elements to put a combat-ready army in the field. It takes training, schooling, performance of day-to-day military jobs, adequate assistance from support units, and many things. But the only way to be sure that these elements all work together in the right place and at the right time is to test these elements continually and thus determine that we know our business. We are and must be professionals. What is the image of this Army today? Near Munich, Germany, a fractional part of that image provides a glimpse into its complexity, massiveness, and specialization. This is the 5th Tank Battalion of the 32nd Armored Brigade. 72 M60 tanks, plus supporting wheeled and track vehicles, were massed to underscore General Harris' comments relating to 7th Army and the role it plays in protecting the Western defense line along the Iron Curtain. Not far from the main gate of 7th Army headquarters, this line of defense is the subject of studied attention. In this room, an operations officer conducts a briefing for the commanding general and his staff. The briefing here is hypothetical. The next one could be the real thing. Our armored cavalry screening forces are in contact with the enemy on the border here. Your forces are located as shown on the map in these locations. The German units are in position already. Your units are in position ready to move on your order. It is felt that the objective of this particular attack, if it took place, would be along an axis toward Frankfurt. The armored cavalry regiments have reported that the enemy has crossed the border in several places in small strength. However, there has been no significant crossing of the border at this point. On the other side of this sign, the Communist world is a reality. The tranquil appearance belies the chasm that divides us from them. It is this very chasm, however, that necessitates constant vigilance of the border by patrols mounted in these M114 armored personnel carriers. For these squads, the patrol is akin to operating under combat conditions. At fixed observation posts and pre-selected vantage points, the border is the object of intense scrutiny. If aggression were to come, it would come from this direction. These patrols watch for indications of unusual border activity. Should observation indicate potential danger along this border, these patrols would report or initiate action for assistance. A flippetop like this is a flippetop 3-3-2-1. Request lead frog assistance. Assistance begins with this infantry squad boarding an H-34 helicopter. In the vicinity of the patrol activity, this squad disembarks, ready to provide whatever assistance is required as determined by the developing situation. Pated somewhere close to the check border is this typical base camp from which the patrol activity is directed. Periodically, each armored cavalry unit is relieved from border duty to undergo testing along with other units in one of the 7th Army training areas. The business of keeping a field army in the highest state of proficiency is an unending process. At Grafenwehr, the Army's largest training center in Germany, there is a constant arrival and departure of combat units. Here they are exposed to extensive training and comprehensive evaluation to determine combat readiness. Heavy equipment is brought in by flat car to a railhead. Here it is off-loaded and moved to camp sites. At these camps, the units prepare for movement to their tactical training areas and firing ranges. Units undergoing training reflect the cross-section of the combat elements that provide 7th Army with its massive deterrent power. The Tank Crew Qualification Course is an example of the precise evaluation of training which determines the combat readiness of 7th Army tank crews. Fire command, gunner, coax troops, identify up, fire on the way, takes the troops under fire with 100 rounds of coax ammunition. Upon completion of target number nine, the tank moves to the finish line, clears all weapons, and stands by for control. Are there any questions? Sergeant Elliott. Sir, how is target number nine scored? How is target number nine scored? Target number nine is scored by the assistant instructor from the back of the tank. Maximum coverage is 50 points. Are there any other questions? If there are no other questions, move out to your tanks. From the ready line, the tank commander moves his vehicle to the first of nine stations where every aspect of crew performance and proficiency will be tested and critiqued. On the Isar River north of Munich, an amphibious exercise is conducted under simulated combat conditions by elements of a mechanized rifle company to enable 7th Army to surmount any obstacle, to prepare the soldier for any combat situation. Early morning, vicinity Edar Oberstein. Altitude, 9,000 feet. Specialized unit, Army skydivers. Mission, marked landing zone for heliborne task force. Bridging techniques ensure movement over terrain obstacles that once would have impeded the momentum of combat units. This seemingly minor obstacle is actually 12 feet deep. Portable bridging equipment is a tailored support that can keep a combat unit moving. Accomplishment reflects a joint effort of French, German and American ingenuity. This equipment is used primarily to span large bodies of water to permit the movement of heavy equipment as well as foot soldiers. Each section can be used separately to ferry material, vehicles and troops. From evaluating and improving the techniques learned during the Korean War, 7th Army medical units have also responded to the need for faster action on the battlefield. His most advanced helicopters have been completely equipped to save lives and for rapid transport of casualties to nearby field hospitals. Ordnance repair vans are on call for on-the-spot repair work on or near the battlefield. There was a time when the replacement or repair of such an artillery part would have meant hours, even days of delay in the availability of a critically needed weapon system. Now, within minutes, this self-propelled weapon will be back in action as the result of advanced techniques of 7th Army ordinance. Throughout Germany, 7th Army maintains an awesome inventory of missiles, each designed to provide a tailored link to Western defense. This hawk missile sight is an integral part of a complex air defense screen. The officers and men assigned to such units have been extensively trained in the technology of these weapons systems. In another part of Germany, linked to this air defense screen, this Nike missile sight, as all others, is operational on a 24-hour basis. Testing of these units occurs periodically, day or night. Today's test could be tomorrow's reality in the air defense of Western Europe. 7th Army's dual capable firepower includes a devastating combat support capability. And now you will hear a personal pronoun for example, deer. And an object for example, mantel. And you will say, der mantel gehört deer. The instructor comes back with the right sentence, and you will repeat it. Open your book on page 23. The 7th Army is not all field training. At Ohm, Germany, a division-level language school provides a conversational link between Americans and Germans. At each division level in 7th Army, similar language instruction is part of the military curriculum. Die Bleistifte gehören Irk. Learning a foreign language has more than a military advantage. Before these advantages can be realized, however, there is the classroom atmosphere with emphasis on pronunciation, usage, and vocabulary. From the classroom to the social environment of a foreign country, language is a bridge to the soldier's interest and responsiveness to the culture and hospitality offered by his host country. As knowledge of the language is broadened, military contact assumes greater significance. Lieutenant Bill and Leutnant Dietzer discuss a joint American-German training exercise. The ability to think and communicate effectively in another language is a key to better understanding. And effective communication in a military operation is essential. How do you go home? It's... 600 meters, right? Yes, about 600 meters into the rock. Yes, I see it. Yes, it's not safe to go ahead. It goes all the way down, but I hope nothing happens. Yes. Look at it. Up here, there are also two. They are still far up and have to go pretty far down. Senses? In a tactical briefing, language skill serves its ultimate military objective. Objective one. Company two. Attach Company B. Company three. On order. Attack and right sector. Objective one. First platoon, 124th Panzers. Attach Company three. Fifth French recon. Protect the right flank. Reserve Company A. On order. Air mobile assault. Objective two. On order. Company B. And Company three. Attack and seize objective three. Questions? How long will the artillery shoot until we cross the safety line? For 10 minutes. German in 10 seconds, there will be 1400. This is an American, German and French field exercise. With a very serious purpose of training and testing, coordinated combat forces of the Western Alliance under simulated combat conditions. American M60 tanks precede French mechanized infantry toward the first objective. German Panzer Grenadiers, in coordination with the American French effort, launched their attack on the right sector of objective one. As these American, French and German elements reach their assault positions, the final reduction of objective one commences. French ground reconnaissance provides protection for the right flank. While overhead, an American helleborn force executes a vertical envelopment of objective two. Staff duty officer. Yes, sir. It is now 0420. And I want to alert all of 7th Army for a general readiness test. Yes, sir. All stations, give me your attention, please. This is the 7th Army staff duty officer, Major Smith, executes 7th Army wide readiness test, effective 0420 Zulu. I repeat back, 7th Army readiness test as of 0420. May I have your name, rank, and duty position? Thank you, sir. Not 7th Army military police patrols move immediately to establish traffic control points. Attention in the billets. Attention in the billets. This is the 7th Army readiness test. I repeat. This is the 7th Army readiness test. Hit it. Let's go. Readiness test. Everybody up. Let's go. What is happening here is simultaneously taking place in every 7th Army installation in Germany. Within two hours, thousands of men and tons of equipment will be in the process of movement from their permanent installations to alert areas in the field. Each 7th Army unit closes in at its alert area. The transmission by hundreds of subordinate units from their alert areas scattered throughout southern Germany is acknowledged by major headquarters, consolidated, and fed into the 7th Army operation center. The purpose of these frequent tests is to establish a combat posture to enable all organic units to move from the alert positions to other tactical locations from which the defense of western Europe would be conducted. The training, the schooling, the testing, the readiness tests all stress one question. Is the 7th Army combat ready? 7th Army is combat ready. We have only one main objective to attain, and that is to be ready to fight if that we must.