Word: martinet
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...words did not mean that German militarism is stirring again: the new General Staff college is rising in Hamburg, historically one of the least martial-minded of German cities. And the college's chief is no monocled martinet such as the late great General Hans von Seeckt, who built the Reichswehr after Versailles, but an infantryman who rose to major general's rank fighting on the Eastern Front. Yet there are signs that the postwar German attitude toward the military is changing...
Playhouse 90 (CBS, 9:30-11 p.m.). Comedian Jack Carson, who snapped to dramatic attention as Gooper in the movie version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, plays a reserve officer, retreaded for the Korean war, involved in a bitter tangle with a martinet colonel...
Onions v. Wine. Though he lost an eye in Indo-China, he was sent to Algeria to take command of the crack Third Colonial Parachute Regiment. A martinet but the idol of his men, Bigeard whipped them into shape by running them as much as 15 miles at a time. He made them shave every day, no matter where they were, doled out raw onions instead of the traditional wine ration because "wine reduces stamina." With all-night marches and sudden paratroop raids, he won every engagement, became so successful at outwitting the rebels ("He thinks like a fellagha," says...
...blood; in the American, colonies a war was fought that brings distress to Churchill even now. An old hand at portraiture, he can cut down to size those who displease him. Of King George I: "Here on English soil stood an unprepossessing figure, an obstinate and humdrum German martinet with dull brains and coarse tastes." When he describes combat, which is a good deal of the time, his ardent prose is apt to be high-flown: "The lure of gold and the sting of Cadiz inspired the leaders, and at last they let loose their brave men, who fought with...
...leader of men. His troops marched until they dropped. Stragglers were flogged, deserters summarily shot. His veterans had a motto: "Man that is born of woman, and enlisteth in Jackson's army, is of few days and short rations." Yet with the instinctive knowledge that distinguishes the martinet from the great captain, his ragged "foot cavalry" so revered Jackson that, whenever a burst of cheering swept the camp, men would say: "It's Jackson or a rabbit...