Word: ridgway
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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There was no bypassing the enemy. A unit would push into an area, then consolidate and mop up before moving on. But, despite the slower pace, Ridgway encouraged greater mobility. He ordered his G-4 section to strip down its cumbersome supply system. Eighth Army's infantry began to hear the old paratrooper slogan: "Throw away the extra weight...
...Ridgway explained his approach: "The infantry has learned a long, bitter lesson. It was learned before at Kasserine Pass-you must dominate the heights before you can operate in the valleys. We have neglected that principle at times and have paid through the nose. Perhaps it was because we are lazy; it is hard work to climb those hills-I've climbed them. But we have made a phased advance, with coordination between units, leaving no hostile hill masses between them. Working behind the air and artillery, the infantry has gone in and killed the enemy in their foxholes...
...famous U.S. regimental commander realistically summed up Ridgway's effect on the new Eighth Army: "He not only made us attack but he made us win. He made this into a professional army. The boys aren't up there fighting for democracy now. They are fighting because the platoon leader is leading them and the platoon leader is fighting because of the command, and so on right up to the top." A Pointer Is Stationary. Well into 1942, after the other officers of the 82nd Division had switched to jeeps, Ridgway reviewed troops mounted on a horse...
...desk for the 6 o'clock briefing, and he insists on being briefed in a hurry. One morning an officer, late, hurried into the briefing session, his pointer nervously waving over the map as he tried to locate the areas in his notes. Snapped Ridgway: "Please put that pointer on something...
...Ridgway is a man of formidable energy. In Africa during World War II, he would go out evenings and scan the horizon. Anyone who wandered near would be accosted with, "Look at that peak. Let's climb it." And off the general and the unfortunate would go. His aides used to duck into the nearest tent when the general came out to scan the evening sky. At home he plays deck tennis, handball, likes camping and hunting. In Korea he gets most of his exercise by walking. Sometimes, to channel some of his physical energy, he climbs a hill...