OUR NEW ARMY CHIEF (George C. Marshall-NYT Magazine interview-5/14/39)

Microfiche-New York Times archives, McHenry Library, U.C. Santa Cruz | 5/14/39 | L.C. Speers

[Homer_J_Simpson]

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[Homer_J_Simpson]

General Marshall ping.

[Former Proud Canadian]

Can you get me the Zip code to order those cherries. Looks like a good deal.

[Loyal Buckeye]

I would like 10 lbs. of bing cherries. When can I expect them?

[Homer_J_Simpson]

If you fill out the coupon and mail it, along with $1.90, to Beem’s Nob Hill Fruit Ranch, Dept. 1, The Dalles, Oregon, we will put them on the train around June 1.

[Loyal Buckeye]

The check is in the mail. I’m sure glad Obama will have the trains up and running by then.

[PeterPrinciple]

“But when she discarded the yoke of Versailles, Germany started from scratch, as it were. She initiated the development of a complete armament program, closely integrated with civil industry. Had the great nations grown old together in the gradual elimination of outmoded weapons, planes and equipment, no single nations could have gained so long a lead as Germany has. Contradictory as it may seem, Germany actually profited by the wiping out of her World War armament.”

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Interesting observation so close to the situation. We learned from WWI that negotiated peace did not work so unconditional surrender was how WWII was going to end. I wonder how and if this observation was applied................

[PeterPrinciple]

“..........Yet I doubt if many of the people know that for more than two years Germany has been turning out a million rounds of artillery ammunition a week......”

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Just caught my attention. Would this be just the big stuff, or all ammunition?

[Homer_J_Simpson]

The post-Versailles development of the German army owed a lot to General Hans von Seeckt. According to my West Point Military History (WWII-Europe) he was responsible for the rebuilding from scratch.

As to how Marshall's observation was applied, there wasn't much he could do about it in 1939. How much influence did he have in 1945 when the post-war occupations and rebuilding took place? Germany and Japan haven't started any wars since.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Would this be just the big stuff, or all ammunition?

It is hard to imagine it is just big stuff. If true it would give a good jump start to Barbarossa in a couple years.

[PeterPrinciple]

What would “artillery ammunition” mean in that day?

[Homer_J_Simpson]

What would “artillery ammunition” mean in that day?

As far as I know "artillery" has always only meant big guns.

2,000,000 rounds per year works out to almost 6,400 per day assuming a six-day week. I guess that is not unreasonable. I wonder how many 88mm rounds they used.

[PeterPrinciple]

Doing a little thinking, during the 30th’s Germany partnered up with Russia to produce military equipment as a way of hiding their production. Wonder if the artillery ammunition production was higher than Marshall thought?

[PAR35]

It could mean anything 20mm ir higher; it would certainly include anything 75mm or up. The Germans had a lot of light cannon shooting 37mm - anti-aircraft and anti-tank, and the Panzer III also started the war with a 37mm gun. So I think by any definition, it would include anything 37mm or above, but the article may include 20mm rounds.