Engineer Memoirs
upset that this young lieutenant would refuse to let him cross. One of the thingshe said
to me was, "Have you talked to Captain Clarke about this?" He referred to General
Bruce Clarke, who was the company commander of the engineer company with the
mechanized brigade. I told him I hadn't seen Captain Clarke but that I was fairly certain
that there was a very high likelihood of a disaster if heavier loaded vehicles used this
bridge. We could not afford to risk the safety of the military or damage to the state
bridge, and therefore I couldn't allow him to cross. And he didn't cross. That was the
first experience I had with the mechanized cavalry.
Q ..
When I interviewed General Clarke, he referred to these exercises and saw them leading
to the establishment of the armored division. They demonstrated the advantages of
mobility and engineer support?
A ..
There's no question. Of course, I wasn't in a position really to have any influence on
that. I would say that my own experience showed me the real problems that were
involved in the use of horse cavalry in any type of warfare that we were likely to be
engaged in in Europe. The movement into armor was a move in the right direction to
accomplish the things that in olden days had been the responsibility of the cavalry in
wide sweeps or deep penetrations. The time of the horse was coming to an end.
Q.
And you saw this at the time?
l
A ..
Yes.
Q ..
And so you probably didn't feel you'd be involved with the cavalry for that long?
A ..
This was m.y first assignment. It wasn't a forever assignment. It had to change.
Q ..
I think, too, in 1940, Paul Thompson, I don't know if you recall this name, was a
captain who was brought back to OCE [Office of the Chief of Engineers] and was
writing on the role of engineers in combat and the German blitzkrieg. And, as it's been
said, his writings, many of which were published in some of the engineer journals, were
influential in this movement. And beyond that, I mentioned before the debate on the
general role of engineers in combat that was going on at this time.
A
I was not a part of that. When I was transferred from Fort McIntosh, it was to become
a part of what was to be the engineer training center at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
We were gathered together at Fort Belvoir along with the cadre who was to make up
the other training center at Fort Belvoir. After arriving at Belvoir, through the
acquaintance of another officer who' was assigned to the `Office of the Chief of
Engineers, I first met Paul Thompson. This would have been in February of 194 1. I
don't remember any detailed discussions on the question of the role of the engineers in
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