Preparing to Fight: World War II Basic Training

1. Preparing to Fight: World War II Basic Training Mr. White’s US History 2

2. Big Questions • Main Idea: Basic training was a program designed to help American citizens become effective soldiers, seamen, and marines • Big question: What would you be willing to do to protect your country, your community, or your family? • After this section, we should be able to: • Identify the purposes of basic training • Explain some of the different parts of what a person would undergo in basic training

3. Basic Training: What it Was • Basic training was what all new recruits went through before they entered full military service. • Each branch had its own set of basic training: Army, Navy, Marines (no Air Force yet!) • Young men who joined up to serve all had to go to basic training, like this good-looking man to the left

4. Purposes of Basic Training • Physical training – get the recruits into shape • Military discipline – teach the recruits how to behave in the military • Military knowledge – teach the recruits how to fight, use their weapons, use other resources • Build unit and Army cohesion – get men to become a part of a team

5. PT: Physical Training • “PT” – used to get soldiers in shape • Calisthenics – push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, etc. • Obstacle courses – sometimes had to complete them in a certain time • Running and forced marches (carrying all equipment)

6. Combat Training • Used to get recruits physically prepared to react to combat situation • Hand-to-hand combat – bayonet fighting, “dirty” fighting, open-hand fighting • Small arms training – rifle marksmanship, pistols, mortars, machine guns • Machine gun course – recruits would crawl through a ground obstacle course while machine guns fired overhead (taught them to stay low)

7. Military Discipline • Recruits learned how to act like a soldier • Learned how to salute, stand at attention, and address a superior officer • Learned expectations of the army – keeping equipment and barracks clean • Learned other rules and standing orders of the army

8. Military Knowledge and Practical Use • Recruits would learn tactics and how to fight correctly • Would learn how to use a map and a compass to navigate correctly • Also learned how to operate other equipment: radios, mortars, etc.

9. Create Unit Cohesion • Basic training also intended to break down the individuality of a soldier and make them part of a unit • Men would begin to lose their sense of self and build camaraderie with the men in their units • Soldiers in combat would fight to protect themselves and others in their unit

10. Specialized Training • After Basic, all soldiers would be sent to special training for their chosen specialty • Artillery – learn how to sight the guns, lots of math • Armor – learn how to drive and fight in tanks • Paratroopers – learned how to jump from an airplane with a parachute, then fight on the ground

11. Paratrooper Training 1

12. Paratrooper Training 2

13. Paratrooper Training 3

14. Paratrooper Training 4

15. End of Basic • At the end of basic training, the soldier would be given the full honors of being a member of their branch and their specialty • Mason White (left), as a paratrooper, was given a pair of jump wings • Men were now as well prepared for combat as they could be without having actually experienced it

16. Big Questions • Main Idea: Basic training was a program designed to help American citizens become effective soldiers, seamen, and marines • Big question: What would you be willing to do to protect your country, your community, or your family? • After this section, we should be able to: • Identify the purposes of basic training • Explain some of the different parts of what a person would undergo in basic training

17. Wrap-up • So… • One of the purposes of basic training was to… • One of the parts of basic training that a recruit would have to undergo was…