RIVER CROSSING

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 40, 17 February 1943, Page 4

RIVER CROSSING

' TROOPS IN TANKS

MANAWATU MANOEUVRES (0.C.) WELLINGTON, this day. Demonstrating the adaptability of the tank in modern * warfare, squadrons of General Stuart's ferried across the flooded and swift-flowing Otaki River. 'The river crossing was part of extensive manoeuvres in the southern Manawatu district which involve, several thousand troops and a large amount of mechanised squipment. . It was the first time in this part of the Dominion that. tanks have been used for the transport of infantry, Assuming that the opposite bank was held by' the enemy, the New Zealand commander sent forward troops with tanks in support. Roaring, lurching, with madlychurning tracks tearing up mud and gravel, the tanks moved into the riverbed and lumbered forward under cover of an intense artillery barrage to where the infantry lay concealed. Fully - equipped men scrambled up the steel sides, and with turrets barely showing above gorse and lupin, the tanks swept forward toward the river- . The troops taking part in these manoeuvres were those who participated in the previous week's exercises, with the roles of attackers and defenders reversed. Illustrating the amount of equipment in use, it may be said that all the motor transport on the move at once would occupy more than 100 miles of road space.