SHREWD SOLDIER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 286, 24 March 1941, Page 2

SHREWD SOLDIER

! TRICKERY EXPLOITED [ I BLUFFING THE BOERS Many and varied were the exploits of Lord Baden Powell during his long and cxequered career. Soldier, spy and scout, Baden Powell revealed amazing ingenuity in his famed defence of Mafeking. One of the best stories centred around Baden Powell occurred about Decemmer, 1890. The Boer menace was becoming acute, and the liesieged town wilted under a terrific bombardment. But Baden Powell held the aces! His skill in bluff and trickery fooled the Boers. Brilliant lights flashed from the fort. Myriads of points' glowed in tho darkness. Shouted orders echoed through the night. Taking fright, the Boers wasted ammunition* They were on tenterhooks. The same activity occurred

every night afterwards, and the Dutchmen took no chances on encountering such a powerful garrison. The secret was revealed later. A home-made searchlight and a tiny supply of acetylene bluffed the Boers into thinking the town was filled with lights. A megaphone and a lot of shouted orders to bogus troops did the rest. HOW TO CAPTURE "WOPS" Wally T'app, an ex-47th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and a native of Australia, has a simple and effective solution for capturing every Italian port on the African coast. The solution will, Ave have little doubt, meet with general approval. "Just place these ports 'out of bounds' to the Australians," sayst Wally, "and General Wavell can retire to his Cairo villa for a wellearned rest!"