SECOND ECHELON IN ENGLAND

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 282, 23 August 1940, Page 11

SECOND ECHELON IN ENGLAND

Full War Footing

PREPARATIONS FOR NAZI

INVASION

(From the Official War Correspondent attached to the New Zealand Forces

in Great Britain.)

ENGLAND. July 20.

Wild raspberries are ripe on the Downs tills weekend; and from I lie brow of the rise where we rested with Margaret in midafternoon we could see six or eight parties of pickers; women and children, and one old man leaning on his stick. We could see the sea, too, the English Channel, with the wind blowing in fresh from France -—or what was France. The sort of wind that brought William of Normandy when Harold’s men awaited him on this same coast. The sort of wind, with a slightly different set, which filled the billowing sails of the Great Armada. A wind for which Napoleon waited weeks in vain. And between yesterday and tomorrow, so some folk say, another would-be invader will try; for the moon is to be fall tonight, or as near it as makes no difference, and the tides are right.

Up there this afternoon we were preparing for war in a solitude of peace. It was hard to imagine invasion nearer than the Normans, of whose occupation, and that of the Romans 1190 years before them, ue could see traces through our glasses. After nearly 20 centuries the footprints of Caesar’s legions remain part of England; part of the peaceful pattern of green woods and colouring corn spread at our feet when we turned to look back the way we had come. As sunshine chased shadow from field to coppice and out again, loitering a moment yonder by the grey stone wall behind the church tower, we sat silent. Till the corporal, impressed but hungry, remarked that it was an emphatically long time since half-past six breakfast, and we had better push on. Whereupon the driver spoke to Margaret, who, tossing a lively head, swung about on her tracks, and clattered off along the ridge. Six or eight miles to the gallon Margaret does, and on a flat road 35 to the hour when allowed her own way. Where there are no roads she takes to the open country. Other times, other company might be preferable for a long summer’s day on the Downs, in sun and wind. This being the weekend it is, Margaret is a comforting companion. There is not a sturdier Bren gun carrier of her class in England. Others in the squadron have more fanciful names: Phyllis, Southern Cross, Aotearoa; but when it comes to performance Margaret is the equal of any of them. Full-scale Exercise. Our force, moving in its three mobile columns, is out for its first full-scale field exercise, the entire personnel travelling on wheels; buses, transport lorries, armoured lighting vehicles, motorcycles and a few cars. The plan of campaign docs not matter. It is practice only. At least, it is intended to be practice; but we are on proper war footing now, and if a need should arise while we are in the field, we could be immediately diverted from exercise to action.

Points that do matter are the spirit in which the plan will be executed, the keenness or otherwise of the men iu the conditions they will be facing for the first time, and the skill with which their officers handle them. Because even for officers with line service records, as many company commanders and above have had, warfare in the pleasant English countryside would be a new experience. This area in which we are is nothing like Northern France, where the New Zealand Division was last time. Still less is it like or Palestine, or Egypt, or South Africa. We are training for a new type of warfare—motorized and mechanized—in a new type of country. This is our third day out, otir second bivouacking place. At dawn we shall move again; and after a route inarch shall embus to travel back to camp. It has rained every, day so far; twice lightly, to waken us toward stand-to tijne (about which I may not be more precise), and this forenoon, when we were moving from one position to another, heavily. “But all have been summer showers, short, warm, and mostly followed by heat In any case, war does not wait on weather; and, given an axo or chopper, and any living growth whatever, the average young New Zealander can quickly contrive his own shelter. For the most part our bivouacking areas have been among high fcru or on the fringes of lovely southern woods, where the free play of some with an axe has seemed a shame. Already in England we have learned, as cannot be learned elsewhere, to love trees; let’s hope we may yet learn also to respect them. No Invasion. JULY 23. We are back in our several camps. No invader came. Nevertheless, if he should come later, we shall be the better prepared to meet him, because of what the experiences of the. last live days have taught us. Primarily, such an exercise is for the benefit of senior officers—to give them practice in handling their men in the field, and—a modern development—to accustom them to moving everything by road, of necessity, to timetable, and in a prearranged order. Notwithstanding this intention, the benefits accrue to all ranks.

Despite occasional tiredness and stiffness after all-night digging and the longest march since leaving New Zea land, not a man can be found today who does not wish we were going out again next week. Perhaps we shall The General is to talk things over with all his officers tomorrow; but it is known already that in most major respects he was well pleased with the work done. Certainly lie saw more of it than anybody else. Yesterday afternoon the three columns marched separately to separate embussing points, and the G.O.C. wished to see them all on the march. But also he wished to march. Remember, when he was training to swim the Channel, this athlete-soldier used to walk 30 miles every weekend. So it came about that Divisional Headquarters marched in the morning, with the General at their head; and in the afternoon he saw the other marches I

Iu the field the troops lived well. The company was the unit of catering, and stores were delivered daily by tho A.S.C., which drew them as far as 50 miles away. Petrol and water lorries came twice a day.

Our exorcise embraced embussing and debttssing, practice in limed travelling. in halting where not to be seen from the air, and in avoiding aggregations of vehicles. IVe occupied defensive positions, dug ourselves in. held them against presumed night and dawn attacks, advanced from them, and retired out of them. We reconnoitred new positions, and either covered others occupying them or were ourselves covered. We posted sentries sent out. patrols and maintained constant air watches. When there was nothing else to do we slept.. There was usually something else to do.