BRITAIN’S ARMY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23970, 20 November 1939, Page 11

BRITAIN’S ARMY

MOTORISED TRANSPORT THE CROSSING TO FRANCE CONTRAST WITH 1914 The British Expeditionary Force moves across to France. We think of 1914 again and the Old Contemptibles. Men and horses on the march with bands playing, rifles slung over the shoulder, and guns following on behind. What a difference to-day! Our Expeditionary Force now consists of a quarter of the number of men, with four times the striking force, says a Daily Mail correspondent. Let’s look back to 1914; look in more detail at the first Expeditionary Force that crossed to Flanders. Three divisions of 18,000 men each went across to begin with, plus a cavalry brigade of 5000 men with 5000 horses. There were also several brigades of guns, all horse-drawn and accounting for about another 5000 horses. Now, while horses take up less room in a ship than mechanised trucks and tanks (there were no tanks in 1914). one horse accounts for only one soldier, whereas the modern army truck carries several men plus Bren guns. While the men and horses in 1914 walked on board the transports at the Channel ports, the trucks and tanks today drive on. While the horses then carried one day’s forage with them, the motorised units now have their petrol tanks filled up. Where there were forage stores then, there are secret, underground petrol dumps, both in this country and in France now. While the horses then needed vets., the modern mechanised force takes with it travelling workshops and breakdown gangs, spare parts, and highlytrained mechanics. Trains are still used as the chief means of transporting men and materials from the inland camps to the coast ports.’ If there is no convenient means of rail travel, then long marches are now avoided where possible by the use of the motor trucks, which maintain a continuous “bus” service until all the men have been carried to their port of embarkation. The modern motor cycle battalions, of course, drive straight to the ship. Marching in Threes When a battalion of infantry does march now it looks completely different from 1914. To begin with, it is smaller by several hundred men. The colonel and the company commanders travel in cars. The men march in threes instead of fours, and the Transport, carrying blankets, overcoats, mortars, ammunition, tools, and food, dashes ahead in a column of handy trucks, so that all may be ready for the men when they arrive at the end of the first day’s march.

These vehicles, when they have unloaded, may return to pick up the “lame ducks,’’ or even at intervals help the whole battalion on its way. There are no horse-drawn cookers, belching smoke and splashing stew over the roads. In 1914 the French admired our field cookers, which were new then, but how soon we came to loathe the filthy, wasteful things! Now a smart motor kitchen travels to and fro. It is a great asset to our new Expeditionary Force. This time the French will gasp with astonishment at our carrier platoons. Small, bettle-like tractor vehicles follow every battalion on the march. Their purpose is to feed the troops with ammunition in battle, or themselves to exploit sudden situations in the field of action. They can cross bullet-swept areas in perfect safety, carrying small crews of trained experts who are masters of their weapons. “ Land Battleships ” There is a vast difference In the armaments carried by our Expeditionary Force. Whereas the men of a 1914 division had, apart from their rifles, only a few Maxim guns, the men of a division to-day take with them Bren guns, mortars and anti-tank rifles. The former cavalrymen now man the light tanks and armoured cars which are so useful for reconnaissance work. It is in the presence of the tanks that the greatest difference is noticeable between the present Expeditionary Force and that which went over in 1914. No tanks crossed to Franco in the last war until 1916. Now the tank battalions, numbering among their equipment several of the new heavy “ land battleships,” form the most secret of our land forces. Not even M.P.’s have been allowed to make a close inspection of them. They are entrained at their inland bases, transported to the coast and shipped under cover of darkness in the strictest secrecy. The completely mechanised divisions form the spearhead of our forces on land. They are the backbone of our 1939 army.