MOCK INVASION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24634, 16 June 1941, Page 6

MOCK INVASION

EXERCISES IN BRITAIN LARGE FORCES ENGAGED VALUABLE LESSONS LEARNED (Hec.,B p.m.) RUGBY, June 14. Big-scale exercises, in which 70,000 troops, including several thousands of Home Guard members, have just taken part have yielded valuable new lessons concerning what might happen in the event of an invasion. Lieuten-ant-general Eastwood, the new general officer commanding the Northern Command, designed the exercise to give the attackers the advantage of numbers. Two entire divisions were detailed to represent the Germans, who made two landings in force, bringing a Panzer brigade with them. Only one division of defending troops was allocated to meet them, plus the local Home Guards, air defence troops,, and other special units, all playing the exact parts they would be called upon to-fulfil in an invasion. Commenting afterwards. Lieutenantgeneral Eastwood emphasised that all the troops under his command are constantly reminded that precautions, must never be relaxed. He added that Home Guards were being issued with more anti-tank weapons of various kinds. *

To give the British defenders an advantage in air power, they had the Bomber and Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force at their disposal, whereas the attackers had only a few fighte.'.' aircraft. The numerical advantage of the " invaders," as well as the skill with which the officers and men of the Royal Armoured Corps handled the tanks of the "Panzer Brigade." enabled them to press home their - attack with some success. In these difficult circumstances, the Home Guards proved how valuable they can be. Acting as holding and harassing units, they delayed the full force of the enemy's attack for more than two hours.at one important point while regular troopstwere brought up. Flinging i in their* attack with the object of seizing important industrial areas in the north, the' invaders pressed on, and their tanks got behind the lines of the defenders and put them out of action, for several hours. At one vital bridge-head, enemy tanks appeared two hours before the bridge could have been blown up. They ran out of petrol, and the umpires ruled that the' tanks suffered 85 per cent, casualties from : the defenders' antitank guns and other weapons.