“MOBILISE US ALL”

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21154, 2 July 1940, Page 9

“MOBILISE US ALL”

CRY FOR ARMS IN BRITAIN CHAIN OF DEFENCE As the threat of invasion comes nearer to Britain, the cry goes up, “ Arm the people! ” “ Mobilise us all! ” “ Call up all classes immediately! ” It is not a cry of panic, but it comes from the realisation that there was more than rhetoric in Mr Churchill’s I'ousing words: “We shall fight on the beaches, fight on the landinggrounds, fight in the streets, fight in the hills.” Mr Clement Davies, M.P. (National Liberal) is calling a meeting of members of the House of Commons to discuss “ the arming of the population.” He contends that this is the people’s war and the people must be armed. They should be given hand grenades, bombs, pistols—anything,” he declares. Mr Davies points out that places in France like Abbeville, with 20,000 inhabitants, fell because a few motor-cyclists entered it. If the people had been armed, they could have flung grenades and stopped the cyclists. Those who were in Spain during the civil war are now stressing the lessons of how the ingenuity of the common soldiers and the ordinary people supplemented the defence of the ill-armed Republicans. Thus General Franco’s tanks were not held up till the Asturian miners taught the Republican forces how to use sticks of dynamite and civilians set fire to them by smashing bottles of petrol over them and throwing petrol-soaked blankets which got caught up in the tracks. Chain of Defence This does not indicate any lack of confidence in General Sir Edmund Ironside’s preparations or the efficiency of the “ parashots,” but, considering the German tactics of tapping for the weak spot and then penetrating it regardless of cost, every village must now be regarded as strategically vitally important in the chain of defence, and every villager an important defender. The “ parashots ” have been so recently organised and so hastily equipped that there is a widespread feeling that supplementation—even on improvised lines like grenades and revolvers —is necessary. This impression is strengthened by Sir Edward Grigg, Joint Under-Secretary for War, who broadcast an appeal to owners of 12-bore shotguns to lend them for the use of “ parashots.” Sir Edward Grigg said that ball ammunition, which would kill at a considerable range, would be available in large quantities. The King is handing over a number of his sporting guns for the use of “ parashots.” Sir Edward Grigg, in outlining the duties of voluteers, who now number more than 500,000, said: ■ “ The time is close at hand for you to render yeoman service to the country.” The kind of supplementation already being given is described by a correspondent of the Spanish war, Mr Langton Davies, who says: “ In my village we have mapped out strong points, designed barricades, and arranged the guarding of bridges and side roads. We have learned every possible lesson from Spain and Finland about unorthodox means of I inconveniencing tanks and motor ! transport.” ! The Press is demanding a full mobilisation of all classes of recruits. | whether or not arms and equipment ut present are ready for them, it is

contended that the preliminary stages of training—elementary discipline, drill, and physical training—could be got under way while the factories " go to it ” day and night. The Sunday Chronicle says: “ Now, not tomorrow, is the time to call up men who have registered. Drill them in the parks and fields as Kitchener did, so that they will be ready to use the equipment when it does come."