FENCES GO UNDER

Camp News, Volume 3, Issue 121, 8 May 1942, Page 5

FENCES GO UNDER

Assault On Aerodrome The strength of regiments of the Central Military District thundered across country in complete darkness, crashing fences and . all obstacles in their path, in an assault from two sides on an airport in Poverty Bay, defended by local forces. The assault was presumed to have followed two independent coastal beach landings, and. was

part of warlike exercises conducted by the regiments recently. In peace -time fences '■■■ cannot be broken down at will. But this is war, and the people of the district willingly co-operated in anything required to exercise the regiment-? under stern conditions. Besides, it gave the’ local forces an idea of what they might expect if defending their own territory pending the arrival of regular mobile forces. • . t-. ; To hear the thunder of armoured strength coming at them out of the night, with all the crash and 'din of sweeping down obstacles, was a good test for the nerves of defenders. The forcing of a gorge river crossing with the enemy in possession of the railway viaduct and traffic bridge was a spectacular exercise. A holding attack was launched on the bridges to occupy the enemy's attention while further down engineers rigged a bridge with pontoons and ropes across the river. Armoured vehicles went- across and outflanked the enemy.