Show t j jr r- r rB British B Army Is Read II Powerful Force Confident It Will Nip 1 Editors Editor's note Drew Middleton Middle Middle- ton who accompanied the British Brit ish isis expeditionary force to Flanders Flanders Flan Finn ders during the blitzkrieg last spring tells how Britain has revitalized re revitalized re re- vitalized her armed forces force In a series of three dally daily stories of which this is the first By Dy DREW MIDDLETON LONDON Battered P Battered and bewildered In June seasoned and confident today today today-that's that's the British British British Brit Brit- ish army which must defend the soil loll of England against the boldest boldest bold bold- est eat military enterprise of modem modern modern mod mod- em ern history While the Germans muster their tremendous armory of war for a threatened invasion a British British Brit Brit- ish force torce of waits and wait and the empires empire's future rests ruts on the fighting services and on none more heavily than the men in khaki Ultimately they are the themen themen themen men who will have to deal with invaders Prime Minister Churchill re recently recently re- re spoke of ot an army of but the army says his figure included the navy air force and army abroad Army Is Final Defense Firmly Imbedded In the BritIsh British Brit Brit- ish grand strategy Is ie the belief that although the naval blockade blockade block bock ade will weaken Germany and nightly bombings will whittle her industrial output it is up to the army to repulse invasion then strike a final blow on the continent conti conti- nent to end the war There are men of the regular army and a million of the home guard under arms in inthe inthe inthe the United Kingdom They have gone through a thorough revolution revolution revolution tion in command tactics equipment equipment equip equip- ment meal and morale since June 1940 The comparative youth of the new generals who are running this army long army long dominated by oldsters is striking Their ages run from 49 to 59 The British army has been changed out of all recognition Mobility was developed to new heights There is now not one type of infantry battalion but four graded on mobility These are the regular battalion of riflemen rifle men the motorized battalion motorcycle battalion and mechanized mechanized mech mech- battalion Mobility 1 I Is Watchword Mobility mobility Is the chant of the new generals Mobility Mobility Mobility Mo Mo- also is stressed in the plans for the defense of airdromes and possible landing fields fields mobility mobility coupled with fire power To school the troops the general general general gen gen- eral staff threw armies over the beaches and fields down moors and along the highways of Britain Britain Brit Brit- am ain from June until early Janu Janu- ary any They practiced invasion full scale studied it and theoretically repelled it in extensive maneu maneu- vers vera Side by side with time worn axioms of defense are new tricks for use against invasion forces A subaltern able to kill a sentry silently was not quite pukka in the army 25 years ago Today hes he's the white-haired white boy The army will tear up the rule book and forget what's cricket when invasion comes I They Know Country Watching the British work o out t the tactical problems of possible invasion an observer is struck tr ck by the enormous ad vantage advantage they hold knowledge hold knowledge of ot a country de denuded denuded denuded de- de of sign posts and town identifications a a land of no no- where Men from Devon know where to place antitank guns on the Yorkshire moors farmers from Hampshire unhesitatingly pick out the best machine gun posts along the wash The general of one command said there Is not a foot of ot land in the command that we dont don't know and haven't made preparations to defend British industry and American purchases are gradually adjustIng adjust adjust- ing the staggering inferiority In mechanized equipment artillery I motor transports and automatic weapons which the British army faced about the fall faU of France Leaders Loaders Are Confident Regardless of ot whether err cry has been speedy enough to guarantee a successful invasion of the continent in 1941 army leaders are confident they have enough materiel on repel any axis invasion i To understand the j rea British position it must be bi r that the British fl force torce f left t tar tank v more than armored c car thousands of ot trucks and f tse tiel guns and millions of rounds round ammunition In France c Mechanization has sped f fOI ward since critical Prime Mini ter ten Winston Churchill 8 The army has been mechanic In the sense that horses hf hay been taken away from It it R B RAC AC training is lengthy an Intensive Since June thousand of ot truck drivers machine w Z ers era and engineers have i heir bee molded Into military driven radio operators and gunners gunner j J. J feature of the training u Is J p on making each of the crew interchange Even the cooks in the RAe i drive a tank and fire Its lit uta gae t More Tomorrow |