MOCK BATTLE WON

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 224, 20 September 1940, Page 8

MOCK BATTLE WON

AUCKLAND "RAIDED. ,, SUCCESS OF THE DEFENCE. The " Battle of Auckland" has been fought and won. A mythical invasion has been beaten off by a substantial force and by now the remnant of the "enemy," which landed near Auckland yesterday morning, is in full retreat, battered and harried, minus those of its number taken prisoner or casualties. The "battle" raged throughout the night. The defending force was in full war kit, and, in the opinion 'of senior officers, "did an excellent job of work." Mistakes were made certainly. But they were few and were more thon counterbalanced by the keenness and skill with which the majority of the operations were carried out.

Under cover of darkness the 'Auckland battalion made its disposition.;. A raiding force had landed near the city and. attacking on a wide front, attempted to cut the main rail link with the south. The territorials were mobilised rapidly, and deploying over the defensive sector, they dug themselves in. Every piece of cover was availed of. Batteries were camouflaged and their crews took up battle stations.

With perfect sighting, Lewis gun ere we took post to guard against bombing attacks by aircraft. Mortars were placed in position and manned. Then the signallers got busy with the establishment of communications. Lines for held telephones were laid between the unite and headquarters. At the advance posts sentries were put put and reconnoitring parties went out to scout the. enemy positions. Trip wires were placed in position fro guard against surprise. Barbed wire entanglements protected the shallow trenches where the infantry crouched ready for action.

Then the "bombing ,, started. A formation of 'planes attached to the "enemv" was flung into the assault. Parachute flares were dropped and the Lewie gunners swung into action. The.y put up a good show, for when a general inquest wae held this morning it was claimed that, although the bombers had inflicted heavy casualties on the defenders, two 'planes were, shot down.

The counter-attack started this morning, when there wa; a general advance by the defending force. Taking advanl age of cover, and supported by artillery and mortars, the defenders swept down to the railway line and completely routed the "enemy." The territorials, by their keenness, gave realism to the manoeuvres. Among incidents that stood out wae the exploit of a sapper sergeant of the "invading" force who got clean through the defence and "blew up" a station with gun cotton. His was a story mainly of bluff, for although detained by a sentry and taken under escort to an officer he managed to find out the password and get through to the rear of the lines, then make his way back to his own sector. A sergeant attached to the intelligence branch also did a good job of work. In a lone reconnoitring expedition, which took him through muddy ditches and various other obstacles, lie came up in the rear of the attackers and captured a flock of prisoners, whom he took back for questioning. A staff conference was held following the "battle" to-day, when the operations were reviewed and examined at length and the various lessons learnt were discussed. There was general agreement that the manoeuvres had been an outstanding success, both from a tactical viewpoint and the value of the trt ..in« to the territorials. °

One of the gems of the arrangements for the operations was the cook house, which was hidden deep behind the lines, underground. Here benzine burners roared under the long lines of field ovens and turned out an amazing variety of food. The men were given a hot dinner last night and later the whole battalion was provided with cocoa, while an excellent breakfast was produced tnis morning.