PARACHUTE TROOPS TO THE TEST

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 309, 23 May 1941, Page 4

PARACHUTE TROOPS TO THE TEST

EVERY casualty list to-day brings the people of New Zealand a little nearer to the realities of war. In our own home town ef Whakatane residents are feeling' perhaps for the first time that this is their war, and that it must be fought out to a finish. We understand that the bulk of the New Zealand troops which fought in the Greecian campaign are now safely quartered on the friendly shores of Crete, and thus we have a direct interest in the recent attempt to in vade the island with a spear-head, of parachute troops. The fact that these specially trained men wore New Zealand uniforms for their task is further link, and affords fresh interest to the undertaking. It would appear however that this new method of conducting the war was not the highly successful experiment for which the Nazis hoped. Less than twelve hours had elapsed when Major-General Freyberg was able to notify the War Office in London that the position was completely in hand and that the invaders had either been captured or put out of action. This prompt way of dealing with one of Hitler's secret codes, will have repercussions in the German War Cabinet,, for quite apart from its failure, the Reich has lost seven thousand of its highest trained specialists. Your parachute trooper is no second, rater. He must be fearless, highly skilled in the handling of special weapons, and full of initiative for quick decisions. To dive from a plane heavily weighted with gear, ammunition and defensive weapons and to expect to land by 'chute in a hostile country, waiting and ready for such as he,, requires no small amount of nerve and individual bravery. For fully fifty per cent it means almost certain death, while for the balance the chances of injury in landing through being so heavily encumbered more than outweigh the chances of getting through unscathed. Thus the parachute troopers have a better claim to the title suicide squad' than perhaps any other unit in the army. When all is weighed up the. chances of a successful invasion by this method, when the garirsion army is waiting and in readiness seem to become more and more remote, as the novelty wears off and counteracting movements are perfected. 4