HARD AT IT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 October 1941, Page 5

HARD AT IT

NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITIONARY FORCE TRAINING IN THE WESTERN DESERT. ARDUOUS AND PROLONGED TESTS. (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) WESTERN DESERT, October 22. Daring' and aggressive tactics have been tried out in mock battles fought deep in Hie desert, wilderness by New Zealand formations. The force has reached a high slate of desert-worthiness by constant, practice in long motorised treks by night and day and realistic tactical exercises. Though the news of the major N.Z.E.F. activities in the periods between action often seems a reiteration of that phrase, “tactical exercises,” their importance cannot be over-rated. If they are to win victories with maximum swiftness and minimum casualties, our fighting troops must learn to master the desert as an apprentice masters a trade. By repeated experience they must learn how to bridge its immense distances and how to meet the dangers of its open spaces. By prolonged test they must harden themselves to fight such natural enemies as dust, thirst and exposure to heat and cold. Their officers must be able to read its apathetic face like an open book. j When all these safeguards and teachings approach the point of being second nature, the troops must consider the extent to which the enemy himself has mastered the desert. What man-made barriers has he raised to reinforce its own defences? What faith has he put in concrete, wire and stone? How strongly with guns, tanks and planes does he dominate the approaches? How will he strike if he strikes first? The answers to such questions may only be given in the final test, but constant practice and experiment may swing them in our favour. Training for desert warfare is like cooking camel meat stew —it takes a lot of over-doing. Since it was brought up to strength five months ago, after the Balkans campaign, the New Zealand force has been cooking its stew with patience and determination to be thorough. Whenever I ask the commanding officers how their new material is shaping. I get the invariable answer, “Splendidly.” Newcomers to the battalions and regiments are helped by a wholesome ambition to be worthy of their unit’s traditions.