Post by Diarist on Oct 27, 2015 19:07:19 GMT 1
Rommel, Sally and I left the hotel early and drove to Salisbury Plain arriving just before lunch. The school was now very busy, they had three courses running parallel. The 1st week was physical fitness, the 2nd week was tower training, etc. while the 3rd week was spent jumping. There was no parachute-rigging and no weapons training. That would be done in Colchester. I managed to get Rommel issued with fatigues and boots because it can be very muddy at the training area. Sally was wearing wellies and cord slacks. I greeted some of the instructors who remembered me.
Rommel and I climbed up the 20m rappelling tower and I showed him how to organize the rope. Then I jumped over the edge touching the wall only once before landing on my feet at the bottom. To my amazement Rommel followed but was a lot more cautious. He did it two more times and became very proficient. Sally wanted to try and I said noooo. I then showed them the tower where landings are practiced. You have to practice landing at different angles because it is unlikely that you'll land vertically. You could land backwards, forwards or sideways. I brought them to the obstacle course but they declined to try it. We changed back into our good clothes then went to the local mess hall for a late lunch. Rommel and Sally were surprised how good the food was. I explained that you use up a lot of calories in this training that's why there are steaks and other high-protein meals. I added 4kg here, mostly muscle.
On the way home I took a detour to visit Prince Edward at Fort Belvedere, his 'palace'. I joked that he has to say 'sir' to me now that I'm a temporary-major. We stayed there for a couple of hours before driving back to Saffron Walden. We had already eaten at Edward's home so I had only a couple of drinks. During the evening Heinz Guderian joined me at the bar at told me that Rommel really enjoyed the day. I also learned a lot about mountain warfare and it might be useful if we get involved in Abyssinia. He asked if I'm making notes. "You won't be when you get back to Berlin?", I countered. I asked about his cardboard tanks - at least they are more mobile than ours!
The MoD has problems deciding who is to command the proposed 1st Armoured Division. The Infantry guys want an Infantry commander while the Cavalry guys want a Cavalry commander. There are rumours of a compromise; an Artillery general will command the division. I can only shake my head in despair.
Back home I've typed up notes about mountain warfare tactics. Tomorrow we meet at the hotel for lunch and decide what we do for the rest of the day. It's Sunday so I hope that nothing is planned.
Rommel and I climbed up the 20m rappelling tower and I showed him how to organize the rope. Then I jumped over the edge touching the wall only once before landing on my feet at the bottom. To my amazement Rommel followed but was a lot more cautious. He did it two more times and became very proficient. Sally wanted to try and I said noooo. I then showed them the tower where landings are practiced. You have to practice landing at different angles because it is unlikely that you'll land vertically. You could land backwards, forwards or sideways. I brought them to the obstacle course but they declined to try it. We changed back into our good clothes then went to the local mess hall for a late lunch. Rommel and Sally were surprised how good the food was. I explained that you use up a lot of calories in this training that's why there are steaks and other high-protein meals. I added 4kg here, mostly muscle.
On the way home I took a detour to visit Prince Edward at Fort Belvedere, his 'palace'. I joked that he has to say 'sir' to me now that I'm a temporary-major. We stayed there for a couple of hours before driving back to Saffron Walden. We had already eaten at Edward's home so I had only a couple of drinks. During the evening Heinz Guderian joined me at the bar at told me that Rommel really enjoyed the day. I also learned a lot about mountain warfare and it might be useful if we get involved in Abyssinia. He asked if I'm making notes. "You won't be when you get back to Berlin?", I countered. I asked about his cardboard tanks - at least they are more mobile than ours!
The MoD has problems deciding who is to command the proposed 1st Armoured Division. The Infantry guys want an Infantry commander while the Cavalry guys want a Cavalry commander. There are rumours of a compromise; an Artillery general will command the division. I can only shake my head in despair.
Back home I've typed up notes about mountain warfare tactics. Tomorrow we meet at the hotel for lunch and decide what we do for the rest of the day. It's Sunday so I hope that nothing is planned.