Post by Diarist on Jul 6, 2014 15:20:07 GMT 1
1. Last minute preparations for our Cherbourg trip are being made. We'll be traveling on the HMS Neptune leaving Portsmouth on Saturday April 6 at 12:00 and will spend one night in France. Benito Mussolini is upset that he has not been invited and has lost no opportunity to express his dissatisfaction. The government is taking the threat to Abyssinia very seriously and we hope to convince the French to do the same.
2. RAF units have been alerted for possible transfer to Malta, Egypt, Sudan, Aden, British Somaliland and Kenya. The Royal Navy fleet at Alexandria, Egypt is being reinforced and Army units from the 5th Infantry Division are also being alerted. None of this being made public. Our goal is to prevent a conflict, not to provoke or fight one. If, however, the Italians do invade Abyssinia or attack British and/or French units in the region we will need to have forces in theatre. After the summit, the Foreign Secretary plus a delegation from the military will fly to Egypt, Abyssinia then finally to India. We are hoping to be able to transfer some Indian troops to East Africa as well as assess the condition of Abyssinian forces.
3. The conversations after dinner are becoming very interesting. Yesterday we were discussing the various intelligence reports from other countries. The Germans and Russians advocate large tank formations and are studying airborne operations - parachute units. The Americans, Russians and Germans are all entertaining arming tanks with a 75mm gun - in Britain we are only talking about 2 pdrs for our vehicles! Our proposed Infantry-Tanks aren't very popular at TRADOC. Infantry support vehicles are neccessary but they don't need to be tanks. Infantry needs to be able to keep up with the tanks, not tanks slowed down to infantry pace. The last word hasn`t been spoken yet.
4. The General public is being prepared for higher taxes in order to pay for the increased defence expenditure. Good to see that His Majesty is supporting the government.
2. RAF units have been alerted for possible transfer to Malta, Egypt, Sudan, Aden, British Somaliland and Kenya. The Royal Navy fleet at Alexandria, Egypt is being reinforced and Army units from the 5th Infantry Division are also being alerted. None of this being made public. Our goal is to prevent a conflict, not to provoke or fight one. If, however, the Italians do invade Abyssinia or attack British and/or French units in the region we will need to have forces in theatre. After the summit, the Foreign Secretary plus a delegation from the military will fly to Egypt, Abyssinia then finally to India. We are hoping to be able to transfer some Indian troops to East Africa as well as assess the condition of Abyssinian forces.
3. The conversations after dinner are becoming very interesting. Yesterday we were discussing the various intelligence reports from other countries. The Germans and Russians advocate large tank formations and are studying airborne operations - parachute units. The Americans, Russians and Germans are all entertaining arming tanks with a 75mm gun - in Britain we are only talking about 2 pdrs for our vehicles! Our proposed Infantry-Tanks aren't very popular at TRADOC. Infantry support vehicles are neccessary but they don't need to be tanks. Infantry needs to be able to keep up with the tanks, not tanks slowed down to infantry pace. The last word hasn`t been spoken yet.
4. The General public is being prepared for higher taxes in order to pay for the increased defence expenditure. Good to see that His Majesty is supporting the government.