Chapter 50 Volume 2, Chapter 8 Homeland Defense｜June

British Great Effort Dangers to Come Commando Troops Problem Local Defense Volunteers Renamed National Guard Lack of Weapons Against Enemy Tanks The arrangements for the care of the wounded in France were not fortified by British troops and they were intensely trained Press and air raids there was a danger of Germany taking advantage of factories captured in Europe The problems in the Middle East and India The problem of arming the Jews in Palestine Our defense Planned progress huge anti-tank barriers and other measures. In years to come, the reader may read these chapters with a sense of how tight and bewildering the veil of the unknown is.Now when the situation is fully understood after the fact, it is easy for everyone to see where we were too ignorant or too flustered, and where we were negligent or too stupid.We've had two big shocks in two months.Germany's invasion of Norway, its breakthrough at Sedan, and all the subsequent developments have constantly proved that Germany has a great pre-emptive power.What other preparations and organizations have they made?On one of a dozen or twenty possible landing sites on our almost entirely unarmed and disarmed island, would they suddenly descend from the sky with their new weapons, well-planned, and in overwhelming numbers?Or will they invade Ireland?No matter how clear and sound a man's reasoning may seem, he is very foolish if he is not prepared for the eventuality.

Believe me, says Dr. Johnson, a man's mind must be very concentrated if he knows he will be hanged in a fortnight.I was always sure that we would win, but the situation was pressing, I was very busy with work, and the good news was that I was able to make my vision a reality.June 6th was an extremely active day for me, one that was not wasted.Lying in bed in the morning, contemplating the bleak situation, I dictated to my secretary a memorandum of my day's work, specifying which issues I should issue instructions on. First I would like the Secretary of State for Munitions (Mr. Herbert Morrison) to report on the progress made in the development of various components for rockets and trigger fuses for the manufacture of aircraft; some progress has been made in this direction.I have again the Secretary of State for Aircraft Production (Lord Beaverbrook) for a weekly report on the design and production of automatic bombsights, low altitude radio pointing devices and air interceptors.I did this to direct the attention of these two new ministers and their large departments to matters which had long been of particular concern to me.I am asking the Admiralty to temporarily transfer at least fifty trained or partially trained pilots to Air Combat Command.Fifty-five had actually participated in the air battle.I asked for a plan to attack Turin and Milan if Italy entered the war against us.I request the War Office to draw up plans for the organization of the Dutch Brigade in accordance with the wishes of the Dutch Government-in-Exile;

I urged the Foreign Secretary to recognize the Belgian government free from the captive King of Belgium as the only legitimate Belgian government and to encourage Yugoslav mobilization against the Italian threat.I demand the planting of delayed-burst bombs at the airfields at Bardofoss and Skagenland which we have built in the Narvik area and which we are now about to abandon, so as to render them unusable for as long as possible.I recall how effectively this method was used by the Germans in their final retreat in 1918 to delay our use of the railways.Unfortunately, we don't even have a delay bomb!In view of the imminent hostilities we face in Italy, I am apprehensive for the many ships which are in the port of Malta for various repairs.I have written a long memorandum to the Minister of Munitions concerning the logging and production of timber in England itself.This is one of the most important ways to reduce the tonnage of timber we import.In addition, we will not be able to import timber from Norway for a long time to come.Many such memos can be found in Appendix I of this book.

I long for more regular armies in order to rebuild and expand the army.Wars are not won by heroic militias. prime minister to secretary of state for war June 6, 1940 A little over a week or two ago I heard that eight battalions of soldiers could leave India for England within forty-two days of the order.The order has been sent.The first batch of eight battalions did not leave India until June 6th (that is, today), bypassing the Cape of Good Hope, and arriving on July 25th. 2. The Australians are coming on great ships, but they seem to have been delayed for a week at Cape Town, and are now only advancing at eighteen knots instead of twenty, which I believe is possible.I hope they will arrive around the fifteenth day.

is that so?In any case, as soon as they arrive, they should immediately sail for India with as many Home Guard battalions as possible, preferably twelve battalions.Immediately after arriving in India, the second batch of eight regular battalions was transported back to England at full speed.Then carry another batch of Homeland Defense Forces to India.Future transfers can be discussed in the future. What I am asking for now is: the giant ship must be driven at full speed when it comes and goes. 3. I learned that the transfer of several battalions from Palestine has actually come to a standstill due to local opposition. I deeply regret this.It is only natural that General Wavell [1] judged the situation from his own point of view, and we have to consider building up a strong army to make up as far as possible for the failure of the first year of the war with a proper British army. The expeditionary force aided France in this sad failure.Did you know:

In the first year of the last war we had forty-seven divisions fighting, each with twelve battalions plus an engineer battalion, instead of nine battalions per division now?We do suffer from a weary bureaucracy. [1] Wavell (Wavell): The old translation is Wei Feier.translator 4. In order not to withdraw the British Expeditionary Force, I have been willing to wait for the eight Indian battalions to take over the defense of the eight battalions transferred from Palestine, if the former can go to Palestine immediately; but you need not give me a timetable for this matter. .Whether these British battalions and their Indian successors could be transported by way of Basra and the Persian Gulf, I have as yet received no report.

Please send me the report as soon as possible. 5. I am also prepared to consider an alternative, which is to take this step directly: to repatriate (ie to Britain) the remainder of the Australian Army.I would like you to send me a memorandum on the matter, specifying the date of possible departure. 6. Don't think that I have ignored the situation in the Middle East.On the contrary, it seems to me that we are also heavily dependent on India, whose steady stream of troops should be crossing the desert from Bombay and (via) Karachi to Palestine and Egypt.India has yet to do anything worth mentioning.Not only did all our (British) regular troops come from India during the first nine months of the last war (there are far more of them than at present), but an Indian corps fought in France at Christmas time.Compared with what happened twenty-five years ago, we are obviously weak, slow-moving, and lack energy and hard work.I do think that you and Lloyd and Amory should get our business in the East and Middle East out of sluggishness.

During this period, all the British people participated in the work, did their best, and were unprecedentedly united.Men and women toiled beside the lathes and machines in the factories until they collapsed from exhaustion and had to be carried away and sent home, while others immediately took their places early.The only wish of all men and many women is to be able to bear arms. All the people still remember the tight unity of the War Cabinet and the Government.The people showed no sign of fear, and their representatives in the House expressed their feelings well.Our sacrifice was not as great as that of France under the blows of Germany.Nothing motivated the British to act more than the threat of an enemy invasion, because Britain had not been invaded in a thousand years.The vast majority of the people are determined to win this war, or they would rather die.No speeches are needed to lift their spirits.They were happy to hear me express their feelings and give good reasons for what they were determined to do and what they intended to do.The only disagreement that may arise is that some even want to do the impossible, and also think that action is enhanced by mad enthusiasm.

Our decision to send our only two well-armed divisions back to France made it all the more necessary to take all possible measures to defend the island from a direct attack by the enemy. prime minister to general ismay June 18, 1940 I would like to be informed about the following: (1) Coastal lookout posts and coastal artillery; (2) Blockage of ports and fortified bays (i.e. defenses of landing sites); (3) Prepare to directly support troops in the aforementioned areas; (4) mobile columns and brigades; (5) General Reserve Forces. I should be sent to explain to me the conditions of the above-mentioned troops, including the artillery that can be used in each area.I had given instructions that the 8th Tank Regiment should immediately be equipped with infantry tanks and patrol vehicles until they had fifty-two new tanks fully armored and equipped with cannons.What is the output of military supplies this month and last month?Do it right: Get these products to the troops quickly instead of sitting in warehouses.General Carr was in charge of it.Let him report.

What is the opinion of the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Forces regarding the creation of the Stormtroopers?We have always looked down upon this idea, but in the last war Germany did gain by it, and in this one it was the chief reason for their victory.Therefore, there should be at least 20,000 stormtroopers, the Leopards (finally named Shock Troops), drawn from existing units, ready to destroy small landing forces or paratroopers on the spot.These officers and soldiers should be equipped with the latest weapons, such as portable machine guns, hand grenades, etc., and the greatest convenience should be given to motorcycles and armored vehicles.

Mr. Eden's plan for the creation of local defense volunteers, presented in the cabinet on May 13, immediately received responses from all over the country. prime minister to secretary of state for war June 22, 1940 Please send me a brief report on the situation of the local defense volunteers, showing the progress of the recruitment and arming of volunteers, and whether they are used for spying on the enemy or for official combat?What is their relationship with the police, military command and local governors?Who do they obey and report to?I would be very pleased if you could put these circumstances into a concise report of one or two pages. I've wanted to use a name like the National Guard for a long time.I made this suggestion as early as October 1939. prime minister to secretary of state for war June 26, 1940 I don't quite agree with the name of your new large force, the Local Defense Volunteers.The word place does not excite the heart.Mr. Herbert Morrison suggested to me today the name Civil Guard, and I think National Guard would be better.If you think the National Guard is more powerful, don't hesitate to change the name because of the armbands and other reasons. prime minister to secretary of state for war June 27, 1940 I hope you agree with my proposal to change the name of the Volunteers of the Local Defense to the National Guard, because the Volunteers of the Local Defense remind me of local government and local option.During my rounds yesterday, I found that everyone was in favor of the name. So the name was changed, and this powerful organization soon grew to 1.5 million people, gradually acquired sophisticated weapons, and continued to expand. My main concern these days is the landing of German tank troops.Since I had imagined that our tank armies could land on the German coast, it was natural to imagine that the enemy might have the same idea.We hardly had any anti-tank guns or anti-tank ammunition, not even ordinary field guns.How embarrassed we are to meet this danger may be gauged from what follows.I have visited the beaches of St. Margaret's Bay near Dover.The brigade commander told me that his brigade guarded this dangerous coastline for four or five miles, but he had only three anti-tank guns.There were only six rounds per gun, he said, and he asked me in a slightly questioning tone if he could have his men fire one round as a practice exercise, so that they would at least know how effective the weapon was.I replied that we could not afford to supply the drill shells, and that we should wait until the last moment and within the nearest range to fire. Time, therefore, does not allow us to follow the usual path to find a solution.In order that any novel idea or invention could be brought into operation quickly without being bound by bureaucratic procedures, I resolved, in my capacity as Secretary of State for Defense, to personally direct Major Jeffreys' experimental field at Whitechurch.In 1939, while working on floating mines, I benefited greatly from my contact with this distinguished officer whose brilliant and inventive mind, as will be seen, was instrumental to the entire Contributed to the war.Lindemann was in close touch with Jeffers and me.I use their minds and my power.Major Jeffers and a few others who were working with him were working on a bomb that could be dropped on tanks, dropped from the windows and stuck to tanks.It is especially effective when the highly explosive explosive actually detonates on contact with the steel plate.We can imagine such a picture: Those loyal and patriotic soldiers or civilians rush to the tank very close to drop the bomb, even though the explosion of the bomb will cost them their lives.No doubt many will do so.I also conceived of attaching such a bomb to a stub, and firing it from a rifle with a small charge of explosive. prime minister to general ismay June 6, 1940 The most important thing at present is to develop projectiles that can shoot tanks with rifles, similar to rifle grenades, or to shoot with anti-tank guns, similar to mortar shells.Sticky bombs seem to work for the former, but that might not be the case.In any case, concentrate on developing projectiles that can be fired from anti-tank guns or from regular rifles. I was very pressed for this matter. prime minister to general ismay June 16, 1940 Who is responsible for making the sticky bombs?I've been told that this thing is moving very slowly.I would like General Carr to report on this today, and to give me a brief report on the matter, describing the circumstances of the matter from the moment the question was first raised. This matter should be urged daily, and I expect a report every three days. prime minister to general ismay June 24, 1940 I mentioned the sticky bomb a few days ago.All preparations for manufacturing should be done in advance to make the further experience a success.Please give me a timetable explaining why there are delays in such an urgent process. prime minister to general ismay June 24, 1940 From what I understand, the trials were not very successful.Bombs cannot stick to tanks covered in dust and mud.No doubt more viscous mixtures could be invented, and Major Jeffers should persevere. I'm disgusted with officers who didn't actively promote the creation of such a bomb in the past and now laugh at it as unsuccessful. Finally, the sticky bomb is finally recognized as one of our best emergency weapons.We have never used this weapon at home, but it has proved its worth in Syria, which is generally primitive. Clearly, we should do our best to build up French troops in order to help General de Gaulle keep the true embodiment of France alive. Prime Minister to Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of the Army and Air Force June 27, 1940 1. The 13,600 French naval personnel at Camp Eintree, the 5,530 Army troops at Trentham Park, the Nineteen hundred soldiers and Blackpool's detachment were sent to Morocco, a French territory. 2. They should be told that we are sending them to French Africa because all the great French ports are in German hands, and that the French government will make arrangements for their future operations. 3. However, if anyone wants to stay here and fight against Germany, they should say so immediately.Care must be taken that no officer or soldier should be returned to French jurisdiction against his will.Shipping ships should be ready tomorrow.Troops should move under their own officers, each carrying his own arms, but with as little ammunition as possible.Arrangements shall be made for the payment of military pay to them.The French supplies on the ships from Narvik, and the ammunition on the Lombardy and other ships, shall be taken over by our country to reimburse our expenses. 4. Take special care of the wounded in France.All that can be sent away without danger should be returned as directly as possible to France.The French Government should be consulted as to where they wish to send these people, and if they wish to send them to the great French ports, arrangements should be made with the Germans for safe entry; otherwise, to Casablanca.All dangerous patients should be left here to be cared for. 5. In addition to some of the above-mentioned members of the various troops who stayed voluntarily, there must be many individual people who came here, hoping to continue fighting.These people should be given the choice: whether to return to France or to serve as soldiers in the French army under the command of General de Gaulle. We should inform General de Gaulle of our decision and give him appropriate facilities to collect his people.I have given up hope of General de Gaulle addressing the organized troops, because their morale is demoralizing too quickly. I would like our Army to be restored to normal and to fight again, but my wishes have been thwarted from the outset by so many troops engaged in fortifications in their own districts or along the coast. prime minister to secretary of state for war June 25, 1940 It is astonishing that only 57,000 (non-combatants) were used to build all these (fortifications).Also, I'm concerned that a large number of troops are being used to build fortifications.During the current phase, troops are training for at least eight hours a day, including a rigorous review every morning.All necessary labor should be done on the part of non-combatants.When I visited East Anglia it was difficult to even see a battalion drilled in formation, combat units in a brigade should neither be used to defend vulnerable points nor to build fortifications.Of course, this situation cannot be changed immediately, but please give me suggestions on how to promote its realization as soon as possible. Prime Minister to Information Secretary June 26, 1940 The press and the radio stations should be told: Report the enemy's air raids in a calm manner and in a tone that gradually makes the public indifferent.Such information should be published without unduly provocative pages or headlines.The people should be accustomed to seeing air raids as a regular occurrence.The location of the airstrike should not be explicitly stated.Do not post pictures of collapsed houses unless there is something extremely special about it or how effective the Anderson family bunker was.It should be understood that the vast majority of the people are not at all affected by any single air raid; if it had not hit them, they would have had no terrible impression of it.Everyone should learn to think of an air raid or an air raid siren as nothing more than a thunderstorm.Please present these views to the authorities of the press, and persuade them to assist them.If it is difficult to do so, I would like to meet with the Newspaper Owners Association myself, but I hope I don't have to.The newspaper's handling of the matter so far is commendable. prime minister to secretary of state for war June 27, 1940 The attachment (schedule for the transfer of troops from India) makes me anxious to know how you intend to use these eight elite regular battalions.Apparently, they're going to reinforce your assault force.Some people imagined that they could be organized into two infantry divisions, and each division plus five elite Home Guard battalions made a total of eighteen battalions.Should a certain number of officers and non-commissioned officers be allocated from these regular battalions to reinforce the Home Guard battalions assigned to these divisions?In this way, you will have six infantry brigades in no time.well! I am afraid that the artillery must fall behind, but I believe they will not be too long behind. As rumors of peace talks are growing, and at the same time a letter has been sent from the Vatican via Berne, I think it appropriate to send the following memorandum to the Foreign Secretary: June 28, 1940 I wish to state to the Pope's envoy: We do not wish to inquire about the terms of a peace with Hitler, and all our diplomats are strictly forbidden to accept any such proposal. However, the following documents show our skepticism. Prime Minister to Professor Lindemann June 29, 1940 While we are intensifying preparations for mastery of the air, Germany must also be organizing all industries in the occupied countries to produce aircraft and other military supplies suitable (for) attacking our country.So, it's a race.They cannot immediately put into production the factories they have seized, and in the meantime, thanks to the growth of our defenses and army strength, we can overcome the danger of a German invasion, but if we do not blow up the factories that Germany has just acquired, Then what will be the comparison of the production volumes of the enemy and us next year?The Germans no longer needed to keep a strong force in constant contact with the French, so they had spare power, air and otherwise, to attack us.Can we not estimate how powerful this force is?When will they attack?So far, because of the urgency of the situation, I guess in the next three months, but what about 1941?In my opinion, only substantial assistance from the United States will get us through this. As the month of June wore on, we felt more and more that at any moment Germany might attack our country. prime minister to general ismay June 30, 1940 The Admiralty's tide tables, the moonlight, and the conditions of the Humber, Thames estuary, and beachheads should be studied in order to ascertain the best days for landing by sea.The Admiralty should be consulted. The Chiefs of Staff had always been very concerned about enemy landings or airdrops of paratroopers in Ireland.I think that our manpower and material resources are extremely limited, and it is difficult to carry out proper military deployment. prime minister to general ismay June 30, 1940 It would be an inappropriate venture to take either of our only two fully equipped divisions out of Great Britain at this critical juncture, so I doubt whether the situation in Ireland requires as much What about using divisions of troops and all their vehicles?It is said that even with all the preparations in advance, it would take ten days to transport a division from here to Ireland, which is not satisfactory.A plan should be drawn up which would enable two or three light brigades to start at short notice, reaching Northern Ireland in no more than three days.Alternate means of transport should be shipped in advance.It was a mistake to send large numbers of artillery to Ireland.It appears that the Navy will not land there.Airdrop paratroopers cannot carry many cannons.In the end, whatever happens to Ireland is of no immediate decisive importance. In the matter of repatriating troops from Palestine, I was obstructed by two old friends of mine, Mr. Amory, Secretary of State for India, and Lord Lloyd, Colonial Secretary, who was thoroughly anti-Semitic and pro-Arab , I had hoped to arm the colonial people of Jewish descent there.Mr. Amory, Secretary of State for India, differs from me on the question of the role India should play.I would immediately transfer Indian troops to Palestine and the Middle East, while the Governor and the Indian Office were naturally inclined to formulate a long-term plan: to build up a large Indian army based on the production of Indian munitions factories. Prime Minister to Minister for Indian Affairs June 22, 1940 1. We already have a large number of troops in India, but they have not been put to good use for the general purpose of the war.India's support for this war is far less than it was in 1914-1918.In my opinion, the war is likely to spread to the Middle East, and the climate in Iraq, Palestine and Egypt is very suitable for Indian troops.I propose to organize them into brigades, each brigade to be equipped with a certain proportion of artillery according to the new British system.I hope to organize six or eight such brigades this winter.These brigades should also include some Gurkha brigades. 2. The transfer of the British regular battalion should continue. After the transfer of the British regular battalion, the homeland defense force who took over the defense had to be delayed for two weeks to arrive. I regret this very much.Please reassure the Governor that this is a work in progress. Prime Minister to Secretary of Colonial Affairs June 28, 1940 The policy you advocate is wrong, as evidenced by the fact that you (we) have to keep in Palestine the troops we desperately need in large numbers: six infantry battalions Nine Regiments of Yeomania Eight Australian Infantry Battalions The total number may be more than 20,000.This is the price one must pay for years of anti-Semitic policies.If the fighting seriously affected Egypt, all these troops would have to be withdrawn, and the position of the Jewish colonists would be too dangerous.While some of these troops are some of our best and are desperately needed elsewhere, I'm sure you'll tell us that these troops cannot be withdrawn.If the Jews were properly armed, we could call upon our own army, and there would be no such thing as a Jew attacking the Arabs, for they depended entirely on us, on our command of the seas.It seems to me a disgrace that such a large army should not be deployed in support of a policy advocated by some Conservatives when we are all fighting to survive. I had hoped that you would look at the big picture of the situation in Palestine and make it a priority to bring out the British garrison.I certainly cannot agree with the answer you have formulated for me. I do not admit at all that the feelings of the Arabs in the Near East and India are as hurt as you say.Now that we maintain such friendly relations with the Turks, our position is even stronger. For the first time in a hundred and twenty-five years, a formidable enemy now appeared across the narrow channel of the English Channel.Our reconstituted regular army and our larger but poorly trained home defense force must be reorganized and deployed to form a sophisticated defensive system, ready to destroy the invaders if they come because there is no escape.Both sides are at stake.The National Guard could already be incorporated into the general organization of defense.On 25 June Ironside, Commander-in-Chief of the Home Forces, sent his plans to the Chief of the General Staff.These plans have, of course, been examined with great care by experts, and I have scrutinized them with great care myself.The plans were largely passed.There are three main points in the preliminary outline of this vast future plan: first, the construction of covered trenches on the beaches where the enemy may invade the coast, and the soldiers guarding the beach can fight from the guarded positions, and they will be supported by mobile reserves , for an immediate counterattack; second, to establish a line of anti-tank barriers through the center of the east of England, defended by the National Guard, in order to protect London and the great industrial centers from enemy armored vehicles; Behind the line is the main reserve army for a major counteroffensive. As time passed, this first plan underwent numerous additions and modifications, but the general spirit remained unchanged.If attacked, all the troops should hold fast, not only in a line, but in many directions, while the rest of the troops should move quickly to destroy the aggressor, whether by sea or by air.Those who have been cut off from the direct supply line should not just stay in the positions.They should take active actions to harass the enemy from behind, interfere with the enemy's traffic, and destroy the enemy's supplies.A year later, when the German army flooded Russia, the Russians did just that, to great effect.Many people must have been bewildered by the innumerable numbers of people moving around them.But they can understand the necessity of stretching barbed wire on the beach, laying mines, placing barriers against tanks on narrow roads, erecting pillboxes at intersections, repeatedly breaking into their homes, filling attics with sandbags, Dig wide anti-tank trenches on golf courses or in the most fertile land and gardens, etc.All these troubles, and more troubles than these, they took well. But they must sometimes wonder whether there is a general plan, or whether a few are abusing their newfound powers of interfering with the property of citizens. We have a thorough, coordinated and comprehensive plan that includes all aspects.This plan was later developed into such a form that overall command was held by the London High Command.The whole of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is divided into seven headquarters, which are further divided into military control area and division control area.Every command, corps, and division must retain a certain percentage of its forces in mobile reserve, sending only the minimum number of troops to hold their particular sector of defense.In this way, in the back of the coast, a defensive zone was gradually established in each division area, and after these areas there were similar military area defense areas and headquarters defense areas. The depth of the entire defense system reached a hundred miles or a hundred miles. above. Behind this a main line of anti-tank obstacles was built across southern England and up to Nottinghamshire.The most important is the final reserve army under the direct command of the commander-in-chief of the National Guard.This is our policy of maintaining an army as large and mobile as possible. In this general organization, there are various forms.Each port on our eastern and southern coasts is to be treated separately.It seems unlikely that the enemy will directly attack a fortified port from the front, and all our ports are fortified points, equally defendable from land and sea.While our military authorities have generally accepted and strictly enforced the principle of harbor fortification at home, I am amazed that the senior officers in Singapore did not do the same, but that is later.Barricades were erected across thousands of square miles of Britain to prevent the landing of airborne troops.Already in the summer of 1940 we had 375 airfields, radar stations and oil depots, all of which required special garrison and their own airmen.Thousands of weak bridges, power stations, warehouses, important factories and the like need to be defended day and night against sabotage and sudden attack.Plans are also now being drawn up, that when the enemy captures such a place, immediately destroy the material which is beneficial to the enemy.We have also drawn up extremely detailed plans to destroy port facilities, blow up important roads, and disable motor traffic, telegraphs, telephones, railroads, and vehicles before the traffic is out of control, but despite all these wise and necessary It cannot be said that this was a scorched-earth policy; the British people wanted to defend Britain, not destroy it.