Evening star., 1940-08-04
Northern Command
In Britain Forfifies
$500 Square Miles
Likeliest Spot for Nlozi
Invasion Turned Into
Series of Defenses
BY DREW MIDDLETON,

Associated Press Foreign Correspondent.
WITH THE BRITISH FIELD
ARMY'S NORTHERN COMMAND
Aug. 3,-This area, likelieSt spot for
a German invasion, has been tlans-
formed by titanic labor into series
Of defense positions.
So strong are these posllIorS, say
the British, that if they cannot i'm
mediately break advancing German
storm troops, they will ensnare ard
hold them in whitening fire until the
British launch counterblow which
its army chiefs believe will throw
the Germans into the sea"
The northern command, with ci-
villain help, has fortified roughly
$500 square miles, including the
coast from the mouth of the Tees
River to the wash above Great
Yarmouth.
The area embraces industrial
cities. whose furnaces still darken
the sky. market towns. ports, lush
farm lands and miles of bleak moors.
Refugee Problem Important
Six and a half million people live
In the area. DESPITE II months of
war, the people still are there. Army
officers assure reporters these people
will stick and take it." when an in
vasion comes, but the refugee prob
lem remains vitally important.
Here is what has been done:
Coast: Harbors, beaches, cliffs
all have been fortified
Millions OF miles of barbed wire
stretch along the shore line. some
times to the sea itself where it
would be possible to land tanks from
barges there are tank blocks and
traps.
Invaders would be met with a
blast of enf1lading fire from weapons
ranging from Bren machine Guns to
heavy guns firing from blockhouses,
pillboXes and rifle pits.
Tucked away in the countryside
miles from the coast are batteries
of big guns. The army depends on
these and on Roval Air Force
bombers, artillery Of the air" to
prevent the Germans from stab
fishing a "bridgehead' through
which heavy material could be and
ed and reinforcemantS moved.
Planes Patrol Roads.
Inland; Roads leading to the coast
and running laterallv to it are swept
by guns and ceaSe!essly patrolled
by R. A. F. planes, armored cars
and truckloads of infantry.
Every hill with a commanding
position had been fortified. Many
barns and houses of tactical impor-
tance have been turned into minia-
ture forts, easy in England, wne, e
many houses are butt of stone.
The roads present problem. They
stagger through the countryside and
often have dozen sharp turns to
the mile At each turn the army
has a position, or the makings of one
Air fields: Prime GefenSt against
parachutists and troop planes will
be batteries of machine guns sweep
ing fields Mobile infantry detach-
ments are posted nearby for coun-
terattacks. Miles away batteries of
heavy guns are trained on the fields.
The anti-aircraft guns of the air
dromes also can be trained on land
ing planes.s
Mobility: Buses, trucks, carryalls,
leased from civilians. have been
added to the British Expeditionary
Forces already large supply and
mobility, in the words of one divi-
sional general, is '10C per cent"
Mobile Forces in Front.
MA'le detachment5 of motor
cych~s, bicyclists. Ben gun carriers
and small. fast trucks will precede
the regular infantrv These units
have high fire power and will spear
head counterattacks supported by
bombing and straf1ng
Armored fighting vehicles: Latest
of these is the "Beaverette." a small
armored car of considerable speed
which is we'll adapted to the narrow
British roads and rolling countryside
The Beaverette has an open top
which makes it an easy target for
strafjng aircraft. But it is faster
and more maneuverable than other
armored cars and may, if produced
in quantity, prove equal to many of
the jobs assigned to it.
The conclusion of neutral observers
Is that the British Army has done
more in six weeks than<in the pre-
vious six months to prepare for
modern war
Only a battle will tell how thor
oughly.