Evening star., 1948-05-30
British Army Chiefs
Plan Civilian Defense
AGAINST Atom. Attacks
By the Associoted Press

CAMBERLEY. England, May ~
Plans for a concentrated study o.
civilian defense against attacks b,
atom bombs were announced today
by Field Marshal Viscount Bernard
L. Montgomery, chief of the British
Imperial General Staff.
Lord Montgomery said represent.
atives from cities heavily bombed
in World War II would be callee
together next year to help military
experts chart program for use II
Britain undergoeS a surprise at.
tack"
He said the study would bt
known as Exercise Britannia a.le
would mark the first coordination
of civil defense with military tech.
nique in the atomic age.
Lord Montgomery outlined the
program at a news conference wind.
ing up a week of annual training
conferences and maneuvers foi tor
| line Empire army officers at the
War Office staff college.
Early Start Important.
The 1949 exercises-fourth of the
postwar period-Would be devoted
exclusively to the Exercise Britain
mia" project He said it will enl: st
the services of highest ranking
commanders not only in the home
land but from the dominions and
colonies.
1T is of the greatest Importance
| that we get down to this work next
year" he said. The two things can
no longer be kept in watertight
compartments. The old ideas of
war are gone We as soldiers are
very much mixed up in the war
fare on civilians and the civilians
share our troubles. We must evolve
a civil defense doctrine and tech
nique which will join the civil Or
ganization with the military one.
/ Lord Montgomery would not be
drawn into any speculation about
the possibility of another war. How
ever, reviewing the postwar role OF
the new streamlined British army
he said:
Generally speaking I believe
another war would be fought with
weapons developed before the out
break of war, and above all I be-
lieve that the man is still the first
weapon of war. In the end it is
the man who has to do his stuff
Even if he only presses a button
Britain ReOrganizing Army.
Thus to win battles-and Wars
you must have men who are fit and
intelligent and trained. They must
be aided by science-but is the
human thing that matters most"
Lord Montgomery said the British
army is being re-organized to meet
modern concepts of war.
In the past Britain has relied on
two armies-a small regular armv
backed by the volunteer territorial
army which was mobilized when war
broke out, then hastily trained and
expanded.
The new plan for streamlining
calls for one army, Lord Montgom-
cry said. He described a regular
flow of trained men and disciplined
men" as vital for development of
the new plan.
u. 5. Generals Attend.
He said this could be achieved
/ only by imposing upon the system
tof national compulsory service
with active army an additional re-
serve liability with the volunteer
territorial army. We have done
this by requiring our national serv-
ice men to serve six years in the
territorial army after the conclusion
OF their IL months active training. "
Lord Montgomery said the first
national service men with a re-
serve liability will start the flow
OF trained men into the territorial
army in January. 1850 = - -,
Three American generals attended
the Camberley exercises. They were
1t. Gen. Alvin C. Gillem, jr., and
Mai. Gen. Robert S. Beightler. of
the ground forces and 1t. Gen. Ed
ward R. Quesada of the Air Forces.