9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2001 - Page 0047
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
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REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 47 Wreaths at Rave/ma War Memona/ On the afternoon of 23 June, we arrived for the last part of the trip at Venice. The venue for the finale was in the palatial splendour of the Hotel Danieli (captured by 12th Lancers for Gen Freyberg’s 2 (New Zealand) Division’s HQ ahead of 56 (British) Division (contrary to news reports at the time) and in fact by John Robson MC). Here we listened to the personal accounts of Col John and John Robson concerning the 12th Lancers’ rapid yet eventful advance to Trieste and to Nigel de Lee’s expose on the immediate aftermath of the war in that area. We debated the pros and cons of tracked and wheeled reconnaissance. We also drew out some lessons that the mem- bers of the tour had learnt from the actions we had studied and from the reminiscences of the OCA. The whole experience, albeit short, had the desired effect of educating 23 serving mem- bers in the realties ofwar and a number of other important les- sons, which still have relevance today. It may be of interest to list briefly four of the key lessons the syn- dicates highlighted, which they presented at the Hotel Danieli. Order Out of Chaos. Despite poor communications, both Regiments in the main achieved their objectives, made reasoned judgments on a given mission and on occasions modified them to take advantage of situational changes within the overall scope of the commander’s intent: what we might now call “mission command”. Getting Eyes On. Lacking modern aids to observation and infor- mation gathering, the 12th Lancers had to travel vast distances in order to gather accurate and meaningful data to assist the Eighth Armys advance up to and beyond the Po. It is perhaps a salutary lesson (from their experiences and from those of the air campaign in Kosovo) that the need for manned reconnaissance is still very real. The ability to interrogate information and assess its value at the point of gathering is essential if time wasting, loss of human life and collateral damage are to be minimised. Gather While Ye May. It was fascinating to hear how vehicle mounted patrols both of the 9th Lancers and 12th Lancers would often be carried out in daylight against prepared enemypositions. At San Saw/70 CONE/70 Fl/dge r; Sgts Mess O/d & New This was supported by a report published by the 12th Lancers of their experiences of April-September 1944. Even now with all the night viewing aids at our disposal reconnaissance during daylight hours can often pay higher dividends than at night. This then led to the issue of method, which invariably must be by stealth. Tracked or Wheeled Reconnaissance. Our debate in Venice, "This house believes wheels are better than tracks for armoured reconnaissance”, generated some heated and worthwhile discus- sion from across the group and the result (the vote going against the motion) was surprisingly close (42% to 58%). I have to say that I voted for the motion. The apparent speed and ease of han- dling wheeled vehicles, such as the DINGO or STAGHOUND, their inconspicuousness and the reduced fatigue and mainte- nance attracted me more than the cumbersome, high mainte- nance tracked vehicle and outweighed the disadvantages of less cross country ability and reduced hitting power. Glancing at the current market the PANHARD, Turkish AKREP (based on a LANDROVER design) and ALVIS SCARAB all offer some suit- able wheeled alternatives to CVR(T). All of this and more we saw and to some degree experienced dur- ing our study of this period of our Regiments' histories. Perhaps General Alexander is right: history’s role is "subordinate and preparatory'. It remains only to say many thanks to those who gave their support and time to this endeavour: the Regimental Charitable Association (for their generosity), the OCA, who accompanied us, Col KE Savill CVO DSO, Col M ff Woodhead OBE, the Regimental Secretary, Maj PJ Waller MBE, Maj J Crawshay, Maj MG Moule, Maj RKB Hitchcock MC, Maj RM Collins, Maj F Hunn MBE, Mr] Fox, Mr N de Lee (Department of War Studies, RMAS) and the Regimental Museum. The last word I leave, however, to C01 Savill, the then commanding officer of 12th Lancers, who, in my discussions with him, summed up Italy in such a way as to offer some extremely relevant and sound advice for serving officers and men of today’s Regiment (I hope he will forgive me for quoting him!), which was: “Be prepared to do anything and be adaptable to sudden change” W]OF Wa/K to Rave/ma War Memor/a/ |
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