Peter Rhodes on Dad's Army bullets, bangs and preparing the nation for a stinker of a Budget
According to reports this week, wage rises for the military must be paid for from existing budgets by using fewer bullets, even if it means shouting “bang!” on exercises. So what's new?
A yarn from the Second World War tells us how, in order to save ammunition, soldiers would spring ambushes on manoeuvres with choruses of “Bang! Bang! You're dead!” It worked well so long as you didn't encounter the much-feared squaddie lumbering into action with: “Clinkety-clank – I'm a tank.”
Another useful device for saving money on military training is the Tewt, the tactical exercise without troops, which enables officers to rehearse deployments without the expense of mobilising hundreds of soldiers. Money-saving variants of the Tewt include Jewt (Jungle exercise without trees), News (Naval exercise without sea) and Newd (Night exercise without darkness).
