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9 months ago
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CRACK British troops have set sail for Germany for drills to simulate holding off a Russian invasion in World War Three.
The Desert Rats, who earned their nickname defying the Nazis in North Africa, are taking part in a massive war game with 90,000 Nato personnel.
Paul Edwards
Paul EdwardsAlmost 600 armoured vehicles and light artillery guns were packed on to ferries at Marchwood military docks near Southampton as part of Exercise Steadfast Defender.
The five-month Nato exercise is the largest drill in Europe since the end of the Cold War and designed to prepare for war with Russia.
The show of force follows bombshell claims by Donald Trump that he would encourage Moscow to attack Nato allies that do not pay enough for collective defence.
At the same time figures have laid bare the scale of Russia’s losses in Ukraine.
‘Routine to us’
A report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think tank said president Vladimir Putin had lost more than 3,000 tanks in two years, equivalent to Moscow’s entire pre-war active service fleet.
The annual yardstick of global armed forces said Putin had been forced to dust off mothballed kit, trading “quality for quantity”.
But Ukraine has gone the other way.
The IISS’s Military Balance report said: “Ukraine, so far, has been able to offset equipment losses through Western donations, upgrading quality in the process.”
In the event of war with Russia ports such as Southampton could be targeted.
Troops from the Army’s specialist Port and Maritime Regiment said they routinely train to load ships under fire — including with combat pontoons from beaches if deep water ports are not available.
Sgt Baz Slator, 37, assistant key foreman at the Sea Mounting Centre in Marchwood, said: “We can work in and around enemy fires, at a contested port or across a beach.
“We did it in Iraq. We did it in the Falklands and we train to do it every year. It is routine for us.”
Some 1,500 troops from 7 Light Mechanised Brigade, better known as the Desert Rats, are flying in to meet the vehicles before travelling on to Poland to prepare for an all-out war.
Commanders said the drill was designed to simulate the period of “rising tensions before the outbreak of war”.
Just as with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, commanders said they would expect to have “some warning” of Russian plans to attack a Nato state.
A source said: “We would expect to pre-position our forces in that period as a deterrent.”
In total, around 16,000 British armed forces will take part in the Steadfast Defender drills, which include RAF jets and Royal Navy warships and submarines.
Nato rebuked Mr Trump for claiming he would encourage Putin to attack Nato countries that do not pay two per cent of GDP towards collective defence.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security.”
Paul Edwards
AP
Paul EdwardsPutin's big losses
RUSSIAN tyrant Vladimir Putin has lost more than 3,000 tanks and 400,000 troops since invading Ukraine two years ago.
To rearm, he has had to take equipment out of storage — a tactic he may only be able to keep doing for “two to three more years”, military experts said.
Former British Army Brigadier Ben Barry said Russian top brass are now relying on “warehouses and warehouses with stockpiles of vehicles left over from the Cold War”.
And he said Vlad is putting “quantity over quality” as much of his ammo is “50 years old” and “deteriorated”.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies issued the damning indictment of Russia’s armed forces yesterday at its Military Balance 2024 conference in London.
It warned the world is in a “volatile” place and facing a “more dangerous decade” as a result of the war.
English (US)