Territorial Organization

Britain's dynamic, ambitious War Secretary, Leslie Hore-Belisha, who last year put through a tradition-shattering shake-up of the Regular Army, last week suddenly announced complete reorganization of the nation's home defense force, the 200,000-man volunteer Territorial Army.

The Territorials, familiarly known as the "Terriers," roughly correspond to U.S. National Guardsmen. They have charge of Britain's antiaircraft and coastal defenses, the balloon barrages (rows of sausage-shaped gas bags, suspending thin, steel cables, which will be anchored to truck-winches and floated above the industrial centres in wartime) and emergency hospital work. In a decision, long expected and accelerated by the recent war scare, the War Secretary announced that the Terriers from now on will be patterned after the Regular Army. They will retain their antiaircraft and other duties, but four divisions will be mechanized, equipped with more warlike teeth: light and heavy machine guns, anti-tank guns and tanks.

Main drawback to Hore-Belisha's scheme to mechanize and equip this reorganized army is lack of weapons. Because of Britain's still-lagging rearmament program, even the Regular Army is not adequately supplied with heavy machine guns, anti-tank and antiaircraft devices, and observers are of the opinion that it will be many months before sufficient arms can be spared for the Terriers.

A National Guardsman enlists for three years, a Terrier for four. As in the U.S., a Terrier spends two weeks a year in camp, attends 20-45 one-hour drills per year. Chief difference between the U.S. and British organizations is a British War Office ruling, except in wartime or during their annual training period, that the Terriers cannot be called up to deal with civil disturbances.

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