European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 10, 1980, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes tuesday june 10, 1980 crusader 80 biggest i Fary exercise in Over 10 year swill test Britain s defense contingency plans h i Rev  new York time London crusader 80. Britain s biggest military exercise in Mure than a do Jdc will take place in september to lest contingent plans Tor National mobilization Prpa Ralius Tor defense of the country and reinforcement of ground and air units in West Germany. The program Calls for the movement to Continental Europe by air and sea of 20, 000 Tryx is of the territorial army and 10.000 regulars. The ability of the non Continental members of the North Allan tic treaty organization to move Strong forces into Europe in a crisis is essential to nato s deterrent strategy according to military and political leaders. United states plans for initial reinforcement include moving an armoured division a motor cd infantry division and an armoured cavalry regiment to Europe where they would pick up stored weapons and supplies. These troops would move by air but other divisions would be sent with their equipment by sea. The British and american reinforce ments would be sent if the Alliance judged that the soviet Union and its Warsaw pact allies intended aggression. The reasoning is that rapid reinforcement of the Ameri can and British contingents and the mobilization of other Continental military forces within 48 hours would convince so Viet leaders that the Price of invading Cen trial Europe was Loo High. A critical Clement in reinforcement senior officers emphasize would be the Mili tary s ability to convince member govern ments of nato that the soviet Union intended to attack so that mobilization was necessary. Appeal to employers to enhance the september exercise prime minister Margaret Thatcher has appealed to employers to free members of the territorial army and the Royal Navy and Royal air Force reserves. So far according to defense ministry officials the tales of death pirates rapes More Viets flee by boat Hong Kong up More than 700 vietnamese refugees have arrived in asian ports since saturday some of them telling of rape and death on the High seas. The latest arrivals indicate that a renewed exodus from Vietnam is under Way but nothing like last year when 1,000 boat people arrived in Hong Kong alone. Hong Kong officials said seven battered boats carrying 501 vietnamese arrived in the British Colony Between saturday and monday morning. In Bangkok Thailand a group of 119 vice Namoc refugees arrived sunday telling horror stories of their Light to Freedom. The danish ship pc Sun plucked 103 vietnamese out of the South China sea and brought them to Singapore saturday. Officials said the refugees appear to be genuine escapees and that there is no Evi Dence that Hanoi has once again begun exporting unwanted ethnic chinese from Vietnam. The 119 refugees who arrived in Bangkok were rescued in malaysian Waters by the French freighter Tourville after a Harrow ing ordeal. One refugee said five children died apparently of starvation during the trip on the group s 40-foot boat. We had to throw their bodies overboard he said. There were also pirates said another a former school teacher in to Chi Minh City formerly Saigon. We no sooner got food and water from passing fishermen than pirates beaded our boat and look everything he said adding that some girls were raped and that two of them were kidnapped. The number of latest arrivals indicates june will be the heaviest month of 1980. Nearly 600 have arrived in Hong Kong in the first nine Days of june compared with 635 in All of May. Some of the boat people were quoted As saying Many More people arc expected to leave Vietnam in coming months because of the warm weather the prevailing wind and Ocean currents. For Sale one South african town far ouf in the Middle of nowhere Johannesburg up want to buy a town a couple of men in South Africa have placed one on the Market and the asking Price is Only $83,000. Middelbos is not exactly a Large town. It consists of a 50-Yard main Street a hotel general store gasoline station Library two schools and a handful of Homes to House the 40 permanent residents. It s not All that convenient for weekenders either. To get there the prospective town buyer must drive about six hours North of Cape town then ask directions at the garage in Calvinia which is at least listed on Road maps. It is also Wise to carry water for the 425-acre Village is in the Middle of the generally inhospitable Karoo desert and there s not a drop to drink Between Middelbos and Calvinia. But residents say living in Middelbos is not Dull. There is always gossip to pick up at the Post office where mail is delivered once a week and for the sports minded there is the Tennis court and the annual Marathon that has been known to draw 60 runners. Look Man this is the Healthiest place in the world to live and even if we Don t have television nobody could Ever be bored said Barond . Gelden Huys is a co owner of the town with local Farmer Caspar Sec Inkamp. He also serves As the town s mayor teacher undertaker and part time spiritual Leader. He said the town was being put on the Market cheap because of the Cost of maintaining services in such a Remote area and that he was sure he would get Many takers. Armed with Piper megaphone Japa not Campaign Torken lol the to True getting out the vote of Belr candidates in the parliamentary elections coming up june 22. Then they move on to repeat their messages lather parti of Tokyo. A p response has been favourable. In addition to the 30.000 territorial and regulars involved in the exercise the government will Call on some of the 60,000 individual reservists who like their counterparts in the individual ready Reserve in the United states would be fed into line units to bring them up to combat strength. Their presence would be essential because the British army of the Rhine in West Germany has a manpower shortage. Some infantry battalions have had to reduce their third company to a Small nucleus and some tanks Are in storage because of a Lack of Crews. Crusader 80 will have three parts. The first called jog Trot will concentrate on reinforcement of the Rhine army by the 30,000 British troops. The second called Spear Point will be a tactical exercise by the reinforced army of the Rhine involving the second american armoured Divi Sion and the third West German armoured brigade. The units involved in spearpoint will Fly to air bases in West Germany to pick up equipment. When they Are deployed the British will have the equivalent of four armoured divisions in line. The least spectacular but perhaps most important part of crusader 80 is exercise Square leg. This will involve territorial and regular units remaining in Britain in addition to the Raf and naval units designated for defense in the East and North East. Critical defense that defense is critical according to nato planners. Any soviet attack on the Central front or the norwegian and Mediterranean flanks could be checked and Defeated Only if Britain continued As the major staging area for reinforcements. The British will move the bulk of their heavy equipment and some of the reserves by ship to Zeebrugge and Antwerp in Bel Gium. The airborne troops will be shipped from As far away As Glasgow and Belfast the weaknesses of crusader 80 Are Sim Ilar to those facing Pentagon planners shortages of transport and a growing shortage of manpower. Field marshal lord Carver a former chief of the defense staff suggests that the territorial army be fed into regular units to bring them to War strength. Only this he contends can raise Forward units of the army of the Rhine to the strength needed to repulse a first soviet attack. Although fewer troops Are involved transport bedevil British planners As it docs americans. There arc Only 66 Strate Gic and tactical aircraft in the rats transport Force. In an emergency the Mili tary would depend on a wholesale Transfer of wide bodied passenger planes from Brit ish airways the National commercial air line. The advantage for the British in con Trast to the american position is that the distances Are Short. Transport planes could make two or even three trips a Day in an emergency. The United Stales reinforce ment plans assume that Given sufficient warning the Airlift of troops from the United Stales to Europe would take at least five Days under the most favourable conditions of Assembly loading and Depar Ture v sea lanes Clear the Short sea distance is another British advantage. The Royal Navy assumes that it will be Able to keep the sea lanes Clear in. An emergency and that reserves and equip ment will be landed on a ferry system  the underlying fear among nato planners and some politicians is that the West May not have the Lime. Some experienced sources in nato believe a soviet attack anywhere along the Long nato perimeter would begin Wilhour visible strengthening of Forward elements. This could come the source warn in Spring and fall when the russians Fly con scripts and reservists into East Germany and the other satellite states As they have in the Pasi and do not withdraw the conscripts who have finished their service