Page 26 - The Wish Stream Year of 2022

Exercise ALLENBY’S ADVANCE
OCdt West
Ex ALLENBY’S ADVANCE is the second exercise of the famed ‘hateful eight’, which engulfs the early half of the Intermediate
Term. Having only returned from Ex ROBERT’S RETURN two weeks prior, many of the Company had barely got back into camp routine before fresh deployment orders were being delivered.
Ex ALLENBY’S ADVANCE was billed as the summative offensive exercise, a test of all we had learnt. This included deliberate and hasty attacks, advance to contacts, through to ambushes and raids. However, the defining feature of the exercise was the location: Senny- bridge Training Area.
We had never seen a landscape like Brecon before. A mixture of; sweeping barren vistas of rolling grassland hills, babies-heads, artifi- cially shaped woodblocks dotted
across the horizon perched on
various gradients, streams dart-
ing through the concealed valleys
and a variety of tarmacked, gravel
and grassy tracks. This was cer-
tainly the most challenging terrain
we had faced yet. However, Lieutenant Colo- nel Morton rightfully dictated that: “The good ground was there for us, we would just have to work for it!”
The exercise lasted six days, our longest yet, and followed an exciting structure. The first day
was dominated by the long insertion tab giving a poignant introduction to the terrain and estab- lishment of the Normandy Company’s home for the week in woodblock 33. The second con- sisted of a deliberate attack, a hasty attack, and an advance to contact to get us all back into the
swing of offensive operations and to cure any camp lethargy. This was also the only night where we had a ‘full night’ in the harbour. However, with it being June, the window for night-time sleeping was minimal. The third day saw a deliberate attack with
a precursory recce element followed by a day of administration and preparations for the forth- coming ambush. This was the first time we have had substantial daytime admin time on exercise, and all were quick to get out their doss bags for some well needed rest. The fourth day saw an intricate ambush being initiated, followed later by
24 SANDHURST
The good ground was there for us, we would just have to work for it!