Victor Hugo Militants invade Jersey
GUERNSEYMEN Dave White and Chris Lindsay took part in a training exercise with the Jersey Field Squadron last weekend.
The pair of Sappers, the starting rank for the Royal Engineers, left Guernsey behind to take on insurgents from the fictional Victor Hugo Militant Group, which has a stronghold in Guernsey.
The Field Squadron were tested from the outset as the militants from Guernsey attempted to invade Jersey.
Following a difficult pre-dawn march, the militants were ambushed on the dunes at La Pulente, where stiff opposition was offered by ‘rogue elements’ of the Victor Hugo Militants.
Following a simulated artillery strike on the enemy, five members of the Channel Islands Occupation Society simulated injury to test the troops’ first-aid and captured-persons drills.
Sapper Will Lingard said it had brought their classroom lessons to life.
‘It was great not knowing what to expect because it meant we had to think quickly on our feet and rely on the drills we have been practising.’
A brief respite in hostilities allowed for the ‘wounded’ to be evacuated before securing forward operating base Grosnez for the night.
Overnight patrols were organised when additional intelligence suggested there was a hive of Victor Hugo Militant Group activity around Battery Moltke.
Reconnaissance of the area confirmed the report and a battle broke out between the Field Squadron and the militants.
Troops practised their room clearance skills and had to negotiate booby traps and flares as they were drawn into the bunker complex beneath the battery.
Mr White said the weekend had been a great experience.
‘It has been an amazing weekend, I’ve never done anything like it.
‘The enemy were brilliant and really added an extra level of pressure.’
