Letter: Army marches on its tail

Army marches on its tail

Sir: Christopher Bellamy's article "Britain sounds the retreat" (15 April) mentions "a critical mass below which you cannot go, a certain group of skills you must have to be a serious army". He then lists what he considers these to be, but omits the two groups without which any operation is doomed to fall: logistic and engineer support.

Who supplies the missiles for his attack helicopters? Who bridges gaps and breaches obstacle belts for his main battle tanks and armoured infantry? Throughout the history of high-intensity warfare, engineers and logisticians have proven vital to success. As our equipment becomes more advanced and maintenance-intensive, the role of the logistic tail can only become still more crucial. Furthermore, manoeuvrist doctrine relies heavily on both mobility for our troops, and countermobility to hinder the enemy: only the engineers are able to provide this support.

It is often said that amateurs think tactics whilst professionals think logistics.

A J BROWNRIDGE

Major (Retd), Royal Engineers

Blackwater, Surrey