Three days with the British troops on NATO's biggest exercise in Europe since the Cold War

11 May 2024, 20:05 | Updated: 13 May 2024, 08:35

Driven for an hour from the sleepy town of Drowsko Pomorskie, we arrive mid-morning at a vast and sun-drenched training area.

Deep in the heart of dense forestry off almost impassable tracks, the dusty base in remote north-west Poland is the chosen location of NATO’s largest training exercise since the Cold War.

Those we are being escorted to meet are the soldiers who would be Europe’s first line of defence - the first boots on the ground - if one of the allied nations was attacked.

Read More: Putin is ready to launch invasion of Nato nations to test West, warns Polish spy boss

This is all happening, of course, under the spectre of Russia and as we enter we’re warned our phones could be hacked if not kept on airplane mode.

Jumping down out of the press pack’s blue minibus - a far cry from the combat vehicles transporting the troops - we are briefly greeted by the infantrymen before being thrust into the heart of combat training drill, an exercise to neutralise the enemy on foot while under fire.

The sound of gunfire cuts through the air and although they are shooting blanks it's as close to the real thing as it gets.

Sixteen thousand British troops with around 800 vehicles and heavy artillery have been moved across Europe by land, air and sea to the new eastern front as part of ‘Operation Steadfast Defender’, 16,000

More than 90,000 personnel from 30 NATO countries, including the US, have been involved in the exercise.

The British men and women we meet will be in Poland for roughly a fortnight and are a part of exercise ‘Immediate Response’ which is being led by the Royal Welsh, whose 1st and 3rd Battalions total just under 700 soldiers.

For most, it is the biggest exercise they have taken part in in their lives, with many having taken time out of their day jobs to be here.

Among those I meet initially are a young park ranger for the National Trust, a lawyer in his 50s, a third-year university student and a nuclear power station engineer.

Their presence gives an indication of the shifting make-up of the British Army over the years, with the UK Government often in favour of expanding the army reserves while simultaneously cutting regular troop numbers.

Despite increasing volatility abroad, there remains a plan to cut numbers still from 82,000 to 73,000 by 2025.

Last month, on his visit to Poland, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to boost UK defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030 to put us “on a war footing”.

Those words had not fallen on deaf ears where we stood 800 miles to the east of Ukraine where Russia’s invasion rages on.

It is clear the war, and increased global threats, are at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Ed Willcox confirmed to us the location of the operation was “no coincidence”.

But almost any mention of Ukraine, Russia or Putin to the soldiers during our interviews was almost forbidden.

An example of the balancing act the British military is now trying to perform in displaying strength and readiness without antagonising Russia into a wider global conflict.

Those in the camp willing to talk about say “it’s no secret why we’re here training the way we are” and “it’s war we’re potentially looking at”.

Sergeant Iestyn Hill tells me: “There’s no point in doing the training if you’re going to be prepared for something. It's not that you want to go, but it's a possibility and it does feel like things are ramping up.”

“But from my point of view we’re pretty confident, even though it's an aging fleet, I’d back it against anything.”

Most of the troops seem buoyed by the fact so many soldiers and machinery have been successfully brought over for the exercise.

Captain Dale Mason, an officer with the Royal Welsh, says: “What we’ve done here proves the British Army and its NATO allies are capable of projecting out into Europe at scale, we’re still a fighting force to be reckoned with and can be ready to do a job as and when required.”

Questions continue to be raised, however, about whether the British Forces are truly ready for anything.

Only a few months ago the House of Commons Defence Committee published a damning report saying the army was not prepared for all-out war, pointing to serious problems with recruitment and stockpiles of weapons and ammunition.

The hope perhaps being that with the PM’s pledge to spend billions more on defence that will change.

But while in Poland, the shadow defence secretary John Healey told the UK Government “you can't defeat Putin with press releases”.

Standing in the heart of the battlegroup surrounded by Warrior vehicles and Challenger 2 tanks Major Simon Davies tells me: “Any organisation would always like more resources… I think we’ve come here and shown that with the vehicles we’ve got we can do as well as we can.

“It can only be promising when the army is allocated more resources. When it happens I’m sure I’ll be smiling.”

A ride in one of the Warriors is offered and I take it up enthusiastically.

Rows upon rows of these giant armoured vehicles is enough to get a sense of the army’s power - and standing in the turret staring down the barrel of the cannon as it is driven at speed it's hard not to be impressed.

The next day we see them in action, working in an exercise with the Challenger 2s - Britain’s main fighter tank - they move forward and clear a territory before infantry soldiers spring from the back and run shooting into the woods.

We’re then taken to another area where another group is practicing digging trenches - this one is a defensive post from which to fire anti-tank missiles.

Trenches, often associated more with the First and Second World Wars, have made a troubling comeback of late, with Russia and Ukraine digging vast networks to protect their troops from the opposition’s bombardment.

It is another sign Britain is shifting its tactics for a new enemy.

Amid the noisy shoveling and hammering of pickets into the ground, Lance Corporal Jack Williams says: “The training has changed from the Afghan days - when there was more of a threat of IEDs - into a more conventional type of fighting which is better, I’d say, for a more conventional enemy.

“It’s a lot more realistic for us at the moment to train against an army rather than say a militia or guerrilla warfare.”

All on display of course is meant to resemble what a modern war would look like.

So among those present are surveillance drones or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operators, cyber warfare specialists and intelligence officers, alongside the more traditional roles like medics, infantry soldiers, engineers, and military dogs.

Even the army’s chaplains are present - or ‘Padres’ as they’re fondly referred to.

Reverend Richard Mutter, who was one of five Padres in Poland, joined up aged 50 after decades of tending to a flock in Worcestershire.

“I go wherever these troops go and most of the time I’m chatting and laughing with them but then I’m here to attend to any welfare issues and provide pastoral care as well,” he explains.

Reverend Mutter tells me he’s looking forward to meeting the American chaplains who he hears have a slightly different... style of working - offering up “prayers and smokes” sessions which include the offering of cigars to soldiers.

The mention of US troops is almost constant. For NATO to work in action soldiers from different countries within the alliance must be able to work with each other on the ground and there’s a real excitement among the British to work with the Americans.

Already they’ve both been busy comparing kit, even down to trying each others’ ration packs.

“I had a ration pack pizza slice from the Americans!” A female soldier tells me, showing the world’s favourite food to be a great unifier once again.

As fate would have it, during our visit Vladimir Putin is inaugurated into his fifth term as president of Russia.

Two days later David Cameron warns the world is more dangerous “than most of us have ever known” - the foreign secretary urging allies to pledge more money to defence spending and act now to ward off the threat of Putin advancing further West.

Repeatedly I’m told while there that what NATO has achieved in Poland should bring “comfort” to those back home in Great Britain.

But leaving Drawsko Pomorskie we pass by the two Polish World War Two tanks we had seen on the way in.

A reminder of the utter devastation wreaked on this continent before and what wider conflict would mean for all involved.