MANUAL ISSUED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 93, 21 April 1941, Page 4

MANUAL ISSUED.

FOR HOME GUARD.

TRAINING AND TACTICS

Containing in a concise and comprehensive form all information dealing with tin; organisation and training of Home Guard unit*. -The New Zealand Home Guard .Manual. 1!M1" give* unit commanders enough details of elcmentaiy training in those branches for which tn.mnals are not readilv available to enable them to d,, effective work.

j 111 -citing out till' details of tile new di'i" when these diiler from the drill of [ 211 year- .ig., the publication assists in j pi in in;; \\jiiturniity. A iiudilmt of minor I changes have been made recently by the ainiv and tlic-c have been incorporated, the drill set out having the approval ot the Dominion commander and thus, it claimed, to be considered the ollicial drill tor the Home Guard. It. gives working details for the Handling of artomatie weapons not avaiiabb' for training but possiblv available in the lield so that men untrained in the use of these weapons can work them by referring to the manual. In 12 main chapters the manual deals with introductory matter with reference to the Home Guard's role, drill, small arms training—generally and with the rifle and other weapons—lieldcraft. mapping and reconnaissance, lield engineering, .signalling and messages, elementary tactics, transport and general training. Many Illustrations. | Tn four appendices sanitation and! hygiene, tank hunting and destruction. I sand table exercises and general appreciation of the military situation at any given time with the appropriate plans and orders are outlined. Many of the chapters are illustrated with drawings that clear up involved points in the text. Particularly interesting is the section dealing with "makeshift" weapons of defence against an invading army. I Grenades, their construction and use.] Molotoff cocktails for use against tanks. | and the building of "booby traps"—-to fire explosive charges—are detailed. Camouflage, field sketching and all the thousand and one trades and semi-trades that a soldier must possess are thoroughly covered, while at the same time the manual is aimed at the development of individual initiative among Home Guardsmen. Protection of the country against every form of enemy action, such as naval action against shipping and land objectives within range of the coast, sabotage of the means of production and distribution, aircraft raids, small landing parties and full-scale invasion will be greatly assisted by the information given in this liooklet. which fills a longfelt need. In a brief foreword, Major-General R. Young, (J. 8., C.M.G.. D.5.0.. Dominion Commander of the Home G-itrd. congratulates those concern • compilation of the manual. : out that the book contains in. over practically every form of i.. ..g tlie Home Guard may be called upon to carry out, and that every chapter lias been revised and approved by his staff. 1