“THE BATTLE OF HOMEBUSH.”

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12177, 25 April 1905, Page 6

“THE BATTLE OF HOMEBUSH.”

The Easter mano)uvres in Canterbury this year, which are apparently to be known as the " Battle of Hon-ebush," were intended to be carried out, as far aa possible, under "aervioa" conditions. Fate aad tha weather conspired to assist tbe authorities in this respect, and soma of those who took part in tbe operations must have gained a much clearer perception of the hardships of campaigning than they bad had before/ Tbe South Canterbury troops, for instance, were enabled to realise what our men must have suffered frequently in South Africa. Their baggage carts, represented in this case by a traction engine and waggons, stuck in a "drift" of tbe Selwyn, and the men had to go hungry until they reached Darfield, after a long march. The weather did its full share in giving an air of reality to the brief period of military life enjoyed by tbe ttr-oepa { engaged in the maaowivrea. Tbe j operations were designed to show what! the volunteers would be asked to do in case of actual invasion. In -ham fights it is always difficult to make those taking part realise to the full the conditions under which engagements are fought, but the umpires in the "Battle of Homebush" endeavoured, by every means in their power, to do so. The educational value of the manoeuvres, in furthering the study and knowledge of tactics, can hardly be estimated at present. It will be more fully recognised as similarly useful operations are repeated year after year, as it is hoped will be the case. On this occasion the very wide extent of country covered militated perhaps against full advantage being taken of the lessons to be learned. It was to be noticed that some officers pushed ahead with a rashness that in actual warfare would hava speedily landed them in serious danger. Tbe overcautious, on tbe other hand, did not make the most of their opportunities, and consequently were sometimes missing when tbey would have been of most use. On the whole, however, the manoeuvres were carried out with a very fair degree of success. Tbey were at least practical, which is a great deal more than could be said for the work done at some previous Eaater encampments, and public support aad sympathy will be much more readily given to the volunteers when it -is realised that they are really being trained on useful lines.