THE MOUNTED MEN.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15218, 4 March 1915, Page 8

THE MOUNTED MEN.

'SYSTEM OF TRAINING

DESCRIBED

INTKBESTING WORK ON THE

DESERT.

An excellent idea'-of the system of training the New Zealandere have been undergoing in Egypt is given in a private letter written by Trooper N. F. Trolove, of the Canterbury . Mounted Rifle Regiment, to his wife in Christchurch.- Tho letter is dated from Zeitoun Canipv January 25th. : — I cloiTt think there is much chance of us (C.M.It.) getting to the front for some considerable time, for we were told yesterday that we could not go until , passed as efficient by Generals Maxwell and. Birdwood, and their criti|cisms on our work to date have notbeen too good. The other day we were out on patrol, work, a few miles out in the desert. A regiment of our infantry was advancing upon a ridge about a 'mile away on our flank, occupied by a number of dummy men target*. A battery of our artillery was about two miles away from the : targets covering the advance of the infantry. Boom went the first gun, and the shell burst about 100 ynrds short; the second ehot was xibout .30 yards beyond the mark, but tho third shell burst about 50 feet up in the air in front of the targets. and the shrapnel bullets spurted the dust >ip all round those dummy men. After that ail six nuns were«t it hammer and tonq;s, and the sand along the face of that ridgo seemed to leap and jump under ihe ■')!»rfilin:i; shrapnel shells. I hope to goodness we never have guns playing on us as they did on that ridge. It seemed as if it would be impossible for anything to remain alive under such a hail. The marksmanship was excellent; not-a gup Seemed to _lose the range and they swept the ridge from end to end. The sound of artillery is very common here, *and when ■ we are out'we often hear the tut. tut. tut, of tho Max-Vis coming in waves-of bound from a distance. ' ' . Wo hnve courses of field firing with ball ammunition. Last, time the whole

regiment was out and the scouts discovered a long line of dummy men targets in position representing the enemy about six miles from here. We moved out, guided by the scouts, under cover of sand dunes, till we were.about a mile away from the enemy's position. Then the squadron wheeled into troop colnmn with each section of four men riding about four yards apqrt, and galloped up to a position about 600 to 700 yards away from the enemy. It was a great "co" : you could hardly sco the section •in front for flying stones and du«t. We dismounted nnder cover of a ridge of sand: the led horses galloped to the rear, and we advanced by troops in open order to positions from which we could engage the enemy. Itwas not long before the dust was flying round those,"head and shoulder. targets, and the "enemy" wa« baring a hot time. When thf» "cease fire" sounded it was assumed that the "enemy" had retired to n fresh position, the horses were- brought up and we advanced again on a fresh lot of targets. Finally we were on our way home, when we topped a sand ridgo. and there in front of us. about 200 yards away, were a number of tnrgret-s representing the enemy's cavalry delivering a surprise charge. Three men in every four sprang off their horses, fixed bayonet 3. and each troop formed & kneeling horseshoe in front of their horso*. which were bunched together. The order "five rounds rapid" was <nven, and the firmer broke out with a roar—yon can imagiro tho noise of 000 rifles hard - at it The targets were at times ' obscured by the dnst. We fired the fve o"t tho- oprvmy, ■ #& the riddled targets showed, and were back on our horses in 1-J minutes. Gen*?rj?l Bird wood said we were much too slow.