DEFENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 241, 4 July 1908, Page 9

DEFENCE NOTES.

(Br Echelon.) Secretaries of Volunteer' Corps and Riflo Clubs are invited to contribute items of- interest for insertion in this column. . COAST DEFENCE. Those interested in questions of military defence, and particularly that vital ■ lino guarded by garrison artillery, 'will find much that is. interesting in an admirable little book published by Captain A. E. C. Myers, R.G.A. "(William Clowes and Sous, Ltd., Is.), an outline of the main principles and arguments of which aro here reproduced. The review is from a Home paper, The editor of this column will be pleased to receive for publication any comments regarding tho same which artillery officers may feci disposed to forward to him. The points enunciated by Captain Myers are applicable, of course, to tho Imperial coast defence system, but local critics will no doubt find', that some of them, at least, apply with equal forco to our own system of port defences. Captain Myers introduces his little book by stating , in round tonus that his object is to show that Great Britain's present coast defence organisation is wasteful and inefficient, chiefly because, instead of being en•trusted to a self-contained corps, it is left in the-hands-of-various "regiments" and" de-' partments, which overlap in their work and hamper, each otlier. Under the existing system, the chief defence works in Great Britain are manned by the-Royal Garrison Artillery, who, in war time, would bo assisted by;-largo numbers of Volunteer and Militia units. Tho role of tho artillery, is strictly .'confined to .working the guns; they have nothing to do with the selection and preparation, of gun positions, with tho works that, protect them, with the searchlights that find-the object "at which the gunners aim,' .with the telephones that communicate oroders to the guns, or even with the'inspection and repair of tho guns themselves. The defence works aro in tho hands of the Royal Engineers,."'who also look after the telephones and man the searchlights; whilst the whole of the responsibility for the inspection and repair ,of tho guns and mountings and the machinery in connection with them belongs to the Army Ordnance Depart-' ment. , Thus, before tho gunners may uso their weapons,' they must be pronounced to be in working order by an officer of another. corps, and" for the execution of even minor repairs and adjustments recourse must bo had to ordnance''artificer's. Then-a double system of telephonic communication lias to be provided: one for the artillery officer to transmit his orders to the gutis, and another for ; the • engineer officer who ; controls tho searchlights. Captain Myers points out that this division of work and authority may have disastrous consequences in war time,.' bvon though everybody may bo eager to co-oporate efficiently.

It is obvious, for instance (says our contemporary), that an engineer officer may give an order to change carbons just at tho moment when the artillery officer may most urgently require tho use of a searchlight, .or the former,, in projecting his lights, may. not, through a misunderstanding, give tho'gunners the fullest possiblo measure of assistance. ' But, apparently, tho danger that may arise, from having three departments where one would suffice is not all .that can bo urged against our system of coast de-. fence. . According .to Captain Myers, the artillery officers' are not only barred"" from doing work that should be theirs, but they aro kept in iguoranco of how it should bo done. . They are taught a mere, smattering' of electricity and mechanics, and, perhaps, tho general principles of the art of fortification, but they would be quite incapable of taking chargo of a-modern fortress if, for some reason or other, the assistance of engineer and ordnanco officers and artificers was not available. Captain Myers says that even "so far as gunnery is. concerned, under tho present, system, a gunner officer, beyond- what ho pipks up.vhimself by reading or in tho course of his profession, is not taught—unless ho ■ elects to • go in for tho Gunner,y Staff course—any gunnery from tho day ho joins his 'unit to the day ho retires." But that is not all., tho gunner officer is not allowed to become thoroughly acquainted with his guns,' as tho following very grave statement shows: —"Thcro are actually certain parts of.tho (gun) mountings which, although known to tho. Ordnanco Department, are, as regards the (Royal Garrison) regimont, confidential. Tho requisite knowlcdgo to use theso parts is withheld,' and when it is necessary to use them the department' has to be asked.". ... •

But, apart from "the question of the'training of units, Captain Myers finds that -our coast defence;'- organisation is quite inade-' quate to' meet I 'tho demands that would_ bo mado upon it in/timo of war. In war time, it would liavo to provido r or the absorption and utilisation to the best advantage of large, numbers ] of partially trained Volunteer units. in the fortresses which guard our own shores; and, in it would havo to supply detachments for fortifying and holding secondary basos, which the needs of naval warfare would certainly require to bo established in foreign countries. In the opinion of Captain Myers, neither task could be efficiently performed. Ho is doubtful, in the first place, . of properly manning the., homo defences; and ho points out. that, oven if detachments wero available for preparing secondary naval bases abroad, the evils of a system which requires the co-operation of three separate departments in tlie performance of a singlo task, would be seriously felt. If a base wero seized, the officers and men of one department would have to stand by useless except as unskilled labourers, whilst tho artificers or another did their share of the work! Everybody ivould bo waitiilg for tho engineers—who would, of couse, be in insufficient numbers —whilst they planned tho fortifications,.improvised (jun platforms, and fixed up searchlights. Then, when everything was ready ,tho gunners would probably bo called 'upo.i to uso a weapon they had never handled m peace, time—a howitzer on a wheeled carriage. ' Captain ' Myers' suggest two ways of reforming our coast defence organisation; one which would be easy and inexpensive, but not thorough, tho other far more complete and satisfactory. Under tho first, the Royal Engineers would continue to do their present work; the Army Ordnance Department would supply a sufficient number of inspectors of machinery and artificers, and there would be a certain number of Royal Garrison Artillery permanent specialists allotted to each defence : work. The actual working of the guns would bo' entrusted to partially trained troops, who would man them in units complete with, officers. The wholo of tho Royal Garrison Artillery would: be re-, leased for general ' work in connection with their arm of the Service. The second., or what Captain Myers calls tho ideal, method would be to form a solf-contained Coast Defence Corps, entirely responsible for coast defence, combining the work dono by Royal Engineers and Army Ordnance Department, and supplemented with partially trained troops not in units._ It is'.for military experts to oxpress opinions on the'strictures and suggestions made in Captain Myers' book. We may say here, however, (concludes tho paper wo quoto from) that ho has dono good servico by bringing forward ' a very important question; one which, though intimately connected with tho efficient work of the Navy, receives far too little attention in tho discussion of the problem of national defence.' '.