DEFENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 312, 26 September 1908, Page 18

DEFENCE NOTES.

' (Br Eomstow.) " Staff' Rides and .Regimental Tours.". By • Colonel Haking. v Cplonel Haking's book, says,the : London Standard," will fill.a gap which has long existed., It will be ..especially welcome to those officers,; whether of tho regular or auxiliary. services, who desire to study the more advanced problems of strategy and tactics uv connootion with military history, and on tho open field,..and'who have not had tho advantage, of the instruction and experience in bucli matters to be obtained at the Staff College. Nor is.it only those, who are ' to take part in the exercises known as'stait rides and. regimental tours . who: will gain valuable knowledge from Colonel Haking's book. Ho has published in this volume. a practical precis ,of the instruction >which -,is imparted during tho Staff College course in • the.-art • of-working out military problems 011 actual ground. Ho has included many examples of tactical problems. and schemes; and has provided would-be tacticians with most valuable assistance, in attaining the object of . all- military instruction, whicli he sums up admirably-in these words:— : . ' " Wo can learn the principles of strategy, iactics,. and c administration, from hooks, but tt vis necessary; to" apply, those principles to sver-varying; situations, oil still more. varying ground, before we shall gain that solid •instruction which will be of hourly service, \o .us in war." . .. . . AVith reference to. the announcement, re--jarding the competitive, examination oiTcah-. ■ didates for - commissions in , the Regular Army, to'bo held in October next, in.accordance with the/regulations under which;commissions.in the. Regular Forces may ,bo, obtained by. officers of the Militia and Imperial Yeomanry, the Secretary, of'the War-Office announces, that it has been decided to increase the number of commissions to be awarded at this examination. The number of comrnis-' sions to be' awarded will be .80, .10 in-, the cavalry, 2 in the artillery (including one at least in the Royal Field Artillery), 68 in other.branches of the service.i One of the competitions, included in tile programme for tha Scottish Army rifle meeting was a match at 800.yards range, which" presented some novel features. It received the 'popular title of "The Digging Competition," for reasons which will appear. Teams were limited 'to >a _ non-commissioned officer and six men, the time'occupied ;being about 12 minutes. Operations, were begun with the appearance of a white screen on the\ butts when tho teams doubled 300 yards to the firing point. Here were provided six picks, ' six shovels, and 24 sandbags. While. the team'was in tho process; of providing cover, blue targets, 3ft.'high, on improvised butts, •' irtade surprise appearances, and, irrespec- ; tive of; the progress made for their defence; each man, opened fire. The appearance, of -. the target was of a few seconds': duration, and the men got off as many s)iots as possible, 1 the rounds being unlimited. .Three points were given for ,hits on the near arid six .'on the far. figure, while points were awarded - for thestate, of cover 'on conclusion. 'On the contrary, neglect to-\take cover when the targets were in view incurred deduction by the umpire. . With tho ~ , disappearance of ■ tho screen on the butts the competition .wis brought, to. a close, but. while it was in progress blank'ammunition was -fired occasionally from the target'position. ■ . ■■■;■ ■ '. . - During a violent storm which .suddenly swept \across, 'the camp. at Lydd-. (England) i about.soo horse's belonging to the brigades of th£; London:. .Territorial Artillery stam--"peded in terror, and several of the citizen ; gunners were i'injured in to ! re- '. capture the affrighted, animals. ■ . • • After-a heavy, day's work the'.majority'' of the men had retired to their tents, when '.. a very heavy storm of wind and rain sud- ' denly burst over the camp The horses, numbering about 500, which had be,en hired, for the training from the London Road r Car. Company, and were picketed in lines in the centr?- of the ,camp, 'were terrified by this experience, and commenced to plunge . and kick madly.. The stable picquets tried all tbey could to-quieten them, but were unsuccessful. . v: .*,t* - It appears that the horses belonging to < .the First Brigade wero the first to stampede, their wild plunging loosening the pegß .of. the;line, and,; before thero was any op- ' portunity t-o secure them, the animals wero galloping./madly across- the wild stretches of. the camp. The noise thus made further terrified the remainder of the horses, , already badly scared by. the violent storm. Practically, all' of • them -broke away, ', and ■ there was a general stampede, thefive hundred . horses, mad with terror, bolting all over the camp. The men on stable duty rushed to the lines and endeavoured to., secure 'the horses, and many of them wero ! knocked , down by the maddened animals. In the meantime the guard had sounded tho-'"Fire alarm," and in the pouring rain' the whole of _ the camp smartly' turned ' out - to render assistance. A few of the horses were' Soon secured. The remainder were galloping about, and the -residents' in - .tho town wore aroused by the noise'as numbers of the horses got'into the streets. Tho , men went out. in all directions for miles' around the camp, and all'night long batches of recaptured horses were, being brought ' back, several of them being found on - the ranges by the sea shore, while others had inland. 1 It was found .next morning that' five 'were' still' missing, several hours elapsing-before they were found and brought back. Many of the men complained of receiving injuries, more or less of a minor character, oii account of being knocked, down by horses and falls. •, Two gunners, named Murray and Payne, belonging to the Second Battery of the' First Brigade, had to -be detained'in hospital. These-men were 'rid-' den down and trampled on by the horses, at. the _ start of tho stampede while en-, aeavouring to -securo the animals'.'""."",'" -