DEFENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 621, 25 September 1909, Page 12

DEFENCE NOTES.

(Br Echelon.) . '.'■' In connection with tho recent Territorial training at Salisbury Plain, a feature of' the camps of citizen soldiers was tho largo number who did not drink intoxicants; At outdoor operations at other periods of tho -> year they numbered quite 80 per cent., and tho ' hot weather last week jncroased the ; percentage Tho quantity of beer taken down to tho Salisbury Plains for tiro weeks is 52,480 gallons, with 17,840 gallons of non-intoxicants. Spirits were not allowed to be Bold in tho men's canteens. A great quantity of tea and coffee is consumed in.tho splendid club marquees' run in each brigade by tho i'oung Men's Christian Association. '•'-';■,.,..

. Tho fatal ■. accident to a Territorial chaplain, who was shot dead at manoeuvres during tho recent training camps, ought," remarks a correspondent, 'in a double sense, to have been, proventible. In • tho : .first place.- if manoeuvres aro to' be regarded as serious military evolutions, spectators ought to be kept out ot the. danger zone; and, in, the second, tho men ought, to bo strictly trained .'to-tell at a glance tho .difference between. live and blank cartridges . .There should tie explicit regulations on the subject, and to ignore them should" mean a trial for. negligence"' .'.. OUUUIU The. Army, Council has directed ■ that ■ the following instructions aro to' bo strictly observed when blank ammunition is being fired from field guns:—;-, - . ... .... •-1. Should a miss-fire occur,, nono. of, tho dctaelimontshould be directly in rear of • the breech when it is opened after the lapse of time as laid down, in Section 47, Field Artillery Training, 1908. .•'.■■ . 2. As a further, safeguard with guns using case, ammunition, the Nos. 1 of gun detachmont should be held responsible that"-the' charge is properly homo; in the case beforo tho E. ll}°i Ac k T hls S an bb dono »y'Pressing dour, the: leather-bound cup.on tho point of tho traversing lever, a small mark being made, under local, arrangements, on each traversing lover, to indicate when .the charge is in it° correct position. ■ . ; .

■ iln the the.Monthly Army List will to lound a list of names well-known. in the railway world.: They form what is known as tho Engineer,and Railway Staff Corps,'and do not hold a. lower'.yank i than that of major. In addition, some of them belong to-what is known as tho. War Itailwny Council, a mixed body' of .naval, and military experts which meets at-certain:periods, to study • and revise tho important subject of railway transport in timo.ot-War." .The Directorate of Military .rrainuiff; at;tho., 'War Offipe, .aided by the director, or Military-Operations, carries on a continuous study, of-military transport- by railjrays^in-eyory.-civilised-country in tho world.; With tho knowledge of railway transppr TOw i b iV f° rel 'Bn- armies, the General Staff in Whitehall is enabled to keep up-to-date all arrangements for rapidly.moving troops by rail m the United kingdom, and also to adapt any useful, innovation used abroad, to our' own mobilisation schemes. The results of. these studies arp. laid before the War Railway Counoil from time-to time, and with tho assistance ot,expert advice from the railway members, "\ to ~,e xisti" S •■' "loMisation schemes. .The splendid.work carried out last weok by the, Great Western and London! and Sputh-Wcstern -Railway Companies is an object lesson of the usefulness of the; Engineer and Railway Staff Corps, and the- War BailItL.ffi L '.. l?ew ..PMPle havo ever seen the former body, in uniform, and very few-know mombors o . the, Eailway. Corps ..work out intricute problems of/ moving troops, ' horses' ia ' conjunction with thoj oxpc-rls; of the General Staff. No oth J %Sr?? <-f° U .n l , out tto work- of tran£ porting thojrerritorial, units to Salisbury without dislocating ; tho ordinary p&enger teffic m„nv Ct tl,l f ' Euch a :*«*•- Pl«« n CeN i K y „'l tho K , pn i scn 8M serVice- would'.ho . sns- 1 .??°.'l«4 : .»nhL,the; tni itary traffic:had ceased

~.M. Reginald Kann','; a War'correspondent'well known ,n Pans for the descriptions given to \tl\?J tho ;"Temps",of ;tho Shaivia Sin»: E !f f >??r A, e ' v . e x S '! IS , ¥ ni ™ in «iat news„rli |^"• r^r ;w,hich he LWff-rfi in-England and Wales cpnipqsed r W o welL A.uil.t'.jiwS^uci'as m British soldiers .usually, are, but,inch fleshy, and without.:a h)ihtary r ,appearanco;"l was absol■ptehr mistaken., ;.ln. w aost of the corps tho voluntoers, lyho are.in the majority drawn from thetowns,aro ofiiiiddlo height, and'havo not a;.very .vigorous..look,, but .their training in sports has given them an easy galt,.which goes well with their uniform. They hold themselves well/ and do not seem at all put about by their uniformp and. their accountretnentsi which, moreover, are morei .'practical and much better understood than ours.. What-surprised mo most ivas tho extreme/youth of the'recruits. I will add-that tho proportion, of ' country dwellers, is very small. In spite of unfavourable, conditions; the. ondurance of.the; troops struck'ine as romarkable, 1 for an'arduous and .well-filled: day was exacted of them: but, after manoeuvres,-' begun at 9.30 in the morning and finishing at about six; o'clock in the- evening, and;carried out in ..intonse heat; thd soldiers soon aftet: returning to l camp refreshed themselves by playing cricket.". M. Kami goes' on to criticise. "The infantry, except as far as firing .practice is concerned (I had'.not the opportunity to judge this); struck.mo as now ready to go on a campaign at.any time.; The; units are,-perhaps,--Hot .vory; brilliant in the exercises' carried out with.closely formed ranks, but over broken. ground '■; tho men mako good itseof shelter for. advancing'and firing. They interest ' themselves 'in tho. luanoeuyres, and are very 'conscientious.:;' V? ; „ . - ,; v ' ''■.'■'}' '. - :/ ■'• •',' • ' -'■," Certain' tactical errors, liotably tho littlo purpose to'whiohtho strategic phases are put, continue, but this is tho'same in tho Regular Army, and these ..mistakes': liiiist be attributed. Srincipally- to ; tho.coinmanding. officers; : who avo not been ; ablo: sufficiently ;to rid themselves of the principles adopted during, the South African .War.'-The artillery, I thought, was- less'well'trained.":. And hero. M; Kann gives his'reasons.: He. thinks ;that tho, number of batteries is too' gi-oat;.-and,thatUhc.ro: is no need to topy'fib approximately tho, formation Of ,the Regular. Army.;, furthermore; he thinks it -..usole'ss ! to have' heavy' field • batteries and mortars or howitzers attached ■' to. each division. The field artillery,: also, is old fashioned..'The men handling,.tho guns seemed well- trained, but tho. drivers were unequal to' their task, mid,,-in spite of all their presenso of mind,and good will, they could not handle the batteries on'difficult ground. M. Kann adds that; unfortunately', ho had' no opportunity of' judging > the Territorial .cavalry. As for the Territorials in, general, ho concludes his; judgment as follows:—" Tho' English -. Territorial Army. certainly is riot-, per-, feet, but •'tho greater .'number;, ofV its : 'weaknesses are. duo to its extreme youth, and it will be .an easy matter to correct them ; by degrees.' But it exists, however.- It is a living and activo 1 force, that is the great point; and its; development-has' been surprisingly, rapid. ■Fow countries could havo attained so much in so short a tiine." M. Kann concludes his articleby asking whether, this, enthusiasm will last,', saying that • he considers • compulsory military service as the. only solution to Great Britain's difficulty if Mr. Haldane's plan has not a continuous - success. i., , :•/..,'