THE PHANTOM DEFENCE LINE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 753, 28 February 1910, Page 6

THE PHANTOM DEFENCE LINE.

1 f;';.; r^BAXJCmOP^bgii STRONG!";;";". . -'''i.";:;''; : ,:; "Br "Grao "1 v ■ ;'." ■>. '.;. ■ •;V;: : V;'"Lord Kitchener;says: we'are.outflanked on; both ,sides;";. was ,the; weary' whisper ■that-passed along-the, line of the" defence 12 ■ o'olock on\! Saturday. It'; was only ..too i true;' „ Whatsoever a man '. sows ''that'also'.'shall' he'^reap—especially in-war' "7 an ? -'■ : joyce; had sown J a. .crop of .dragons'.' teeth. ;A; weaker deploynie'nt.than his'would';be hard-.to- imagine:/,:;;; : ,' .¥':■>. ■■.'., -'~; .'-.?■'> ' to, the. imagination* of 'the onlooker it-did not'-begin'that .way. -It -began, ;mdeed^yery : .pr,etti;y, .for ' what'could-'be finer,.than "the 'early'' morning pushing (back vthe^:grey..-mist.'and'shadows from ithe;hUls,,and,;.in.L..th.e .'grey':half light, the. subdued outlines, of Company" after marching -'.with; a : 'steady tramp, tramp,; tramp,: along; the roads '.arid across Joe -wet,; steaming...paddocks... :Here" and ; there the men.came to''a:stream':running ;maybe'a foot deep or, morel anil, : well— :this ''was a .'Kitchener ' day—they just ; walked quietly ...through., it. -Even- those retained dry-feet werq ,rionei'too'-.dry,.' for,, •;'. little • block ■of fawn dots on the .landscape .attained "its : 'position, on one.si.de. of .the.'rohnsonville.'Eoad or and .turned towards' its own ; allotted'front; it'hadtb lie down on wet -turt.-i And threo.or-four' hours later the ;long. fnngo of: the shooting line, with ;its, supports >and reserves, was stilMyini? as. quietly '.as.^henr.it,first took ground. ■Two -storms of rain', had "passed over it, :but,:the:lines.,:remained*,as they were" It. was., impossible 'not to feel a little proud .of, the; Nelson,, Marlboro rgh, and :West Coast;.volunteers; ■■

Hannibal Away' Fishing; ;-: ; :: While-, they, were- lying! we had time', to look . around—oceans of slow-dragging time—for Colonel-Bauchop, whose force iwas to-attack this ..patient line of damp men,-wrotchedly.-posted astride the' road from Johnsonville ;. to "Tawa—developed :his. battle very, slowly, and-methodically, ns a good tactician often", docs. And plenty - of the defending -officers could see and did say,'that theii own position was an .appalling one, iSo- great was the'neglect, or, .rather,',.,inability,' of,'the defence "to ipick, upi the:'salients"andTe-entiants of rtlie''landscape;'-v'-- I '' l . '• '■■■■:>">'■ " . S . ■:: To - be -'sure,.'• - the." Johnsonville terain presents .a...three-headed VCerbwus'-.'- of

difficulty to. the colonial officer essaying to. play the role' of Moltke, for. the tangled ridges of tawny country, are n6whero continuous, and, although this or that hill is sometimes, described in the newspapers as the "key to the position" 'the'.'fact is that there is no absolute key at all. Or, rather, there • are thousands of "keys," and, in tho hands- of a good officer,. one :■ key; will fit the tactical lock asjwell as/another. But Genius is a black swan. A Hannibal does not occur in every campaign, and- if any Hannibal was on - the ground on' Saturday he must have been fishing in,the orcek, or' otherwise engaged on some, peaceable' occupation which kept -him too late for the battle Tho staring weakness of the right flank': and centro. was bad—even. for New Zealand manoeuvres—and as. for H -Battery, instead ,of : being got' on to the boldest salient available, it ..was smoth-. ere'd in' an abominable' re-entrant, the Johnsonville Eoad.. With; their, muzzles cocked in'the air, the guns looked up at-the. cows on '-" the -hill-side, and the cows looked., down on the guns, and the one; seemed to .be.sorry..for -the ;other. ; A Fatuous, Impossible Position. ;

'; Colonel -Banohop,, as'has', been. remark'-: ed,.;was a:long time:,in-making his deployment, for. the. attack, but those :who know ;him. to.'be', the: accomplished and thoughtful; soldier: which he is felt that .it-'wouldiboi; bad .for .'the defence when h'e'did come. ,\ '. One of..:the DoimnoN-representativeS:.-:walked:-out 'i along : the road; to. Tawa Flat'in an' Endeavour to locate, fiim, but byj.that time his force hadV quitted the 'road and 'was lost. to sight. along':the country-side, to 'right and left of it: 'He"had -'evidently completed his:'.deployment,.■'w'h'atever'.' it' Slight be,' and -was "going in.-"'- So :the reporter' trudged back to patient, Tather. fine"; men"who had been ."committed 'to ithe...fatuous : .position;'!'described.' They were - ' still.'. laying"-, on 7 the-'-same 'soggy, slopes,.,and one again- sa.tr -the"same eyi'dences'!6f good company: and: regimental work and-.that-".rather, fine,-; disciplined rank" anil file'from helsoh'.an'd' the .'West Cbast. : -'. It was" impossible'to .'pass -those people : without once more stopping to adniirer-T- : -.'.'::■'■''■■.'■.'.':'.-'..-.,";..' ..•;.. '

.OBoom!''."''-. ."/ : .'-..' ! -'-> .!•'.'■"■' : ;: ■'"'■.-.''"■ . ' One - turned-to -the ■road and saw -Lord Kitchener'simolor.lcoming in-from..Tawa .Flat,- and/then-—, .'i'.-...,.' ...

, -boom—the battle, had begu'n^A'..'■:'■;■'.-•';.'■•': ;.''':',::■:'■■' ■.'-.'■' "'".',-" "-;v". ," 'It':swiftly developed,.first.to' the left,, then in -front, then. to the 'right. H Bat.ter.y.::were'. .using 'indirect fire, and the' :invisible..;Bauchop:-..was up ;■ somewhere high, in: the. front: and. on : both sides plugging down .'on; the defence.'.'- The weakness of Colonel Joyce's position sfobd disclosed-Ht, was.like .'alion: playing' with a-lamb;. .'.''■,'•■':..-.; ; .'.i-; </;•'' ~'•;•'. • ■•■;.;■ ■;;.'•

Defence; Virtually. Routed.,',- • The .'action. itself;, .as: soon, as one : could figure out .of;.' Colonel Bau'chop's.", 'attack ''from ■/ the sound . of his shooting/line, wasv not'interesting.,;' With bullets in ; the''rifles;,iti'would! have been .an'.execution rather .than an action, "and the principal;, other ; interest was -in -en--, /deavouring/to .imagine 'what 'action' in. •history' it' might be.like, for "airbattles haye-a, certain.family Tesemblance. The confused..terain 'suggested. Gr'ant'.ahdrlee locked together' on ; May, 5/1864, in 'that : scrubby .;■: part, ':■ of;' Virginia called ■' The Wilderness, / arid' the • khaki;, was; certainly not,unlike the butternut brown ■uniform, of,;the:-Cbnfederate.forces.:. But thatwas the, resemblancer-an; infinitesimal 0ne.;..; It : ," was,' oii the whole,': more -.. like 'Woerth,/.' if of- Woerth. could.be.diminished 'to .about l-50,000th .thousand:'.;. Woerth. was. a double-flanking action,;, preceded; by shockingly"'.'bad• recdnnaisance on both jsides,- and so ; was this;;';.■'; ',■■:':';■■* v ■'■'•/■ :'■■..':■;■. ■ ' ///'V'-. ';■'■ \ ■;■'■'.

;' Audi this, is" the- orux.pf the story. Lord;Kitcheher,' did. .not .give , ttie. : - palm. to Colbriel .Bauohdp/.'.beeaiise.ihis' reconhais-. anqe-rthe: only .blemish' on ihis..day's work ' not ; 'np. :to probably' a; joke :by, 'the;Field-Marshal— he'was in*.a,Humorous.vein'all ;day. : The' more' intimate arid '/ correct ;.way. of, looting at things is probably; that Colonel Bauchop did not expeot the. • line of defence to'be. as weak, as/it was, and, when .he !olosed ; .in on it from.both .flanks, he /occasionally found ; .'himself 'fighting the air when ~he' "jhouljl have ..been : fighting men.'/ Stilt', I 'he should!'(as'librd Kitchener' no idoubt' thought) haye/found'that out ,:by an; efficient.reconnaissance. ;■''■'.'/," ;*One :: awoke'- fromjfreverie Ho : the; ;fact that .".H, ; iri;' going.'out • of'.'action : witH&f he -jmeagre . stock -''of : lioverrim'eht. exhausted,': : .<;odk;, thirteen ■minutes .to'.limber, up.:; :In; a, real battle it:would■ have : .beeri. shot to" pieces; ■.'."• '.•-.■'