TRAINED MAN-POWER ESSENTIAL

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 173, 19 April 1939, Page 12

TRAINED MAN-POWER ESSENTIAL

Defence Requirements Of Dominion 30,000 MEN ADEQUATE SAFEGUARD "The land forces of New Zealand on which we would have to depend in ca.-e of invasion, seem to be the Cinderella of the Services, and one of the reasons, and there is no justification for it, is Unit people have the impression tiiat file navy and the air force constitute all that is required for the protection of New Zealand,” says the New Zealand Defence League. “The fact that wars are not won and countries are not conquered by naval power alone, nor by air power alone, is overlooked. When Nelson's victory at Trafalgar broke the sea power of Napoleon, it was not till nearly 10 years later that Napoleon was finally vanquished at Waterloo. History provides many such examples. "If wars could be won by air power alone, it would' not have been necessary ■for Japan witli her overwhelming superiority in the air to have sent a single soldier into China —but she lias a million of them there. Nor would it have been necessary for Franco with hits superiority in the air to have a ■single man at arms, but he had thousands of men engaged in his land forces. The truth is, that no country can be conquered till the last man is dug out of the last trench with the last ■bayonet.

"The essential requirement of New Zealand at the present moment is trained man power. We are firmly convinced that if we had in New Zealand an efficient army of some 30.000 fully-equipped and well-trained troops, no country in -the world would try to ■attack us. No'country would try to attack New Zealand because the prize would not be worth tlie price. "Consider the position of Samoa iu 1914. Had there been 5000 fully-train-ed and well-equipped German soldiers in Samoa in 1914, New Zealand would ■not have tried to take it, because tlie prize would not have been worth the price. Possibility of Land Raid. “It may seem to be fantastic to talk about tlie possibility of a large-scale land raid, or an invasion of New Zealand, but let us examine the position. We rely for our protection primarily on tlie British Navy or that portion of it known as tlie Pacific- Flee_t, based in Hong Kong or Singapore. Where was our Pacific Fleet in tlie Abyssinian crisis? It, or a large part of it was in the Mediterranean —where it should be in the event of trouble iu European quarters. Where was ottr Pacific Fleet in the September crisis? It was not in the Pacific, it, or part of it, was on the way to the Mediterranean and the North Sea. And on these two occasions, if a war bad been in progress between Britain and France on the one side —assuming for tlie moment that the United States had not come in—and Germany, Italy and Japan on the other, New Zealand and Australia would have been laid bare to attack. And in the September crisis it is a published fact that Japanese cruisers were cruising off the coast of New Guinea.

“Does that not open up a vista of the danger which we face in New Zealand in the event of that alignment of Powers being arrayed against us? You will say that if Japan tried to invade New Zealand she would have to light too far from her base and it would be impossible to move transports all that distance. Let us consider two propositions . Before the last war the Marshall Islands belonged to Germany. Early in the war, Japan seized them on behalf of the Allies. After the war she was granted a mandate over them by the League of Nations. But Japan lias possession of the Marshall Islands, and she intends to retain possession ot them. . “Tlie islands are approximately 2aoo miles awav from Auckland, and approximately 2100 miles from the East Coast of Australia. Two thousand five hundred miles is not a great distance for a bombing plane to travel. Late last, year British Vickers-Wellesley bombers flow from Ismailia in Egypt to Australia —a much greater distance —in about 21 days. Certainly they did not carry bombs, but in the event of war in which Japan may be aligned against us. what is to prevent her from asseiiibling'n number of aircraft carriers in the islands and sending them forth with their aeroplanes to bomb Australia and New Zealand, our Pacific Fleet being elsewhere? They could loose their aeroplanes 500 miles out from New Zealand, and they could bomb Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, and be back to their carriers in time for lunch. This is not exaggeration, it is within the bounds of probablity. Australian Defence Policy.

“Again let us assume that our Pacific Fleet, or a large part of it, is not in the Pacific but on the other side ot the worl'd helping to defend the heart of the Empire. Japan assembles transports in the Marshall Islands about eight days’ steam at 15 knots from New Zealand" and sends them down across the unprotected Pacific. What is there to deter them except our air force. Aud our own trained and equipped man-power in New Zealand I “Australia does not consider this possibility fantastic as is proved by the fact that the whole basis of her defence policy has been changed since the September crisis. The whole of Australia s defence policy at present is based upon the fear of invasion, and if there is a fear iu Australia of the possibility of invasion, then there is even more ground for fear in New Zealand ot the possibility ot' invasion. “Australia is embarking upon a project of training and equipping ill,ooo men for tlie reason that tlie provision of such a force will prove a deterrent to any other country and cause it to tliink niore than twice before attempting invasion. Tlie same aigument applies witli even stronger reason to New Zealand. We must prepare before the war begins, because when a war starts what we want is soldiers and not recruits.

"We people of New Zealand believe iu a system of democratic government. We realize that this class of government lias imiierfections but we prefer it to tlie kind that Germany and Italy have at the present time. Our people if they want to preserve the freedom that they enjoy under sucli a system must lie prepared to defend that system by personal service. And if the people of a democracy are not prepared to give that personal service that is necessary for the protection for the right and privileges they .enjoy tinder that system, then that system will perish. Democracy will not survive merely by reason of its own virture. If the people are not prepared to make these personal sacrifices to maintain their freedom, then democracy will perish just as surely as if it possessed no virtues whatsoever."