DEFENCE FORCES,

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 24, 29 January 1912, Page 8

DEFENCE FORCES,

•TRAINING AND CAMPS. - To-morrow afternoon the principal officers of the Defence Forces of New Zealand will assemble at Paekakariki for the purpose of engaging in a staff tour — ! that is, in giving and receiving practical military instruction in the field. The staff tour will.be under the direction of ! the Commandant (General Godley). In addition to the headquarters stall', " will be divided into two partiesmanders, the brigade commanders of each district, the Wellington Coast Defence Commander, and theii staffs. Altogether forty-seven officers will take part in the operations, which ' will for a' portion of the tima be in the form of an attack on Wellington. The officers will be diveded into two parties — attackers and deferiders^ — and they will be set a certain strategic problem to work i out. _ They will, also be practised in ■ carrying out reconnaissances and in varj ious administrative duties. - The country to be operated over will be the district between Wellington City and Waika'nae., The staff tour will conclude on j Friday afternoon next. I Preparations are being pushed on for the field artillery camp, which is to be held ,at Oringi, near Dannevirke, from the 10th to the 18th February. A party of the R.N.Z. Artillery will" leave Wellington by" special train on Thursday, Bth prox., with two 15-pounders and thirty-five horses. In addition to these horses, it is intended to hire twenty draught and fifty- four horses at Dannevirk© for use during the camp. The D Battery will leave by train on Saturday afternoon, 10th prox., and after undergoing a week's training will return' to AVdliugton on Sunday, 18th February. The Napier and , Palmerston North Batteries will also go into camp with the D Battery. The- number' of men in camp will be about 400. ' The first part of the training will consist of drill, and there will be three days of shell practice during the latter part of the week. The Director of Ordnance will attend the camp in order to supervise the training. Arrangements are now beifig made for the holding of Garrison Artillery camps at the four chief centres. That at Lyttelton will be held from the sth 'to the 11th February ;' Auckland, 23rd to 29th March ; Dunedin at Easter. The Wellington Artillery division camp will be held * some time in February, but the exact 'date hoe not yet been fixed. The- four mountain guns which were recently received from England have now been- " assembled " at Shejly Bay, and will be issued to the D Battery on | their return from "the camp at Oringi.