BEHIND THE LINES

Evening Post, Volume XCII, Issue 90, 13 October 1916, Page 7

BEHIND THE LINES

NEW ZEALANDERS IN FRANCE & ENGLAND

TRAINING AND ORGANISATION

A SMOOTHLY-RUNNING MACHINE. (From Capfc. Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent.) Northern France, 22nd August. The British, usually modest and very critical in regard to their own work, have a habit of stating that everybody else—and especially the Germans—are greater organisers than themselves This is art extraordinary characteristic of our country, and perhaps it has its advantages. But even the most critical of our countrymen are now beginning to admit that, whatever may have been the case at the beginning of the war, there has during the past year or so been a great stride forward. To anyone who had the good luck to be present at the opening phases of the great battle of the Somme it was evident that tile organisation was of the most marvellous description. It surprised even our arch enemy, and he himself has, perhaps reluctantly, admitted the fact. The Gorman has been working at his system for the last twenty years or more. For the particular fighting for which we are at present engaged we have developed our organisation of a vast and quickly-created machine in less than two years. We- have not only caught up the German, but in more than one department we have quite outstripped him. The mastery we have obtained in the air is one instance1. There are others. The colonial has been only too apt to take the Englishman—l use the term in its broad sense—at his own estimate. The organisation, both in England and in France, has caused him to revise his estimata The Battle of the Somme has opened a book of revelations that have surprised and altogether delighted, him. It is true we have made mistakes, and Ino doubt we shall still continue to make them. But so has the German. We can now see that he has made mistakes that have been irretrievable, and that, but for these mistakes and lost opportunities, the position to-day would have been very different from what it is. The mistakes he has made may mean to him all the difference between victory and defeat.

It is not my province, however, to enlarge upon the BritisK effort and the success of the British organisation, but I should like at this stage of the campaign to place on record, as far as one can do so, some facts regarding the organisation of onr own forces in Northern France and in England. Talcing advantage of a comparative lull in the proceedings so far as we are concerned, I recently paid a hurried visit to England, and motored several hundreds of miles in Northern France, and the facts. and opinions here set down are mainly the result of my own observation and experience. REINFORCEMENTS. Our Force having taken up its position in the firing-line in France, let us now consider the questions of depletion and reinforcement. There is a regular round, from England to the firing-line, and bade'from the firing-line through the various dressing stations, hospitals, etc., to England, and, often, back to the firing-line and thence to England again. There are some men who have made the two circles. Before the war is finished there will be some who have made it three, and perhaps four, times. It is a round in which there is now a wonderful , system, excellent organisation, and one in which everything possible is done for the soldier.

As we are fighting an alert enemy it is not advisable to publish figures in regard to the wastage, but our people will be pleased to hear that it is much less than it was on Gallipoli. That is no doubt largely due to the fact that here we are much better able, to cope with disease, that wo are better billeted, that we are fighting in a more temperate climate, that the food supply is a great deal better, and that the medical and surgical arrangements are just about as good as they could be.

At the same time the fighting is in the I aggregate more continuous, and the losses, in consequence of the greater massing of artillery, reach a higher percentage from this cause than they did in Gallipoli. We have to face bigger guns, bigger trench mortars, and there ia a great deal, more high explosive than we experienced when opposed to the Turks. The New Zealanders have not been 'in the limelight yet, but it must naver be fen-gotten that in the long line on the Western front the- fighting^ though varying greatly in intensity, never ceases. Day and night it goes on, and every hour of the day and night men are being killed and wounded. We are always in contact with the enemy, and that means constant losses. Of course, the enemy is J experiencing his constant losses just'the [ same as we are, and whether they are greater or less or about the same as our own, one thing is certain—namely, that he is not so well able to bear loss, and that whilst the spirit of our men is in the ascendant, his morale is decidedly on the down grade. But the fact remains that onr reinforcements are not more than adequate, and must be kept up to the mark if our force is to maintain its position at the front.. TRAINING. The question of training is an allimportant one, arid it is a question whether the period of training in New Zealand should not be shortened in order that the men might get the sooner into the superior training that is available nearer the front. The alternative is to send out to New Zealand officers and' non-coms, who ha-ve had experience at the front and who have gone through erne or other of the admirable Bchools that exist here. The several weeks' training in England is strenuous, and coming after four months' training in New Zealand should make the mara fitted for his work at the front. In previous articles I have made brief reference to the new bayonet drill. It is a treat to see the way it is taught in the schools of instruction that the British have established in France, and members of both the New Zealand and Australian Forces that have taken the course with a view to teaching their own meu at the front have como back quite enthusiastic with the new methods. I.understand that a commencement has already been made in the sending of competent instructors out to New Zealand, and this is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. The system of instruction has now reached a. very high mark, and it is only a question nf obtaining a sufficient number of instructors. VISIT TO A SCHOOL. In France, well behind the lines at certain places, there are big base camps, each of which Dia-y conta.in as many as 60,000 men, and at these bases there are excellent training schools, where the instructors are working night and day to put the finishing- touches on their more or less apt pupils. Recently the writer visited one of these schools at a- big camp that includes New Zealand Reinforcements, and was greatly impressed not only with the methods but also with the energy displayed.. A visit to the. New jjp-imnd Camp showed that the tvr- ' ranjremen&s wera entirely i?*^**?^.

and none of the man spoken to had any complaints to make. The food cooked in a hut kitchen by fifteen cooks was. excellent, and there was plenty of ■variety. There was no waste, and the surplus fat was collected by the army and taken awiay for the manufacture of' glycerine. There were two large mess rooms, a post office, a recreation room with piano, washing rooms, and drying rooms for clothes and blankets. The camp was on rising, ground and the sanitation and tlie water supply excellent. The medical service was adequate, and there was also a dentist attached to the camp. THE MEN AT WORK. In a hollow between sandy hills the instructors were busy putting the finishing touches to various squads from pretty well every part of our scattered Empire. The officer in. charge of the instruction was a keen, hard-working man. Drill went on from 8 o'clock until midnight every day in the week. The New Zealanders, we were told, were deficient in bayonet work" and rapid loading, as were also some of the drafts that came over from England. . The men had to unlearn some of the things they had been taught,, which is always a difficult matter. We were shown the new drill by a squad under a very smart instructor, and one could not but be impressed with it. In this matter the British Army has undoubtedly left the German soldier a very long way behind, so that apart from his machines the German is never a, match for our men. At this school the men are also taught trench warfare, there being on the side of the hills an excellent system of trenches, with barbed wire, communication trenches, tunnels, and great mine craters " consolidated " after the best methods. There is also provided training for artillery, pioneers, engineers, and various other branches of the'service. OFFICERS. The question of the selection and training of officers is nowadays a most important matter, and the system adopted as the result- of experience by the New Zealand authorities would appear to bo on right lines. The first principle is to make your officers from non-coms, who have shown on service that they are men of character and likely to be capable leaders of men. They must be men who can inspire confidence in their troops. It is almost impossible to pick such men straight away, and one is often met with "the criticism that there aro men in the ranks that should be officers, and even if you could it would be inadvisable to do so, for it is just as necessary to have a fair proportion of such men in the ranks as an example and to inspire confidence in the rank and file. There is also another danger to be avoided, namely, that you must be careful not to unduly deplete your non-coms, of all the best men. It is just as necessary to have capable, noncoms, as it is to have capable officers. Therefore the happy medium has to be struck. TO THE FIRING I,fNE. Thus we find our reinforcements coming to England—some, of course, to Egypt—after a course of training in their own country. In England they undergo a further strenuous course of fourteen weeks, after . which they cross the Channel and are given, a finishing training in France. From this last camp they are sent up to the firing-lins as they are required, weD qualified to. give a good, account of themselves against'1 the best soldiers that the German Empire can produce. It is at this stage that the soldier is liable at any moment to be called upon to complete the other hatf_ of the journey that he often is destined to make. In a few days he may find himself, either in consequence ■ of sickness, accident, or wound, commencing a new series of experiences that may land him in England, Scotland, or even New Zealand, and that may eventually bring him back to the trenches once again. Let 'us accompany him on his journey. ' j

IN THE HANDS OF THE DOCTORS.

Wounded in tho trenches, it is not long before he is in the hands of the doctors. He is first of all taken to a regimental aid post just behind the front line. From there he is carried by the stretcher-bearers to an advanced dressing station behind the communication trench, and thence in vehicles to a field ambulance which has some horse and some motor transport—generally about half and half. Tho next stage of his journey Is to a casualty clearing station which has no transport. The wounded, are brought thither and taken, away by the hospital motor ambulance convoys, long strings of which, when there is a big fight on, wend their slow and easy ways to railway, station or canal, leading to one or other of the French seaports from which our sick and wounded are evacuated to England. At these French ports there are big general hospitals, but by far the greater numbers of patients are put direct into the hospital ships. From these seaports the ships make for some port in England where our hospital trains are ready waiting for their daily loads.

NEW ZEALANDERS IN ENGLAND,

As far as possible the wounded are taken to hospitals near the districts where their friends and relations reside. There are man)' hospitals in. England, i Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Ido not know the exact figures, but I should think there must be well over 230,000 beds in the Motherland for the backwash ,of the British front in Northern France. We, however, are concerned only with the New Zealand section" of the arrangements—a very small section in this vast scheme. It is impossible to send each man to Ms own district, and so it is impossible to send each New Zealander to a New Zealand hospital, but tho drafting there is carried out as far as possible in the first instance, and subsequently as soon'as tho men can be safely and conveniently removed from other hospitals they are taken to one or other of tho New Zealand hospitals— No. 1 at Brockenhuret and No. 2 at Wnlton. The former accommodates 1600 and the latter 540 patients. NEW LIMBS FOR OLD. ■ One of the most wonderful things in connection with the war is the way a j man can have his 'physical deficiencies and deformities patched up by science and mechanism. Roehampton, with its many men minus an arm, a leg, a hand, or a foot is rather a sad sight these days, but there is also a bright side to the picture, and New Zealanders, I am glad to say, are- receiving attention equally with the British brethren in the Homeland. Some months ago artificial limbs were provided by the ladies of tho War Contingent Association, but no expert advice was given, as to the class of limb that should be fitted in particular cases. We have now taken one of our own medical officers and posted him at the Roehampton Hospital. He deals solely with the matter of artificial limbs. (He has studied the latest methods and can give the host advice. When a New Zealander is ready to have an artificial limb fitted he is sent to Roehampton, and under the supervision of this officer is fitted with the class of limb that will best suit his'case, and the avocation he will in the fnturo pursue. There are so many different kinds of limbs on the market now that it is necessary for a man to get expert advice. The limb that is required for a labourer will not do for a clerk. Great care is taken in fitting tha limbs. A man is riot allowed to go away until he is properly fitted, until he has learnt to use the limb, and until the stump ts properly shrunk. Then he is measured for a second limb. We give onr men

duplicates in every case, so that we go one better than the British Government ;in this respect. If a man has to return to New Zealand before - his second limb is ready it is sent after him there, and we give our men the best limbs, available irrespective of price. There are two popular firms in regard to the manufacture of artificial' limb's—one in America with a maximum price of about £40, • and a French, firm that makes a hand and arm at from £20 to £25, according as it is for fitting below or above .the elbow., A. demonstratioii was giveii the other day by one of our men'wife a French arm. He put a stiid in his shirt, put on his collar and. tie, picked up a, pin from a table, wrote his name, ■ carried a- bag, and shook hands,-all '\n\ l his artificial hand. It is really marvellous that such things should be possible, of accomplishment by mechanical means guided by the remaining mueclos in the stump of an aim! A man 'with one leg seems to walk as well a's he did before the leg was amputated. Men are now daily to be seen walking sabout Roehampton though both legs have been amputated! There are now .five English and two American firms making ■limbs at Roehampton, and the work-.', shops are very complete. OTHER UNITS IN. FRANCE. At a big (town in France I found a Records Sedtion under the capable management of a captain and some forty clerks. There everything material that, happens to an individual of the force, I such as change of rating, ■ promotion, pay, movement from one unit to another, and casualties, is noted' and reported weekly to the headquarters in London. In the case of casualties there ia a daily return. If you" wish to know about Private Thomas Atkins, of Taumarunui, or Brigadier-General Jones, from. Inve-rcargfll, a cfcrk in. this- office can pick yon out a card —Army. Form , 8103, it is called—and on that card you will find it all noted down, The whole military history of the man is there in brief. AH the clerk has in front of him ia a book full of thousands of these" card-, sheets. The system deals with every man at present in the field, and with every man who has been in the field and is now in the United Kingdom. All that information is transmitted, as, far as the field is concerned, to London, and London .transmits .to that office all. about the men in the United Kingdom, and cables daily to the New Zealand Record Office information as to the casualties. IN LONDON. At the head of affairs in London, is * brigadier-general, who only . a fow years ago was a master gunner in New Zealand. He is a Staff College mail, whose organising qualities are well recognised, and it would scarcely have been possible to have chosen a better man for the work. New Zealand is undoubtedly very fortunate in having such a man at the head of affairs, and from what I have myself seen I know that he has done and is still doing invaluable work. He is in close touch, with the General in whose hands is the administration of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and aJso with, a thoroughly conscientious and hard-working Military Secretary who has the interests of the expedition at heart. From top to bottom the organisation has been p-laced on an excellent i basis.