CHANGING ARMY

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 147, 23 June 1928, Page 7

CHANGING ARMY

HORSE PASSING AWAY CHEAPER EFFICIENCY WAR OF THE FUTURE (From -'The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, 21st March. In liis preliminary review of the Army Estimates, Sir Laming Worthington-Evans said that he knew he must follow the urge of an age of mechanical revolution, wherein the soldier's world must reflect, mutatis mutandis, the accelerated -world of the civilian. Only the lack of money retarded that full modernisation of the Army which should be esteemed neither a miracle nor a "stunt." He had managed to do enough by tho creation of the self-contained mechanised force at Tidwortli and other experiments to infuse the exhilaration of progress into the service, so that the humblest private could be nerved by the prospect of ultimately being carried into battle on two elements—earth and air. Taking the service arm by arm, he thought it was proved so far that the airplane and the tank had modified but not cancelled the cavalry's task of screening its friends from sypii o on and scattering its enemies. He was therefore keeping the remaining twenty-two regiments, but giving them greater power of mobility by transferring some of the load from horse to lorry, and of penetration by mechanising one squadron in three. Two unspecified regiments were to exchange horses for motors throughout, but without abating at.all their'cavalry status, so that the new Cavalry Division would consist of two Cavalry Brigades and two Regiments of Armoured Cars. He was trying to find a new lightly armoured lorry, but if anyone wanted more mechanisation of a cavalry that might have to serve anywhere in the world he must produce a Robot horse. As regards the artillery, the heavy and the medium had been completely mechanised, and the Fiela Artillery would be; but the Royal Horse Artillery and the Pack Artillery would keep their horses and mules for the present. All auxiliary services would have their mobility proportionately increased. That separate force, the Territorials, were being more closely linked to the Army family by special visits from regular officers. The result was that the number of Territorial officers was the highest since 1921. The decline in the numbers of the rank and file was frankly duo to the substitution of proficiency grant for bounty; but there was a recovery since last June, and he had no more cold .water for the1 force except-a small cut in the grants to associations. A BETTER INVESTMENT. Speaking at University College, London, Major-General Sir John Burnett-Stuart, who is closely concerned with the work of the experimental mechanised force at Tidworth, made no secret of his conviction that tho ultimate mechanisation of the Army is inevitable. "We must. reorganise," he said, "and not go on patching up any more.- First we want to start building up armoured forces, say, four of them, one round each of _ our existing Royal Tank Corps battalions. At the same time we must start providing ourselves -with the mechanised units wanted for our corps and divisions." Whatever course was taken, arrangements for the mobilisation of the necessary industries would have to be. part of it; but once the change-over was complete the taxpayer would find that his money was better invested than was the case to-day. "I should not be surprised to find," he continued, "that when the reorganisation is complete the new model army would be cheaper in peace time, unit for unit, than the old. In war it would bo infinitely cheaper. Nothing is more expensive to the nation than losing men." An armoured force should be-visualised as consisting of two R.A.F. squadrons and 800 cross-country vehicles, of which 300 would be fighting machines. The component parts of the force were the air group, n light or reconnaissance group, a heavy or assault group, an auxiliary or "odd-job" group, and a maintenance group. Tho heavy group would move five or six hours on end at an average speed of eight or ten miles an hour, the lighter further and faster.