MECHANISED FORCE

Evening Post, Issue 11, 13 July 1936, Page 7

MECHANISED FORCE

GERMANY HAS DOUBTS

Despite extensive motorisation of the army, German military leaders ;believe the mechanisation of the fighting forces can be overdone, especially in view of Germany's dependence upon foreign fuel, says the "Chicago Tribune."

The German general staff also holds that not every terrain lends itself to the use of motorised forces. This applies especially to eastern Europe.

Accordingly, part of the German light and heavy artillery, machine-gun, and trench mortar units, and part of the signal corps are mounted. Large navalry units are garrisoned in East Prussia.

T^o insure an adequate contingent of good riders for the military forces the "National Socialist Cavalry Corps" was recently founded under the command of Victor Lutze, Chief of the Storm Troopers. Every able-bodied Storm Trooper between the ages of eighteen and twenty who is pronounced fit for service in the mounted forces must join the cavalry corps. The corps is under the supervision of a former cavalry officer, the son of General Karl Litzmann of world-war fame.

So many horses are required by the Storm Troopers and the fighting ser.vice that it was necessary to introduce white horses into the army to overcome the shortage. White horses were formerly taboo in the army because of their conspicuous colour. Military experts, however, hold that horses will rarely be used in actual battle, but will be useful in the supply lines.

Efforts are being made by German industry to increase thf output of synthetic oil to take the place of imported oils. Until recently the cost of manufacturing synthetic oil was three times the price tk imported oIL A new process has now been, found which cheapens synthetic oil by one-third.

The new process also permits the production of synthetic oil directly out of lignite, of which Germany has ample supplies. Under the old process synthetic oil was obtained from pressed coal, which was far more expensive.

A company was recently founded at Kassel for the production of synthetic oil under the new process. The company is expected to produce 50,000 ions of'oil in the first year.