A MECHANISED ARMY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 3 June 1926, Page 6

A MECHANISED ARMY.

BATTALIONS OF ARTILLERY. An interesting opinion and forecast of the future of the guns in the mechanisation of the Army are given in the April number of the Journal ot the Royal Artillery by Colonel H. Row all-Robinson (tiie principal staff officer at Peshawar), says the London correspondeut of the New Zealand Herald. He says that the eventual mechanisation of an army that may have to engage in European warfare is certain. Once war has begun and the whole resources of nations- are thrown into the struggle the rate of medianisation will be very ra.pid. Progressing on the lines of our existing policy and in the absence of war, says Colonel Rowan-Robinson, we shall, sav, in 15 years’ time, have mechanised the whole of our horse, field and medui-m artillery—that is, the guns of all these branches will be dragondrawn. During that time the mechanisation of the rest of the Army will have proceeded apace. Neither bayonet nor sabre will then be decisive weapons; they will have been supplanted respectively by. the slow-moving and fast-moving tanks. Infantry and cavalry will still exist, but only as auxiliary services; for the attack and defence of tank harbours, for action in ground naturally unsuited or rendered unsuitable for tanks, infantry being brought up in omnibuses to occupy, with protected flanks, villages, woods, and river lines, and thus economise tanks for action elsewhere, cavalry being used as ground scouts to tanks in difficult country, and for protective and independent action in country not passable by tanks. Generally speaking* the battle will then have lost many of the attributes of present land warfare and will closely resemble a naval action.

On the subject of a possible fusion of the two corps of artillery and tanks, Colonel Rowan-Robin son says that once future policy is definitely settled it should work on clear-cut lines." It may he decided to raise a battalion of tanks every vear, and that every third 1 vear the funds for the formation shall be found bv the disbandment of a. brigade of artillery, or whatever the financial equivalent- in guns may be. Let there brigades in turn, says Colonel Rowan-Robinson. be transferred wholly t-o the mechanised armv and become artillerv battalion No. 1. artillery battalion No. 2. etc.., field and medium artillery units manning tanks which contain guns and horse artillery, armoured cars, nr quick-moving tanks. Li this way the high professional value of the services of the officers and men of the. old Armv will he retained and the spirit and- tradition of the Royal Artillery will be born again in new surroundings.