MECHANISED ARMY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 218, 29 August 1927, Page 9

MECHANISED ARMY

SALISBURY PLAIN MANOEUVRES. VALUE OF THE TANK. London, Aug. 27. The operations of the tanks on the Salisbury Plain are evoking widespread interest. Major-General Sir Ernest Swinton, the famous “eye-witness” on the western front, who watched the manouevres, sums up as follows: “In threatres such as mountainous forest countries, where . cross-country machines cannot function, the present methods of warfare must remain unchanged, but on flat open country the actual fighting will be done by tanks, until all such machines on one side are knocked out. Cavalry and infantry will be useless. Within its scope the tank is the master of machine gun and artillery will, to some extent, be converted into tanks of special design. If the mechanised force attains mobility, efficiency and economy life will be spared.” Justification of this assertion is obtained by a comparison of the losses in the Great War where tanks were employed and where they were not used. General Swinton says the result of England’s present experiments should be awaited by everybody with the greatest interest.— (A. and N.Z.)