NEW ZEALANDERS AT THE FRONT.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, Issue LXXII, 13 October 1916, Page 5

NEW ZEALANDERS AT THE FRONT.

TRAINING AND ORGANISATION.

(From Captain Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent.)

It is not my province to enlarge upon tne British effort and the success of British organisation, but I should like at this stage of the campaign to pla^e on record, as far as one can do go, some facts regarding th.c organisation °i our own forces in "Northern France th* I* '? \ ut a srn»u pait in the vast and complex machine, but it is fitting that New Zealanders—who are by nature and by reason, perhaps, of their insularity -Mid distance from the scene of great events the most critical of all the critics— should be told something about the working of the part they have s O promptly and so generously supplied Taking advantage of a comparative lull in the proceedings so far as we are con cerned, I recently paid a hurried visit to England, and motored several hun dreds of miles in Northern France nnrl the facts and opinions here set down'are mainly the result of my own observa tion and experience. While not po*inoin any way as-a military expert, itl«T?i pleasure to be able to'state that iht L chine is worldng slothly and satfc factorily. It is equally-gratifying to he able to state that the conduct of *h! force is satisfactory, and that our 4n remain on the best of terms with t£ (British and Australian brethren, and with the people in the town s and'rural districts in Northern France

REINFORCEMENTS. Our Force having taken up its posi- ■ f tion m 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-iine, and back from the firing-line through the various dressing stations, hospkals etc., to England, and, often, back to the firing-line and thence to England again. There are some meft 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 r is done for the soldier.". _ As we are fighting an elert enemy itis not advisable to pubvish figu.res in regard to the wastage, but our people will be pleased to hear that it is much less than it was an Gallipoli. That i s no doubt largely due to* the fact that here we are much better able to cope with disease, that we are better billeted that we are fighting in a more temperate climate, that the food supply is a 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 aggregate, more continuous, and the losses in consequence of the greater massing of artillery reach a higher percentage from this cause than they did m Oralhpoh. We have to face b>a er guns, bigger trench mortars, and there is a great deal more high explosive than we experienced when opposed to the Turks. It may be thought that with the numbers of reinforcements that are leaving Zealand's shores we must he building up considerable reserves. If that idea is at all prevalent it will be just as well to dismiss it at once from the minds of the people. It must never h* forgotten that in the long line on the Western front the fighting, .though, varying greatly in intensity, never ceafts.. Day and night it goes on, and eyery hour of the day and night men are being killed an|} Weaacr c always in contact witfT.^he enemy, and that mr-ans constant losses, and' the fact remains that our reiriforcexnents are not more than adequate, and must be kept up to the ma<rk ;f our force is to maintain its position at the front. TRAINING. In France, well behind the lines at certain places," there are big base camps, each of which may contain as many as 60,000 men, and at these bases there are excellent training schools where the instructors are working night and day to puf the finishing touches on their more or less apt pupils. Recently the writer visited one of these schools at a bigcamp, tha^mcludes^New Zealand Reinforcements, "ancT "was <^eatty"~ "^' impressed not only with the methods but also with the energy displayed. A Vu Slt t v ttto evr Zealar>d camp'showed that the arrrangements were entirely satisfactory, and none of the men 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 away 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 the water supply excellent. The medical service was adequate, and there was also a dentist attached to the camp. The camp commandant was thoa-oughly up in his work. He mentioned that in recent reinforcements there had been a sprinkling of elderly and useless men. Such men will probably be sent back, as they are of little use in any force. 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 are told, were dej ficient in bayonet work and rapid loadi ing, as were also some of the drafts tha* 1 came over from England. The men had to unleaan some of the things they had been taught, which is always a difficult matter. We were shown the new drillby a squad under a very smart in- | structor, and one could not but be imI pressed with 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 G.erman is never a match for our men. At this school the men are also taught? tiench welfare, there being on the side of the hills an excellent system of trenches, with barbed wire, eommunii cataon trenches, funnels, and great i mine craters "consolKlated" after the best methods. There is also provided training for artillevv, pioneers, engin- ' r eel's, and various other branches o£ the service. > TO THE FIRING LINE. ' ' Thus we find our reinforcements eom3. ing to England—some, of course, to 3 Egypt—after' a course of training in f ; their own country. In England they 1 undergo a further strenuous course of j* . fourteen weeks, after which,they cress 1 the Channel arid are given a finishing '' I training in France. From this last camp '• ' they are sent up to the firms-line as ° they are required, well qualified to .- give a good account of thorn so 1 yes c against the best soldiers that the Oerd man Empire can moduce. Tt is at this :s stage that the soldier js liable at r-ny »f j moment to be called upon to complete t j t^e othev half of the journey that he it often is destined to make. In a few days Jhe may find himself, pither in consetr quenee* or 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.

IN THE HANDS OF THE DOCTORS

Wounded in the 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-hearers tq_ an advanced dressing station behind toe comraunica-. tion trench, and thence in .vehicles tq % field ambulance which has some ao-rse, 'and. some motor transport—-generally about half and haSf. The next stage of his journey is to casualty cleaniig station which has no transport. Tfafe ■wounded arc "brought thither and tafeen ajray by the hospital motor ambulance __ convoys, long strings' of whfeh^, when . there is 'a big fight on, weiiS $h&K slow . and ways to railway Nation ■or canal-, leading to one eh* 'other of the French seaports from which s>ur sick and wounded are evacuated to England. . At these French port* there are big • general hospitals, hut lay far the greater number of patients -aS-e put direct into the hospital ships* From these seaports th© ships make for some port in | JEngland where. <Mv hospital trains: are ready waiting for their daily 'loads. If you happen to be passing Chaa-ing Cross station when a hospital train is due you will generally see a curious crowd wait- - ing—mainly snade up of olderly c.en and women aaad girls. The n.otor ambu r / .lances, and the motor cars in which - ."wounded officers drive off have flowers " thrown Into them by the women, many of whom have tears in t'heii- eyes. The old flower -women do a, brisk trade, and> in moments of special excitement they themselves shower their flowers upon the wounded, who smilingly receive the gifts. All this seems a far cry from the battlefield, but in reality the arrangements %re so perfect that with every possible conrfort and attention the men have :epme from beyond^ the shell-pitted ,; «iowas of the Spmme, from shattered Armentieres, and irom the -"deadly Ypifes «ali«nt in an incredibly short ' space pf time. And as the wounded art. coming in the fit are going out. And so it will be. until the German eagle has . Mtten the dust of the desolation he Himself has created. . > NEW ZEALANDERS IN ENGLAND. * As far as possible the wounded aa^e taken to hospitals, near the districts where*; iheir friends and relations i'«sideV*Theie are many hospitals in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, I do not know the exact figures,. "but 1 "■■' should thin^-there must be well over 3.80,000 beds in the Motherland for the hkckwash of the British front in '■ Northern France. We, howevei-, ar« concerned only with the New Zealand section of the arrangements—a v>eiiy small section of this vast scheme, it is impossible to send each man to his own district, and so it is impossible to find"- each New Zealander Jo a ■ New _ e« laud hospital, but the drai'iiijg there : is cari-ied out as-fai'as possible, in the first,instance, and subsequently .as soon as the men.'can.!be'Safely-Juxd'•conveni-ently removed^ from other "hospitals they are taken to ome jox other, of the j^etv 2 % e^ind hospitals—ln 0.. 1 4it Brokenlmj'st and No.. 2 .at Walton v The former accommodates 1500 -and i the latter 540 patients. The New Zealand Headquarters in Jjondpn is notified from day to day of the New Zealahders who aiyji.vie in\the different hospitals apaitt from our own. There are all sorts of *cases, many of the wounds beia^slight,, iand .as soon ! as a patient ha# a coiivalesceiit he is sent on i^jKhe vConwalescent pital at HorncKui^ch: JBLeice .-ithere■ is a general sorting out. Those who are no longer fit'for war ;gi;ouped and put into an evacuation ,draft be seat. back to New Zealand .at cthe .first ,op- . portunity. Those who .are likely -to he fii again are kept at Homchurch to : receive any special treatment vthey may lequire, and when ready .to undergo > training agaiti" with a view ..to .their going once more to ithe iront .they .are. sent to Codford Command JDepo.tr Here they are da^f.ted dnto .companies or squads, according to .degree of .fit-. ' ness. \As they are .gradually hardened >-^ —~-Jlbjes>--eft-sfi3pi os§.^sc[uad^to.. iandtheijjj. and wheri'^n'ej can carfy*~"a-pack"'tind: inarch about- i©n miles a -day without . undue fatigue they are immediately •transferred to the New .Zealand .Re-. serve Group, where theue issb .the tb' .' line units of the idiffiei-eifit jcegiments £ .at the front. While in the Keservei ■■'■;' " Group they good deal of .training, = - and are. brushed iy> in '.musketry,,; ■ ';..•-- Dombing, bayonet,• and machine T guni ;. work. As soon,as ithey ;ai\e reported: fit they are held available .as idralts-to1' fill up th© gaps at the front. .So far. v . . I haye heard of no mam >wJm) has ,gone' ■ ■■■; the round of tips «arcle tihuee; .times,-^ ■ ".;•■. hut there are quite ;a'animlker vwhbihtiv^* ';'; gone the l-ound twice.. *. . : ' NEW LIMBS'FOR OLD. One of the most wwiulei-fui -.things'iihi : connection with the w.ar is the ,way » : man can have his physical deficiencies arid deformities ■ patched up :by .science: and mechanism. Roehamptooa.," .with its' many men minus an.'iurro, & leg, <a: hand, or a foot is rather a sad "sight: these days, but there is'also a brignt - side to,..th.e. picture, and New JZealand•ers, I am glad to say^ are receiving attention equally, withr ihe British 1 brethren in ■ the Homeland.' .Some months ago artificial limbs kejie. pa-o-vided by the ladies-of the War tJontingent Association, but no expert, advice was given. as to the class of Jimb '■ that should be'• fitted in particular , -cases. We have now talten one of mix own medical officers and posted him at ; .the Roehampton Hospital. He deals • .solely'with, the: matter of ai-4-ificial .limbs. He has studied the latest 'wu ■ » and can give the best adyice'. . -,When a New Zealander is ready io Jiave an artificial limb fitted he is &en.t ,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 future-pursue. There are so many , ditte^ent 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 laborer will not do for a clerk Great care is taken in fitting tne limbs. A man is now allowed to go away until he is • properly fitted, until he-has -learnt to use the limb, and until the stump is properly shrunk. Then he is measured tor a .second hmb. "We-give our men dupliin every case, so that we go one fetter than the British Government in Mis-respect. If a man has to return *P .New Zealand before his second limb ?s veady it is sent after him there and ffe g.i.\e our men the best limbs available irrespective of price. There are two popular firms in regard to the manufacture of artificial limbs—one in America with a maximum price of jabout o and^a French firm that maices a han.ci and arm at from £20 to *-20,-according as it is for fitting below or ..above the elboAv. A demonstration was given the other day by one of ojjr men with a French arm. He put ft stud in his sMi\t, put on his collar and tie, picked up [a pin from a table, -wrote his name, ea'a-ried a b«g, and shook hands, all with his artificial hand. I£ is really m.arvellous . that such things should be possible of., accomplishment by mechanical means guided by the remaining' muscles in the stump of an arm! A man with one eg seems to walk as well as he did before the (eg was amputated. Men are now daily .to- be seen walking about , Koehampton, though both lefes have : been amputated! The general com- i plaint about I'egs is that, they are tool ( Jbeavy, a «d aa attempt is now being '

made to fit our men with a light serviceable leg at a.cost- of about £25. There are all sorts of patents in connection with artificial limbs, and the manufacturers must be making enormous sunis out of thef supply of lim.^s for men who have been in war# It seems a pitythat s^meyrin^" cannot be done to combiii<3 t';th.^se patents so that artificial, iggs, aa rms, hands> and feet could, o'e madfe ai a mpre reasonable Cost. Th^ industry was developed greatly in America, because the demand "was far greater there than in a country Vlke England, and where also a suit&ole.wood for the manufacture is gMWn—^a particular kind of ash. In England they have now imported both the material and the workmen, and some of our wounded soldiers are being trained in the manufacture of artificial limbs. There are now five English and two American firms making limbs at Roehampton, and the workshops are very complete. IN LONDON. At the head of affairs in Loadon there is a brigadier-general, who only a few years ago was a master gunner in New Zealand. He is a Staff College man, whose organising duties are well recognised, and it would scarcely have been possible to have chosen & better man for the work. New Zfealand is undoubtedly very fortunate in having such a man at tbe bead of affairs, and from what I have myself seen I know that he has done &nd is $ttll doing in.valuable work. He is in close touch, with the generatfei hands is the| administration ;"of the New Zealand: Expeditionary Force, and also with a thoroughly conscientious and hwdMilitary Secretary who -lias the interests "of the expedition atheart. ' From ;to 'liottont the organisation.haVob&i£,placed oil Wi excellent basis. A TUNNELLING COMPANY. New Z«^fett& -will ha-ve loife Jsight ofits Tunnelling Company, aad %he Division has -also lost sight of 4t; but a tunnelling company, has to .go where it is of most use, and it would have been of no -'««e'^tb> the Divfeion -where the Division has been. $tattfsffing Companres «fe G.H.Q. troops, temporarily allotted a corps for work in special ■ areas. -I'have; not up the present, had «& opportunity of theJSfew Zealand Tunnelling Company, but from authetttic 'information iknoxy that the officers and men of > which it is com- : posed have been doing splendid work. ! Tfce British-fcrpops in" the area in which 'they are ©per acting-gay) that they have .' absolute confidence that while the New Zealaiiders are with them they will not get, their trenches blown in >y a surprise mine laid by the- enemy engineers. They have been successful, not only .in mining against the Germans, Wt "in/scKsßovering the German mines. They have found out what the enemy is up! to, :i.and have checkmated Km -time rafter time to such an ex-r. tent tth'At tthiey. have placed him in the position of ithe under-dog in this parTticular -sse&tof,. just as our engineers 'and miners!did in the case of the famous Quinn's Post on Gallipoli. The •. : woilk is ill' Charge of a major well iknossii :in>M^w