CLEARED FOR ACTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15684, 11 August 1914, Page 8

CLEARED FOR ACTION.

HOME FLEET'S ACTIVITIES.

GETTING READY TO FIGHT.

THINGS THAT GO OVERBOARD,

' The activities of the men on the British Homo Fleet from tho time it put to sea can be indicated with a good deal of certainly. Manoeuvres and war practice arc so frequent in the British Navy that, apart from tho following of a strategic plan, the preparations can easily he surmised. When the First Fleet loft Portland it would steam to a strategic point, the whereabouts of which would be kept secret. Moving slowly or practically hoveto, tho great lino of battle would await developments, surrounded by a host of satellites, comprising keen-cved scouts, battle-cruisers, cruisers, destroyers, and at least one repair ship. Once the ships are clear away, tho first important general signal to be run up to the flagship's masthead is " Clear for action!" And it is in carrying out this order that a big departure would be made from tho usual practice. Where, for practice purposes, a ship can be cleared for action in a few minutes, in actual war preparation it takes hours possibly days. It involves much legitimate vandalism. Having stripped the decks of everything that would be in the way of gun-fire, such as stanchions and other removable fittings, tho next thing would be to dispense with everything of an inflammable nature, oven to the tearing up of the decks, where tho steel foundation is laid with wooden planks. In the modern class of ships, however, the decks are entirely of steel, so that that laborious task will be saved.

Nothing Superfluous. Many of the officers' cabins are fitted with quick-firing guns, and consequently those more or less luxuriously furnished abodeß would be ransacked and dismantled. Furniture, fixed or portable, mess tables and stools, lockers, spare spars, and even boats, would go by the board. At best these articles are but luxuries which do not count in war time. If time permitted it is possible that portion of the more valuablo stuff would be placed in the boats, which would then be lowered and buoyed or left to drift, secured one to the other in line. The same would be done with all superfluous stores that aro of an inflammable nature, such as canvas, etc. It is certain that, no matter how economically this clearance sale may be carried out, there would be thousands of pounds worth of stuff pitched overboard.

The ship being thus stripped naked for fighting, there would still be left much to be done to lessen the risks of fire or the posßiblo killing of valuablo guns' crews by flying splinters. Every inch of heavy and light chain cable and steel and hempen hawsers would be dragged up from the chain lockers and uncoiled from the reels. With this material all the more exposed parts, chiefly around the guns, would be screened, the cables and hawsers being suspended in loops from the beams to the deck. Even the men's hammocks, which in war time are regarded as a dispensable luxury, would be utilised in a similar manner, being hung up side by side to form fairly effective protection against splinters. They would be soaked from time ' to timo with salt water hoses to reduce the risk of catching fire. Hammocks, too, would be hung around the fighting tops to screen the range finders, spotters, and machine-guns' crews. The Fire Hose. Early in the operations the fire brigades would have connected their hoses to the mains, and placed them handy for instant use. A grim part of the proceedings would be the scattering of sand j about tho decks, and placing buckets of i water about for the purpose of washing [the decks free from blood. Tho sicki another peace time luxury, situated a3 it is in -an exposed place, would bo dismantled, first-aid depots 'being substituted ; they would be placed deep down below for protection against shot and shell, in a place corresponding to the oldtime cock-pit.

During all these preparations, the eyes of tho fleet would have been constantly used day and night. Should any merchant vessel chance to pass through the lines, she would be bailed up and made to show her credentials.

Ammunition and shell would bo brought up from the magazines and shellrooms, and ranged in the racks around each gun. When all is ready for the stirring bugle call to general quarters in the terms of " Clear lower deck for action!" the ships would settle down to tho ordinary routine, with perhaps a little more regard for gunnery and torpedo work. The gun crews would remain by their guns day and- night, sleeping in their clothes. A continuous brisk look-out would be kept by 'dozens of pairs of eyes for the slightest sign of any disturbance on the water or up in tho sky, which might indicate the possible presence of the enemy, whether it bo a distant column of smoke of a fleet, or a ripple caused I by a submarine's periscope.

THE FRENCH FORTS.

I LINES ON GERMAN FRONTIER, i Constant reference is being made in the cables to the French fortified positions. The strong places of first-class, each of thorn with numerous forte, are:— the German frontier: Verdun, Toul, Epmal, Belfort, forming an advanced lino; Manbeuge, La Fere, Rheinis, Laiigres, Dijon, Besancon, in a second lino. On the Italian frontier: Briancon and Grenoble are the chief places, with Lyons in the rear. There are also a few isolated " forts d'arrets" near Nancy, Lunevillo, Remisemont, Nice, etc. On tho coast Toulon, Roclief&rt, Loriont, Brest, and Cherbourg aro naval harbours surrounded by forts. In recent years most second-class and thirdclass fortresses havo been dismantled; or at least "declnssos." The fortified places aro specially administered by a "service des fortifications." Paris, whioli is considered as the contro of defence, is surrounded by a wall which has 97 bastions, 17 old forte, and 38 new advance forts or batteries, the whole forming two entrenched camps at St. Denis and Versailles. The French Army consists of tho national army, styled the " metropolitan" army, and the colonial army. Both aro under the War Minister. The considerable foroes maintained in Algeria and Tunis, however, aro all regarded as belonging to tho metropolitan army, and their cost is included in the War Minister's Budget. Franco lias a coast of 1760 miles, 1304 on the Atlantic and 456 on tho Mediterranean. Its land frontier extends over 1575 miles, of which 1156 miles aro along tho Belgian, German, Swiss, and Italian frontiers, and 419 along the Spanish frontier. Tire total numbor of troops maintained by France in oversea garrisons is about 134,000, of whom 75,000 are Europeans. • The arm of tho French infantry is tho Lebel magazine rifle, calibre .315. The cavalry carry the Lebel carbine. The prosent Fronch field-gun is the 7.5 cm. (2.95 in) quick-firing shielded gun, model 1897. The howitzer batteries are aimed with 12cm. (4in) or 15.5 cm, (6,2 in) pieces.