THE TRAINING AND ARMING OF VOLUNTEERS

Otago Witness, Issue 2433, 31 October 1900, Page 70

THE TRAINING AND ARMING OF VOLUNTEERS

FOR DEFENCE PURPOSES.

(Being a paper read by Captain S, S. Myers, North Dunedin Rifles, before the Officers' Club.)

Colonel Webb and Gentlemen, — The subject of the lecture which I choose for this evening — viz., the training and arming of volunteers for defence purposes is inopportune, inasmuch as such a great deal has been said and written upon the matter since my promise to write a paper was given. I regret that I did not give it last season, when it would probably have-been more acceptable. I am only going to deal with the question of tiaining- me-i for cteience purposes. To arm and u-ain men lor the purpose of preparing to attack or assist in attacking oi>ier countries is outside the province of this paper. Not that 1 should hold such a course necessary; as while it is an absolute necessity that we should be piepared for any emer1 gency that might arise through <aiy political complications that might necessitate immediate action on our part, I do not think our ' small country is j ustmed in laying out large sums with any idea tliat 15 is mting men to be professional soldier.? to be sent to any special part ol the Empire that might be nwoi^ed m war, or as a lecruiting ground for the British army. Ido not wish it to be understood tiiac I should be adverse to arm and train men tor the special purpose of having a reserve that could be sent to do battle anywhere for our Empire, but while we are a young country antl a small community i think the first necessity is to see that we are prepared to meet an attack on our shores. in the matter of arming and training, the financial aspect hti3 10 be considered, but provided the public would see that money was being spent in defence purposes in a useful manner, there should not oe any great outcry to taxation lor lhat purpose, but spasmodically spending many tnousands of pounds naturally creates the tnought oi whether the result will justiiy the expenditure. To train men lor any occupation it is well to commence at as early an age as possible. The expense necessary to fitting every boy to become useful to the State as its defender — in short, to learn his first duty as a citizen — would be grudged by no one. The uso of the rifle should be taught to all; to produce a colony of marksmen or good sharpshooters our chief ambition. Lord Roberts once said: "High courage, sound health, power of endurance, organisation and leading —under the existing conditions of war all become more or less subservient to marksmanship at the supreme moment of actual conflict with the enemy." Sir Henry Halford emphasised this when he said : "If tho youth ol England could use a rifle, the strength and power of the United Kingdom would be invincible." The strides that have been made in producing arms of precision that will kill at a distance make the ability to use them imperatives Let our youth be taught while young — marksmanship, like swimming, once learned, is never forgotten. Boys at this ags are not only most likely to take a lively interest in the necessary aiming and firing drill — which all who would become expert must practice — but they are then best able to profit to the full extent by the daily instruction which could be imparted. I advocated during the years 1 was chairman of the school conference and of the North-east Valley School Committee that the boys should be taught drill as soon as they N are fit to be in the Third Standard. There should be a. Senior Cadet Corps in every school, the boys of which should be supplied with uniforms and carbines. They should be limited to number according to the number of pupils, and certain efficiency in drill and musketry exercises should be required for a lad to get into the senior corps ,of the school. That target practice at this age would develop and point out good and promising shots goes without saying; the winner of the N.D.R. Company's champion prize was the winner of a ctip won by him at his school cadet corps. I refer to Corporal Farquharson, at present with the second contingent in Africa. The majority of boys leave school when they are about 14 years of age, and no matter how much attention a teacher has bestowed in successfully making a boy take an interest in military matters, and no matter how fond he is of drill or whatever shooting capabilities he may show, he is compelled to give it entirely up until he reaches the age at which he can join a volunteer company. With nothing to keep him in touch with such a company he needs must be a great enthusiast to put other temptations aside and wait until ho is of age to become a volunteer. Why should there not be ill connection with each school a cadet corps that boys should be able to belong t<"> until they were 18. Most of the teachers would be proud of having such a corps attached to the school, especially if staff instructors were appointed to relieve j them from some of the work. ' These corps should be armed with a light, up-to-date rifle, receive a smill capitation, and a certain amount of ammunition. Their enthusiasm having been kept up so far, they would now be anxious io join a volunteer corps, their ability to shoot being their qualification. If however, their indications did not lead them to further military duties, they would, if ever called upon, take up a rifle in defence of their country with greater confidence than many volunteers who have served some years, but of whom time and means had hindered their proficiency. I quote Captain A. G. Foulkss hi saying "that imless men learn to shoot tho weapons in their hands with accuracy, they might as well be armed with an inferior weapon." At any rate, no better practice can be found for that education of the eye and hand which forms the basis of all practical instruction in handicrafts. Having enrolled in the volunteer corps, most of them would have passed two and x^robably three stages of their class firing and be more efficient in drill than some who had been a time in the ranks, owing to beingmore amenable to discipline, and, as I said before, able to devote more time at that age than is possible when they have to take up more serious duties. Presuming now that he joins an infantry company, the first really most important matter — educating him a? a marksman — has been done. While drill, discipline, and musketry exercise? are essential, the whole combined is (according to the highest authorities) comparatively 01 little value if he is not a fairly good shot. A man should join the volunteer infantry force for not iess than three years, or more than seven, and during that time eveiy facility should be givezi in making him so thoroughly master of his riflo that his confidence in his ability would strengthen his nerve and tend to make him feel cool and collected duiing such trying times as firing at an enemy. While it might be judicious to kepp officers and non-commissioned officers in the active volun-*-°-er force for a longer period, 1 think seven

years quite sufficient for men to perfect themselves in drill, and, at any rate, to master sufficient of it that no matter what changes take place in infantry formations, he would have "sufficient groundwork to be enabled to learn the new at very short notice. The absolutely essential part, "the shooting," however, must be kept up. It is the weapon that gives the victory. Seven years is long enough to learn general company and baialion drill, which., after all, is of little use in the actual warfare we should have to perform, attack and outpost work excepted; evolutions, no matter how well performed, would hot be so impressive to an invading enemy as ten sharpshooters well posted behind a "kopje." Greater regard should be given to the blacfeing of back sights than of boots, greater pains taken in instruction of care of the eye and less to throwing out the chost; we want less drum-majors and more musketry instructors; in fact, in this reformation that there is so much talk about making, let less stress be put upon purely military discipline, but give greater encouragement to try and produce individual intelligence in every man in the ranks, and to this end I would favour a reserve being formed, where men joiningcould kesp their rifle, l'eceive a certain amount of ammunition, and have other privileges, such as railway concessions for shootj ing matches, etc.; they couKl turn out 'with their former company on ceremonial occasions | and arrangements could be made for their i class-firing and attendances at certain parades. The rifle should be of the latest and most approved type, a light magazine rifle, with which good practice could be made at 900 or 1000 yards, and sighted to carry 1300 or 1400 yards, and the volunteers should be instructed. to use them in every way that would be required in war. The indiffeient shooting in Auckland for the Countess of Rai:furly's Cup (a competition carried out under certain service conditions) proved the necessity for such instruction. The present bayonet, or sword, as it has been called, is, in my opinion, a weapon that should have been considered obsolete years ago. I have always maintained that tho efficacy of this weapon was discounted to a great extent by its unwieldy proportions. If the intentions of those who first introduced it were that it should be fitted on the rifle occasionally, but be primarily used as a sword pure and simple, it might in its dual capacity have required to be as its present pattern, but now that it is only used in conjunction with, and attached to, the rifle, should we not try and make that weapon as neat and wieldy as possible. I presume it is only necessary to penetrate one man at a time, and what extra injury is given by a thrust which goes through the body, or one which enters six or seven inches in one's anatomy is a physiological condition that science has not evolved. Why not, then, have a short, light bayonet, which when fixed would not overbalance the rifle, and could bo fixed without destroying to the extent it at present does the efficiency of the marksman's aim. A regulation that is urgently needed to be made regarding each volunteer company is regarding signallers. At present signalling as applied to companies of infantry is a sorb of "go-as-yoti-please." If companies like to qualify a certain number of men in that branch well and good ; there is a slight inducement to do so, certainly, but that the inducement is insufficient is emphasised by the fact that not a single company in our battalion have a such qualified section. In these days when long extended movements are so necessary, when the work of the outposts is so essential to the safety of an extremely large force, when every detail that happens at the extreme front should be made known to an officer commanding a picket, perhaps necessary to be sent by him to the officer commanding the outisosts or even to the general division, signalling is a branch that should not bo allowed to be passed over as if it were of little importance. I think it should be imperative before any company could be considered efficient that a squad of four men should be, expert at flag and lampsignalling ; they should be in exces3 of the present maximum strength of the company, receiving the same capitation. Is there an officer present who, having had experience at outpost work as practised by us on field d;»ys, has not wished he could know what was happening at a far outlying picket; with expert signallers fuch information could be readily obtained, and such an ordinary order as "Retire No. 1 or No. 2 picket/ as the case might be, would not necassitate a mounted officer galloping over probably rough ground, and waving his arms, which might signify retire a hundred yards or a mile, or having the message called or carried from sentry post to post. Each company should be provided with, entrenching tools and opportunity taken at company and battalion camps for the men lo be given instruction in their use. Old tactics must give way to new. The old Las done great and good work, but war, like all else, must be, xip-to-date. "Hide and j shoot" seems the first lesson in the uew gauie, and one likely to be effective in this ie'smd. trench exercises should be frequently I practised, men firing from them at the conclusion of the task. Officers should note the advantages men take of the. cover, and tiie manner the- men adapt the firing oomv'o.i to the in egularities of the ground. Passing from, the company, and taking the battalion as the unit, there are many important additions that the Defence department might, without a very large outlay, cause to be r.arte, which would add to its efficiency and create d feeling of greater pride in its composition not alone by those attached to it, but by the force | at large and the public generally. Each battalion should have its machine gun and a detachment of men specially trained to its use. The utility of such guns has been of la,te frequently demonstrated, their greac mobility allowing them to participate in an action in its early stages. A battalion is not complete without one, and before experimenting with some expensive schemes wj\ich may or may not bp practicable, surely it would be better to complete an organisation with what has long been, and is considered, a vital part in its existence. We have a bearer corp.s attached, but judging by the remarks of Lieu-tenant-colonel De Lauioui-,a certain, amount of re-organisation is necessary, which, with small outlay, would tend to make that corps more serviceable and complete. The cycle corps is deserving of far more consideration than it receives, and so much is necessary to make it thoroughly efficient and up-to-date that a paper might be devoted to this special branch. Previou-s to General Baden-Powell leaving England for Africa, he at the Royal Service Institution made many suggestions as to the different ways that the cycle could be used in war time. After showing their several speoifl advantages, he said they would be equally useful in the case of an invasion. On fairly good roads if a rapid movement were ncce^sm-y, cycles would be the equal, if not the superior, of hoi-Fes ; they should make admirable scouts. Though 1 mentioned good roods as beine; a requisite for rapid movement, they could perform reconnaissance duties on very much wor.=e roads than are usually admitted as fit for a cycle. "With the prese^b pattern , of machine a pjertpiu amount of ]

baggage could be carried, but with a specuuryconstructed cycle, a man could carry somewhere about lewt, and then cover live or sis miles an hour. Thirty men would, therefore, if required (besides performipg their' special duties) be able to dp the transport?* work of a waggon and four horses, which 'would 1 require driver ancl-escort, and as each horse requires about ten times the food of a man, the conditions in favour of the cyclist are considerable. As outside night parades are of l^tlo value to cyclists, so far as regards general field work, certain daylight and camp parades should be made compiils'or'y. The night parades should be used for instruction in repairing, in flag-signalling* and topography, tho small cover necessary for the cycle should tend to make them very useful in" this latter ' branch. These subjects should be compulsory, and the company should not be considered efficient until a section had a fair,' grasp of each. General Sir F. Maurice, who tabas an interest in developing the resources of the cycust in connection with the British army, has expressed opinions in their favour regarding their usefulness. On the 4th, sth; ' and 6th August last, he manoeuvred 2000 o£ them in the South of England. The details of his scheme was "a large ;qrco of the . enemy supposed to be advancing on London, and pending the mobilisation of the regular forces it was necessary to retard the advance " of the foe for at least 48 hours." - Tho " whole were divided in six "watches," and these again into road contingents. They had some 40 roads-to defend : their duty was ' to keep the enemy continually vpon the alerfe by perpetually sniping so as not to give them any rest. Each road contingent was complete in itself, carrying its own rations, repairers, ammunition, tents, and kits. Most of the transport was done by motor cars, thus for the first time making practical use for military purposes of these simple and effective modes of locomotion. Offensive and defensive taetic3 were adopted — that is to say, oncertain roads the cyclist attacked the enemy and attempted to drive him back to the coast; oil other road*; "thoir efforts were mainly directed in retarding their advance on London. A report of the proceedings with comments of the officers commanding should, when published, be interesting reading. The Government should procure cycles, they should be of uniform pattern, not too light,strong roadster coverjow gear,fairly long crank, with all parts interchangeable. These should be supplied to corps at cost price, to be paid off in four or five years, at a yearly repayment which should cov?r principal and interest. Men could use them for their road work. Many of the cycle corps would be only too glad to take advantage of the condition?, and we should have the men equipped with a uniform and suitable machine. They should be armed and thoroughly trained with light rifle and revolver." Touching on tho commissariat department, I regret I was unable to attend Quartermasier-captain M'lndqe's lecture. One captain and one quartersergeant seem a small staff to thoroughly carry out the commissariat duties of a battalion. In my opinion the officer commanding this department should have a pro-perly-organised company, called a transport company, composed of picked men, who had experience in various branches of stores, with.knowledge of the best markets for supply of everything that would be required, and ableto judge and test their quality. Companies should he encouraged to keep their own baggage waggons. Tents and cooking utensils sufficient for the strength of the company should be kept in their own store, and if an order for mobilisation was issued it would be only necessary for the officer commanding the district to inform the officer commanding the commissariat department of the number of men, and the battalion should bo ready to march in a few hours, fully equipped in any direction ordered by tho officer commanding the battalion. A week or two's notice to our quartermaster of the intention to hold a fixed camp, and arrangements could, as hitherto, be well made, bufe if we are to be prepared for any sudden emergency that may arise-^to defend our- shores', and fabulous sums not spent on what may be» show purposes only, our cajijps will have to be organised and carried out as if we were going on active service, doing practically, as nearly as possible, what we should have to perform, instead! of a huge picnic. A commissariat, transport, or army service corps (call it by what name you will) must be in an efficient state of organisation, and we should not then, feel the degradation that after days, almost wesks, spent in preparing a camp for 2000 or 3000 men by -the chief officers of districts final settlement has to be made through the aid of the civiMaw courts. Having exhausted my ideas so far as thft branch with which I am associated, I will not much longer weary you with opinions in training and arming those branches, the imjjortance of which I can only estimate. So much has been written and said regardingcavalry and mounted infantry that exception mi^ht be taken to" a paper of this kind without those branches having given, tho writer some food for reflection. Having weighed the arguments of cavalry versus mounted infantry, in my opinion the latter should have the preference as an arm in defence of this country. We all know the value of cavalry and the work they can perform, but the exceptions arc very few where mounted infantry could not do the same. We cannot overlook, or over-estimate, the great; and glorious work done by the cavalry in. those historic battles fought and won by our forefathers, but neither must we overlook that all the large and small arms of the service have undergone great changes, been revolutionised, in fact, since that time, but thoso of the cavalry remain practically the same. To some of those imperial officers commanding regiments with traditional histories, ifc would naturally seem a sacrilege to destroy a part of their constitution by substituting a rifle for a sword or lance, but with us it is different — the sentiment cannot be so rooted; and practical utility must be our first — in fact, our only consideration. Certain prejudices have to be overcome. Wellington, so great was his affection for the old musket with which he won his battles, forbade re-armament with a better type, and the antiquated flintlock "Brown Bess" was actually manufactured foruso during the Crimean war. From conversation with several of our local t/roopers ab the time when the recommendation to change to mounted infantry was first made, I gathered that the principal aversion to the change was "carrying the rifle." I think that is even, now the "bete noir." x While I feel confi.7 dent mounted infantry will become the recognised mounted force of countries with similar conditions aj our own, I feel as confident that an alteration will not alone be made in the weapon.' itself, but in the mode of carrying i£, which, is trying to the ririei- and severe on the horse.

I think a light rifie, to carry a short bayonet, made on the same princjele as some of the latest sporting rifles — that is, J.ie barrel and stock can be locked together, or unlocked, in a few seconds — with cases constructed to carry one part on each side of the saddle, the barrel towards the lock to bo made with special regard to the use of barrel with fixed bayonet being employed without the stock, which would then be a more useful as it would be a less cumbersome weapon. The great value of such a troop thoroughly equipped and trained can be estimated by the good work done by our contingents in Africa, the large majority of whom had little, and many no, training at all in that particular branch until they joined their contingents here a few days prior to their embarkation. When a battalion is doing field work as a unit, a company of such arm should be attached to and form part of it. How it would strengthen the fighting force, simplify and enhance the value of the battalion goes without paying. How much also would such a course add to the mobility and handmess of the advance guard, saving the wear and tear to the infantry, who are unable to perform the duty in ho thorough a manner. When Co l onel Robin returns we shall hear the latest methods to train mounted riflemen. _It is not in my province. It irusfc, however, be borne in mind that it is waste of time training men as mounted 'infantry who cannot shoot; they must be kept Tip to a high standard of "sharp-shooting," should have plenty of practice at unknown distances where possible. - When we read of the Boers" who con jump off their pony and shoot a buck at 500 or"600 yards with a Martini, without raising the' back-sight, we have In our -mind s eye a wished-for standard in shooting for our mounted infantry. With such a company attached, I have provided what, to my mind, would be an ideal battalion. What could be accomplished with such a ono, of pay 700 men, each of whom as a rifle shot could equal the average performance of the first 50 competitors at any of the New Zealand Rifle Association meetings, even with existing weapons and conditions it would practically troble the range at which infantry fire is counted effective. I have written enough, you will probably think too much, so I shall not mention the naval and artillery forces. There is, however, a link between the artillery and infantry forces I should lite to see forged, and that is, that certain preliminary instruction in the rudiments of gun drill should be given to the-infantry. There might arise occasions when such knowledge would be put to a practical test. The-elcmentaiy work of the one branch would be considered Tecreation by the other, it would give them greater appreciation to read military worbs, a better understanding of manoeuvres in the field, and would be a factor in producing that individual intelligence which every man should pocsess. In concluding this paper, may I point to one anomaly. To enter into the purely political'aspacts of the question would be out of place here, but there is a point which appears worth stating in general terms. We hear and read of proposed changes in the volunteer forces of the colony, of tens of thousands to be spent on defence works ; we know the difficulty of securing from many employers the necessary leave for training men, many of whom can ill afford the time and money for volunteer purposes. All are proportionately taxed whether doing the work of the State or not. Surely the men who neglect or shirk their duty not alone benefit by others more generous doing the work for them, but they are free to turn the time so saved into money! Would \', not be fair to extend civil privileges or to rebate certain taxes in favour of those who fulfil their volunteer obligations and render service to the community.