WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS

Otago Witness, Issue 3396, 16 April 1919, Page 27

WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS

BACK ACROSS THE RHINE.

D-IVISION DEMOBILISED. (Special from the Official War Correspondent.)

FRANCE, March 25. To-day the last draft ot our men in Germany marched back across the Rhine; TJIO iast routine order was signed by Colonel Avery, and /the New Zealand Division , ceased/to exist.

.Formed a£ the beginning of 1916 from the remains of the brigade that earned undyng fame on Galiipolr. and -the then .•;. newiy-iormed Riile Brigade, it crossed ih'er'f seas to France, where it quickly .began; tj* [" earn fame on the. battlefields of the western '. front. The Somme, Messines,; Fasschen- ; daole, Bapaume, and Le Quesnby are "mile- < j stones along its victorious pathway. ' Through all its fighting career it nas'been commanded by the one general, whose high : ideals the division has always endeavoured to achieve. In all its stirring history it. has never been in retreat. Once ronly.' has it failed to take an objective, andveven.in that failure, which-was an attempt at tho .' impossible, it added to its record other' splendid' 1 page of heroism-"and deteri- #! mination. The fewness of ££hfe -prisoners.. it • : has. lost, as well as the batties"it has helped '■. to win, may be taken as some measure of * its bravery, while the almost complete ab-»; ' sence of serious offences is an indication of the excellence of. its conduct in the field. • Even in Germany, where remembrances off; the methods adopted by the enemy in war- ■ fare might have given cause for breaking the bonds of ordinary discipline, it has conducted itself in a manner worthy of its best . traditions. On the eve of its disbandment j the head- of one of the great industrial concerns in Germany, in and about which it was billeted. has : stated that? no • fault ; could be found with the conduct of the. ■ New Zealand officers and men. " :.

Demobilisation commenced with a draft that was. despatched from Cologne on January 14, although odd drafts numbering 2500' men left. during: the four preceding "weeks. ' Thereafter, with_ the:'*exception 01 one week", drafts varying from, 700 to 10CO men of all -ranks wero.' despatched every Tuesday; -. Fifteen -officers and 600 of other ranks proceeded.to the: base at Rouen with their horses, and were demobilised from therethe division was allowed .to retain its leave allotment during' demobilisation, and as it was arranged that these men should not return, another. 1000 were disposed of by that means; Similarly, a majority of the officers proceeding on -leavei, after the middle of February were, retained in. England, the number of officers in the division being far in excess of the number required to accompany the drafts. Periodically other officers were sent to' England on duty, and did not return. ■ ■ ' The Pioneer Battalion was despatched complete with transport from Veryiers to Dunkirk on Christmas Eve, and-therefore did not see Germany. Sixty officers and 900 others were evacuated sick between December 28 and March 25, and did not I return. All /the drafts were' despatched- from Cologne to Rouen. The journey averaged from 55 to 60 hours. In to maintain the division as a nghting/forhiation throughout demobilisation, reorganisation from time to time was. necessary, and in addition the civil administration of the divisional area had to .be. maintained.

Four thousand three hundred horses weredisposed of by return tp the base, sale, and j • the abattoirs, or evacuated sick. The whole of • the. vehicles, guns, and ordnance equipment <of the division is being used in con- / nection with equipping the new army of tho Rhine.- The ordnance and veterinary stores have been handed in. Everything has been carefully checked and receipts obtained. Tho divisional canteens were recently closed down, -and as much plant as possible sold and credited to the canteen funds.

Discipline during demobilisation has-been, good,, only one serious case.having occurred; This was the case of a machine gunner being., concerned in highway robbery. Ho was killed by a German policeman, and a private was killed, by some German roughs. The chief culprit unfortunately escaped, but four others "concerned were sentenced' - to two years' imprisonment. The Gorman, repre- : sentative present at the court-martial com- J mented upon the fairness with which the British court conducted the trial. Altogether thcjse immediately; concerned with demobilisation and handling of .the ordnance deserve great credit for the efficiency with which they did their, work. > The Y.M.O.A. deserves special credit for the manner in which it provided comforts for . all drafts. General Godlcy paid a final visit to the division to-day. Divisioanl Headquarters closed at noon'at Mulheim. The. final draft to-day comprised 29 ■ officers and 680 other ranks. Early in the afternoon the last of the New Zealand infantry marched across' the Cologne the statues of the Hohenzollerns still proudly riding theirbronzo horses, and so to the station. At 4 o'clock the long troop train steamed away for Rouen. Soon the great cathedral spires faded in the distance, and the New Zealand-: ers' part in the great war and their watch on the Rhine have already become memories of the past.