MAGNIFICENT MACHINE GUN WORK.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XL, Issue 11435, 27 November 1915, Page 2

MAGNIFICENT MACHINE GUN WORK.

SOME HINTS ON TRAINING. fl Captain Wallingford, the famous rifle shot and musketry instructor, in a private letter written from Kns-el-Tin Hospital, Alexandria, to a friend in Christchurch, says:— “Wo had some terrible fighting from August 6th to 13th. The sth Reinforcements arrived in time to take part in the finish. The machine gnus did splendidly. The Canterbury guns are still intact, but nearly all the personnel went out, including poor Conway, who did very well. "I would like to give you a full history of it. but of course it would take too long. Ten of om guns literally mopped up the Turk-; ish counter blow. As luck would have it, we were all ready. I was sitting repairing one of the Canterbury guns, and was ;jnst finishing, when, looking about 600 yards away we saw r the Turks going down the slope in beautiful linos, and from JiOOO to 5000. While the gnus were rouging* they were coming down, and when they got into a point which was a perfect - enfilade we let the poor beggars have it. It was such a sight as I had dreamt of, hut never expected to see. When they arrived into the death zone they went down and never rose, and line upon line followed them. It was magnificent on their part. There were about 150 in each line ion will notice that Ashmead Bartlett gives the Navy and the Artillery part share in the credit. They didn’t see it. The New Zealand Infantry guns did the trick, lam proud of being a New Zealander, and consider we are second to none, tnat is, the Mounted Rifles and Infantry but of conrse there are many' 'weak points, and we are likely to go down hill if we are going to exist on onr name. As riflemen I have nothing to complain of. We can always raise parties of snipers not snipers in name only. Now I don’t see why every man in New Zealand should not he graded as a sniper. All you have got to do is to carry out the programme that I suggested in 1911-13. Here it is:— . . ... “Concentrate training on the boy from fourteen to eighteen years old. Put up shooting ranges everywhere. Provide .33 rifles and give him 500 rounds per annum. The ammunition would cost 5s per annum. New Zealand already expends 12s per annum on cadets’ ammunition. In four years this would save 38s per cadet'at that rate. One rifle can be supplied for every two cadets 5 total training. Auckland before I came away was just getting into the groove. We had a line range. Any boy could come up between 13 noon and 6 p.m. and lire the rounds free, ami when be got a good shoot his name was boarded; he then never came again. The Imperial Challenge Shield was helping ns a rare lot. Of course, there is no doubt about Auckland having the best Cadet shots, and I think you ought to see proof of it iu a couple or three years’ time. They call the likes of me “musketry mad.” I thank God every clay of my life now that I have been musketry mad. 1 would go as far as to let all goodshot Territorials off earlier than others. I would institute a match for Senior Cadets to be fired at home, .22 rifles (being the property of the company), and would award ton gold medals annually and one for the captain of the team. ' “Now to refer back to training. The man who uses a sling iu war does not exist. Shooting at white and black targets is setting back the clock. It is the hardest thing in the world to find a mark through a binocular and then focus the sight on to the same mark. Marking down a target is quite a science. The enemy leave no descriptive marts to go by. Our hoys are very had at describing target, so train, the Cadets by aid of the picture landscape targets. The man who takes more than live seconds to aim is useless. The man who takes that time may live for a couple of days, while the man who can.come on, aim, get off his shot, and hack to cover iu two seconds is likely to get through. All snipers .should have telescopic sights. “I must finish by advising the teaching of all hoys to shoot, shoot, and shoot again,”