THE TERRITORIALS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 89, 3 June 1911, Page 4

THE TERRITORIALS.

MOBILE. FORCES WANTED. BETTER THAN FORTS. The defence of the Bluff was refered to by Major-General Godley in a speech at the southern town. Ho said ho quite realised tho importance of tho harbour and would make representations to the Government to have the port properly jlefcuded should it be necessary. Ho would like to say at once, however, that to his mind tho best form of defence was mobile defence, which lie considered much better than fixed sites. They might select sites for guns and spend thousands of pounds in the purchase of guns. There would bo a lengthy delay before the guns came to hand and, by tho time they were finally installed they would probably bo obsolete and of little use. His idea was that the proper form 0/ defence for any place was a good mobile defence—a strong company of infntry who could shoot well, move quickly, and so he able to meet the enemy at whatever place they might lio endeavouring to land. The fact that the Encounter and other warships (01110 up Bluff Harbour did not necessarily mean that an enemy’s fleet would risk entering unknown and perhaps dangerous channels. In any case, wore there a mobile force at tbs Bluff, such vessels would be met by the fire of the Southland Battalion of Infantry and Artillery and so receive such a warm reception that, ho did not think there was any likelihood of their doing Bluff much harm. Bluff might some day have a powerful garrison of its own, to lie backed up at tho same time by the Southland battalion. However, that was speaking of the future, and in the meantime Bluff should devote its best endeavours to obtaining good mobile defence. Bluff was an interesting place for infantry operations and might he made the base of sane defence manoeuvres.