NOT PRIMITIVE AFFAIR

Taranaki Daily News, 10 May 1935, Page 4

NOT PRIMITIVE AFFAIR

WAR IN THE GRAN CHACO ARMIES TAUGHT MODERN METHOD. HARDSHIPS ENDURED BY SOLDIERS ACCOUNT FROM A MISSIONARY. The long struggle raging between Bolivia and Paraguay for possession of the Gran Chaco, a low-lying strip of jungle territory on the boundary between the two states, is generally regarded in New Zealand as drawn-out guerilla warfare between primitive tribes. Mr. Gordon R. Turner, an Auckland missionary who has lived in the district for some years, once even being stoned at Santa Cruz, corrects that impression in a recent letter to a relative at New Plymouth. “The idea that the war here is a primitive tribal conflict seems to be generally held in the outside world but it is utterly false,” he writes. “These countries, though relatively small as regards population, are nevertheless thoroughly instructed in the art of warfare. For years Bolivia has been instructed by Germans, the general in charge at the beginning of hostilities being a naturalised German general of world war experience. “The enemy likewise is instructed by French, Russian and. Argentine officers, so the war is being carried on on modeyn lines. In some ways it is more modern than the World War, because certain arms have been improved in later years. Every modem arm has been, and is, employed, even to tanks. Numerous Russians are helping as officers in the army of the enemy, as well as foreign aviadores. About 18 months ago an American aviadore in the service of the enemy was brought down in aerial combat. An Australian captain ; was also in the air force of Bolivia at the beginning, but he was wounded and since has been employed in another branch of service. UP-TO-DATE WAR. “It is an up-to-date war but on a small scale. Probably the armies do not exceed 100,000 men on each side, though they occupy a very large front. The soldiers of this country are under a tremendous disadvantage, in that the majority are accustomed to living in a cold climate at a great altitude. They are accustomed to an altitude of from 10,000 to 15,000 feet above sea level and when they go down to the scene of operations, which is not much above sea level and therefore very hot and tropical, with tropical fevers, malaria and dysentery prevalent, they suffer tremendously. These conditions have contributed more to the reverses they have suffered than anything else, because the enemy is accustomed to the climate and the conditions. The water is bad and scarce, and in some cases it is necessary to carry it in trucks 60 to 80 miles to the troops. When the communications are cut, whole regiments have been forced to surrender or to die of thirst. “We ourselves, when we came to Santa Cruz, travelled by motor truck through what-is now the centre of the war zone. There were no roads in those days, but only mule tracks, and we suffered a breakdown. While the driver borrowed a mule and rode back 200 miles to secure a spare part we were stranded in the jungle for two weeks. The only water we had was like porridge. However, we made a. hole in the sand and let it filter through to clean it, but even then it was like cocoa. FEARFUL CONDITIONS. “We can sympathise with the poor soldiers there now under war conditions, with the terrible heat, mosquitoes, snakes and hosts of flies that bite and sting like bees, the stings entering the eyes and infecting them. It must be worse than France was. Sickness must have killed more than bullets. The soldiers from Santa Cruz, where we were, are accustomed to the conditions because Santa Cruz is the nearest large/ town to the Chaco, and, being low-lying, has a tropical climate like the Chaco. Therefore they do not suffer as their companions from the high parts do. “All the men believers from our meeting, except one old brother, have been called up almost from the beginning. One has been killed, one is missing, two are prisoners, others still are in the lines. Here the families of the soldiers receive no pension or help. They have to hunt for their living the best they can, and naturally the shortage of men to cultivate the land and supply the needs of the army have made all things very scarce and dear. As most of the lads have large families there is considerable hardship. In these lands men are called up for service according to their age, and it makes no difference what responsibilities' they have or how large their family is. ■

“Santa Cruz is only one day’s journey by motor truck from the war zone, and the missionary, who has been carrying on there since we left, must be suffering considerable hardship through lack of necessities.”