WITH THE GERMAN ARMY.

Timaru Herald, Volume CI, Issue 15505, 16 November 1914, Page 4

WITH THE GERMAN ARMY.

AN EYE-WITNESS'S NOTES. THE OF WAR. A neutral correspondent gives in the "The Times" of September 30 the following description of the German army:— In the first great military plan of Germany for the invasion, of . Belgium and France it is very evident that tne forces were to be divided into two great armies, the Army of Invasoin and mo Army of Occupation. The upsetting of theJ schedule and the delay in outlined operations occas.oned by Belgium's deienco of her territory made necessary many alterations. The invading army was to be composed entirely of the first line, the standing army, and thus of the younger men of the fighting force, supported by the most modern of the light artiltery, that were to prepare the way for the moving up of the heavy howitzers and siege guns intended primarily for the reduction of the forts in the vicinity of Paris, and for who isolation and subjugation of the fortified cities and the strong defensive positions, whose garrisons were to be hemmed in and-reduced to surrender in turn. Close on the heels of the Army,.of Invasion was to follow the Army of Occupation, composed of the second line, the Landwehr and Landsturm. The latter were to occupy cities and towns and garrison fortresses, to guard lines of communication, and to form a great mass of reserves in ease of need; a need tihat the military authorities did not ? afc- the outset think' would become imperative. The early checks of the fierce opposition gave the needed time for the French to mobolise, and for the English Expeditionary Force to be landed, and to take their positfoh in the first line of defence. AH tjh.'s is now past history. The Army of Occupation has been drawn upon to furnish needed reserves, .and the armies are niingled. Modern heavy artillery destined for France has had to be diverted from its primary purpose for the support of the blueclad Landstrum, whose Mauser rifles are those issued to tlhe Army some fourteen or fifteen years ago, and whose artillery is much older. Froni garrison forces and guards to lines of communication these great bodies of men, whose ages, to judge from appearance, average between' thirty-five and forty-five and older, have 'been turned into offensive fighting units. MACHINE GUNS. In general actions, not skirmishes or outpost affairs, the German infantry, used as the, armies. of other nations employ tfiiis branch of the service, may be hardly said to exist. The German foot soldier is now but a support to ma-chln© gun and artillery fire. To every infantry regiment there.- are attached some* ten 'to twelve,vmachine' guns that are kept .concealed in light reg mental transport; .they, are -without wheels, are carried by hand, and can he quickly -moved .from. one< position ; to another on the firing line. The preponderance in numbers of this ;im- '. port ant defensive andj as, the Germans ■ use it, offensivo arm of the ser||ce j cannot be over-estimated. Their possession has changed German infantry ; tactics. Accuracy fof individual fire has been subordinated, to showers of shrapnel, to sweeping streams of lead, and to•-. continued levelled. volleys of .'musketry'-at given • ranges.. Trusting to clearing the way in this fashion infantry are moved, forward in great masses. The carnage-suffered in their advances is thus explained. In their , early (fighting they d'd riot appear to mind their losses in the least;. they did not take into' account the human element, and regarded only the machinery but now the great mortality *has begun to tell on the,moral of the men. The loss of officers has been terrific. At L : ege, where, as a German Headquarters, official put it, "Wo could not hold the Junkers back," some' regiments lost 60 per cent.: them were whole companies that did not have an officer left. THE 42CM. GUNS. ..'•' At Namur t'liey evidently profited by the lesson learned at Liege. It was "an artillery duel from start to finish, and the b g 42cm gun that was in place and .being tested for the first time, as it was not used at Liege, d'd much to hasten the downfall of the Belgian forts. From the writer's observation this huge piece was fired about every fifteen minutes, sometimes much longer time Relapsing between the discharges. 'The impact of the shell, and its tor. rific force, was d scernible in the liiige column of dust and debris that rose above the hill, and was plainly to be seen from a distance of six or seven miles; it rose to the height of six'or seven hundred feet; spreading out at the top and disappearing slowly. The small geysers of dust marked where the eight or nine inch howitzers found ' their mark. The line of tfhe Belgian entrenchments was constantly searched by the long range field artillerv. Of 150 wounded Belgians brought into a s'ngle > hospital, not one was wounded by rifle fire, all the casualties being : caused by shell-...splinters or. shrapnel. :' The defenders were absolutely pounded J out of their position; • THE SOLE ADVANTAGE. :'- ' To put the matter in a* few words the Sole advantage possessed at the present by the German Armv is the . possession of the heavy artillery, the great siege guns, and the preponderance of machine' guns. Their individual rifle fire, is as'a rule, inferior to the French, and cannot for a moment be'compared to tEie accuracy or efficiency of the British. As to their transport, the best of it, including almost all the big .motor vans and motor lorries, went with the Army of Advance. Tliat of the Landwher and Landstrum is rather of a makeshift character, furniture vans and waggons of all sorts- and descriipt.ons having been pressed into service. In manv cases the lettering, still visible, shows them to.have been commandeered since the arrival of the Army of Occupat.on on Bo.gian soil. The hoises are of a very inferior quality, except thoee of the Uhlans and mounted forces. Where the Germans obtained their vast array of automobiles and motorcycles m ght at fir&t bo thought a mystery, but out of the fifty that the writer saw gathered before the Headquarters, over one half were o{ foreign make, there being many English and a few American cars among -them. One never sees a galloping .orderly; war has lost much of its spectacular side. With the Army of Occupat'on are large numbers of German ,boy scouts, aged from fifteen to seventeen y,ears; they are all mounted-on bicycles/" and there are to _ every infantry regiment at least ten bicycle scouts, and to every brigade motor-cyclists as well, many possessing English and - American! motor-cycles. ' ■ • ■ * The military motor-cars, ..,1 almost' without exception, are equipped with' wire cutters, a framework of 1 ght 6teel '. that protects both lamps, and' extends ; over tihe heads of■ the occupants of the; "car. thus protecting them from the' wires, which have often teen stretched' at night.-between the, trees at about the that would catch the* occupants of a motor vehicle across tho throat. Besides tho-soup Irtehens and army bakeries on wftieels that trundle aloii"vitk.the. Army, and,tea? steadier.afcj

work on. the march, the German machine possesses travelling chemist shops, automobile repair waggons, and others for the repairing of aeroplanes, esch with a force of'trained mechanics; a force of wheelwrights; and carpenters is in every division. In little; or no time thev transform a taxicab into, an ambulance capable of carrying eight men..

The bureau of misinformation must possess as efficient a ..staff as that.of the intelligence department. Only a week or so ago many of the German soldiers believed that the Allies were utterly defeated; General French was a prisoner; and that their own. troops were in Paris. Mobs in London were besieging the War Office, clamouring for the war to cease. The Navy is well represented in the Belgian Army of Occupation, at least 5000 or 6000 members of the marine battalions being at Liege and. Brussels, They have with them floating mines and torpedoes to be used in the Scheldt, and for the,destruction of the docks in AntwerpIt is a curious thing that one observed but little flag signalling, although they iise the- flashlight at night, and one was constantly winking from t(he tower of the Palais do Justice in Brussels; the field forces possess a very efficient telephone and telegraph system. A peasant ploughing in the fields near Melle was sa : d to have been shot for accidentally wrecking a ground wire that had an important connection. .' For guarding the railways the invaders have adopted vAmi seems to. be an efficient system. On different sections of the road, especially those tioris there are bridges or culverts, they have enlisted a bourgeo ; s railway police. These men patrol the line, under guard- themselves, and are practically hostages for the safety-of the railway" in the localty. in which they res : de- '. When not actively employed in this compulsory patrol work..-they are kept close prisoners. . So far this* system seems to have worked completely, for with the exception of the likie-cutting . forays- off the 'regular troops, the important main arteries of .communication have been left undamaged.