GENERAL BIRDWOOD.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 17779, 30 January 1920, Page 6

GENERAL BIRDWOOD.

GUEST AT PARLIAMENT HOUSE. GLOWING TRIBUTE TO AUSTRALIANS. AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE. MELBOURNE, January 21. General Sir William Birdwood hat! an arduous day to-day. The Prime Minister. Mr Hughes. was indisposed, so that General Bird wood was unable to pay an official call at 10.30 a.m., as had been arranged. During the morning, however, he paid official calls on the Premier, Mr Lawson. the Minister for Defence, tor Pearce, the Inspector-General of the Australian Military Forces, members of the Military Board, and the District Commandant. He was entertained at luncheon at the Grand Hotel by the Federal Executive of the R.S. and S.I. League. During the afternoon he visited the Caulfield Military Hospital. At night General Birdwood and other senior officers of the A.I.F. were entertained at dinner at Federal Parliament House by the Commonwealth Ministers. After the loyal toast had been honoured the Minister for the Navy. Sir Joseph Cook, proposed the health of General Birdwood and the senior Officers of the A.I.F, He spoke in fervent terms of the work of the different Australian leaders in the war. The toast was seconded by the Minister for Defence. Senator Pearce, and the leader of the Opposition, Mr Tudor. THE GENERAL’S SPEECH. General Birdwood, responding to the toast, said he was very pleased to have such an opportunity of rendering a short account of his stewardship and comradeship with the brave men whom he had been proud to serve with during the last five years of war. “At the present time.’’ continued General Birdwood, “it is probably very easy to overlook the many difficulties with which General Hutton was faced. I mean at the time of Federation and his assumption of the appointment of Commander of the Forces of all the Australian States. I know with what unremitting attention, energy, and great ability he applied himself to his work until he had seen the foundation thoroughly well laid, the results of which we see in the A.I.F. I remember so well, shortly after I took over the command of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in Egypt. General Bridges telling me how much he hoped that General Hutton would command the First Australian Division in place of himself. There is also another whom I am sure you would wish me to mention—Lord Kitchener. I had. as a matter of fact, much hoped to accompany him on the visit which he paid to this country in 1910, bur on ais leaving India I had to take over :he command of a brigade on the Indian frontier. I often wonder if our First Division ever fully realised all it owed to the training which it received under General Bridges in Egypt. It was General Bridges who, with the able help of Colonel White, his staff officer, had to plan all the details for the landing of his division on Gallipoli. I remember my daily tramps round the front with General Bridges, and I was always so grateful that I had such h wise counsellor and brave comrade at my side.” A BRILLIANT OFFICER. “I cannot, of course, attempt here to give any detailed account of the doings of the A.1.F.,” said General Birdwood. “Indeed, that would be unnecessary. Looking back now, it fs, of course, probable we shall think of episodes where we did those things which we ought not to have done, or we did not do those things which we should have done, though I do not think that we made any huge mistakes in great principles which involved serious losses, or which reFor such as we committed I take the tarded us in gaining our objective, responsibility and crave the Indulgence of you and my comrades. It is the fashion—indeed, to some extent I set the fashion—of saying that one owes everything to those serving under one. I would like, however, to emphasise how very truly this is the case in regard to myself. The first I would like to mention is the t senior Australian officer who now holds the position of Inspector-General of the Australian Forces. Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Chauvel. It has been a constant source of regret to me that General Chauvel never seems to have received one half of the notice or general recognition which his services have deserved. This I attribute very much to the fact that he himself is such a very retiring character, and so extremely modest. On our return from the Peninsula to Egypt early in 1916 General Chauvel was given the command not only of the Australian and New Zealand Light Horsemen, but of the whole of Lord Allenby’s mounted troops. The point which I should like you to realise about this is that in these operations General Chauvel commanded, I believe I am right in saying, the largest force of mounted troops which any officer in the British army has commanded in any campaign in which our troops have fought. In the Peninsula. Waterloo, Crimea. India, and South Africa, never has a complete mounted force of the extent of that commanded by General Chauvel been organised as one body. No cavalry commander has therefore previously had to bear the responsibilities or undertake the work which General Chauvel accomplished. He it was who was in command of the mounted forces at both battles at Gaza and Rafa, and throughout the whole of that very trying march across the Sinai Peninsula, a feat requiring the greatest endurance and organisation. for men and horses had to go

for 36 hours at a time without water of any sort, except what they carried with them. This was only possible by the most careful organisation, for which General Chauvel _ ! was responsible. Then, too, he com- ' manded our Light Horsemen | through that very trying period | when they w’ere in the Jorcian Valley, where Lord Allenby had to keep ■ them so as to effect a complete surI prise on the Turks, and when good } , organisation alone prevented their decimation by fever. After this he , was to have the crowning triumph J •of leading the magnificent force of r ■ cavalry of the Empire in the epic ad- ’ j vance of Allenby’s troops beyond Da- _ • mascus to Aleppo, in which they enf _ jtirely cut to pieces and destroyed the .• whole of the Turkish armies in Pal- ! estine. Australia may indeed be j ! very proud that it was her forces . that provided the fine soldier who I I accomplished all this work, and I t - !am glad to be able to congratulate General Chauvel on the brilliancy of I I his achievements. { j GENERAL WHITE. 1 i General Birdwood next referred to _* Major-General Sir Brudenell White. ■ “For him I shall bear to the end of L ■ my life feelings not only of the greatest admiration and respect, but j of deep affection. I doubt if there .! is a better officer in the whole of ( : the forces of the British Crown. I ? wish I could tell you not one half, , but one hundredth part of all that | the Australian troops and I myself ? | owe to General White. Wise in com- , i mand. sound in judgment, brave in . j the field, courteous and sympathetic he did, indeed, prove himself one in ten thousand, and no words of mine can express the gratitude w*e all owe to him. Had the war gone on I > cannot say to w’hat heights General l White would have risen, fop it seem- - ed to me there was none to which - his ability would not entitle him.” [ A GRAVE WARNING. ’ After referring to many other gen- ; eral officers who served under him, » General Birdwood sounded a note i of warning in regard to the future. » : “Surely,” he said, “it would be the - height of folly for us to rely entirely - on the League of Nations to ensure - • our defence, in which our own - ; strong right arm can be the only t ’ sure reliance, and when I use the 5 : word ‘our’ I mean the right arm of - I the League of British nations, work- ; ing in entire harmony. Trusting in - ■ our own strong right arm, obviously : i the first duty must be to maintain l * our citizen forces, organised and l ■ trained by a really good and efficient ) staff. One other obvious point is I that Australia and New Zealand i must see eye to eye and work as one - nation, with one line of thought, in [ matters of defence. The men of - both Dominions fought side by side i for so many long months that they - now regard themselves as brothers » in arms. Here as British outposts > i of the Pacific there can never be any • question of divergent views regard- * ing defence, and I trust that during . : peace time will not be lost in ar- - ranging complete co-operation in all ; ; that pertains to our security and I that of the Empire. I “Then, as a detail in the defen- ■ Give arrangements of Australia, I I would urge that the most complete I - harmony should exist between Aus- i [ tralia and India. We can, none of ! I us, tell where our troops may be j 1 required most urgently. I would I 1 also urge that officers should be in- ! ? : terchanged between the Australian ; and Indian army with the greatest j frequency possible. This is a prin- ■ ciple which we have adopted for a i considerable number of years, but I > trust it will be very much extended ? in the future, so that, should the I ' time ever come for the two armies i to work together, there will be a : number of officers in both armies : who will know exactly what to exs pect and what to do. ’ . “As regards the necessity of being ? ' prepared, we have only to look at LI the present state of Germany to real- - i ise what might happen at any mo--|n.€nt. We all know the old fable - of the faggots which, bound to- > ! gether. can take any strain, while . separated each may be easily snap- - ; ped in twain. We must take special t I care to ensure that bonds of mutual -! affection, esteem, confidence, and ; I self-help shall grow stronger and 5 stronger as years go on. and thus in- , i crease ou r strength as a united Comr mon wealth under the British ) Grown.”