DEFENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 51, 23 November 1907, Page 10

DEFENCE NOTES.

♦ , (By "Echelon.") Secretaries of Volunteer corps and rifle clubs are invited to contribute items of interest for insertion in this Column. COAST DEFENCE. IV. In his fourth article on Coast Defence (published in the "Haversack"), "Garrison Gunner" takes for his text the Spanish American War of 189 S. The ' incidents of this ' campaign furnish somo valuable lessons to the student of garrison and naval artillery tactics. During the period February to July, 1898 (tho duration of the war), there wero approximately 13 bombardments of forts by ships, two attacks in force, one forcing a passage (commonly known as "R. P. Attack"), four attacks oil cable stations, one torpedo-boat attack, and two attempts to block a defended harbour. OBSOLETE DEFENCES. "Port Arthur proved to us," says "Garrison Gunner," "that given up-to-date weapons, the well-trained garrison-artillery man is capable of preventing attacks from the ;ea. On tho other hand, Manila furnishes us with a lesson which has been repeated so often in history, viz:—That obsolete defences are worse than useless; they are a menace to 1 our safety, and they only supply us with a falso and imaginary security. There'is'a tendency to think that batteries do not ber como obsolete, and ,-that any guns will do for'coast work. This is wrong. It is an erroneous impression which will lead exponents of .such theories into disaster. THE SPANIARDS CAUGHT NAPPING. Tho Admiral of the Spanish Pacific Fleet sought protection in Manila Harbour. Having decided on defensive tactics one would have thought'that at least tho harbour would have been put into a stato of readiness to resist attack, but on tho nights of 'April 30 and May 1, there wero no searchlights working, no patrol boats, no examination service, and only one entrance (there wero two channels) was mined. „At the entrance, on.an island called Cor-regidor,-was a fort which mounted a number of guns,: but nono of larger calibre than 4.7-inch. The fort was about. 600 ft. high, and had. tho >guns been properly handled they should have . seriously damaged tho American ships by tho plunging' fire which could have been directed from such, a height on to the ships' decks, whereas no damage | could have been dono by tho fire from the ships, owing to tho" great elevation of tho I forts. Tho course usually followed by- ships entering tho harbour was by the channel to tho north of Corregidor, which was mined. Admiral -Dewey, however, went in by, the southern entrance, and so. avoided the mines. , THE AMERICANS "RUN PAST." The American fleet "ran past"- at 11.30 p.m. in a single, lino ahead.. The look-out on Corregidor fired an "alarm" rocket, and a shot Was fired from the fort, but no damage was done. Two of tho Amorican ships returned this fire, with what effect-is not recorded, but it can hardly bo considered to bo a wiso thing for ships to firb:at forts at' night; however, "Ceaso Fire" was quickly ordered, and tho inner harbour was gained without loss or damage. As a result of this achievement by Admiral Dewey, in running past forts at night, it is argued by many that such a form.of attack is "most probable on any defended port. If,\ho\vovcr, we consider this question moro deeply —and it is one of great interest tD us in Now Zealand —we shall find that [it is a very improbable form of attack, and one applicable.' only to harbours whoro tho inner water area is largo and undefended. . : Admirat Dewey r.w&s; with; Admjr.a'J,-.Farra-gut'.'ii'M tho'; Amerieanr Civil. iW'flSr. wjicn .ho for.cod; tho.Ep,ttss,g,ge and opened -up. the Mississippi.. •-He-waV also at the attack on Mobile Bay when. Farragut took> his'-fleet-over -a.-minefield',, and as a disciple of such a genius as Farragut, who initiated this form of, attack, it was only natural to expect Admiral Dewoy to repeat history as he did. Manila Harbour, however, had a fairly wide'entrance; its inner waters were most oxtensive and not well defended, and, as in the'case ol'-.-Now Orleans and Mobile Bay, thero was some object to be gained in getting past; tho forts. " ' ;.

TACTICS IN.PORT-ATTACKS; In,:attacking any port it is only natural to suppose that the'attacker first asks himself these; questions:— , (1.) What is my object? \ (2.) What different methods of attack are open- to\me? ..' , v (3.) By-ywhich method of attack do I incur tho least ■ risk; and the greatest' probability of success? •■ . ' There, are very few harbours which offer as.a solution to (3) of. the attacker's problem tho answer "Run past." Manila Harbour, however, was ono of tho few, and Admiral Dowey' acted as,, no' doubt Farragut would have done,'- by running tho gauntlet and risking tho presence of; mines. . It is important to note that this attack, as in the- case of the one in which Dowey received his baptism of fire, was carried out at night."

.THE GAME OF BLUFF. story,of tho battle of Manila is almost purely naval. The Spaniards were badly beaten in a most 1 unequal contest. Ono event, however, concerning tho firing of the heavy guns' (9.4-inch) from tho Manila forts should be remembered, by not only gunners, but by the municipal authorities at our chief ports. During the battlo tho 9.4-inch guns wero firing'at Admiral Dewey's ships, and ho. fearing the damage that might result if their shooting becamo effective, sent an officer with a flag of truce to tho Mayor of Manila, threatening to bombard tho'city if tho forts continued to fire. This threat of bombardment was sufficient to cause an order to be issued stopping the firing from theso guns. What tho battery commander in tho forts said on receiving this order is not recorded, but this question of what is to done if bombardment is threatened against any of our cities can have only one answer worthy of a Britisher, viz.: To request that' tho bombardment should proceed at once. Admiral D/owey was merely playing a gamo of "bluff," as ho could no more sparo ammunition in tho useless bombardmont of a city than' any fleet visiting'these waters could do in- time of war at such a distance from itsreal'base and sourco of ammunition supply.

SUMMARY'OF LESSONS. (1.) Fortifications for harbour defence must be kept .up to date. (2.) Tho forcing of a passage by ships is not. probable except in special cases where •inner waters allow tho likelihood of success. (3.) Tho attack on any port will usually be by night. BIG GUN SHOOTING AT PORT . - , . CHALMERS. / A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. The Garrison Artillery Volunteers, at.-', tachod to the Otago divison, recently underwent their annual big-gun practice at Port Clialmors Heads,.- and, judging by reports which have since been recoived their performance was attended by quite a number of unrehearsed incidents. Tho first occurred about '2 p.m. "One of tho officers," writes tho "Otago Daily Times" correspondent, "owing to his watch not keeping military timo, missed tho train, and raced it to Port Chalmers m a hansom. Ho disappointed'many backers by coming in a bad second." Tho writer appropriately begins by describing tho basis of operations. Ho says:— "England's fleet was busy olsowhoro assisting at a naval Armageddon. A hostile lion, had descended .on Now Zealand. Aucklanj was an untidy heap; Wellington a battered remnant; Onmnru had oxporienced enough explosions to ensure rain lor a century to come; and now tho enemy's ships had been sighted from the Bluff and from northward steering for Otago Heads." Some good shooting was being done, when the Lady Roberts, which was tewing tho

Hong-kong targets, in taking a wide sweep to starboard "fouled her targets against the piles at the mole end. Too late, the signal was hoisted on shore, 'Attond to target,' for the hawser parted, and the Lady Roberts lay wallowing in a perplexed fashion in the trough of the sea, while the targets got inextricably interwoven among, the piles. This resulted in a delay of several hours, during which everyone but the signallers was idle. It was half-past 6 before tho targets wore cot clear, and in response to orders the Lady Roberts took up the tow again with one target to represent the bow, the gunner to judge as best ho might where about amidships might be. Misreading a signal, 'Run in lrom right to loft,' the steamer stood out to sea; so a rush was made to the battery at the Heads." 'lho writer has something. to say abonfc ' that "venerable iniquity" •■ at the fort's," tho 64-pound muzzle-loader. "Some really cloan work was done with a 64-pound muzzleloader 1 , which the men worked smartly and well. The ponderous affair, after having been fired, had to be'slewed; tho great, muz'zlo a*. fleeted to, receive the charge; pushed home in an archaic fashion with the rammer, like that of somo great' beast in the act of swallowing. She went off with-.a report; .that shattered the atmosphere-; 'shreds', .of.-'tho poller bag.mingling with smoke,jihat blotted out.the scenery. The work- ,pu|'jin by the men was brilliant,,but it was,pitiful tb think • of the effect of only one melinite shell drop-, ' pod into that gun-pit while that 'mediaeval .. contrivance ■ was being fed: Many a detachment has been "scuppered" .and many a life lost because the Government persists in using that broken crutch, the. niuzzle loader, instead of sinking it in tho uttermost depths . of the sea, where it would be useful as an abodo for fishes.' A modern cruiser would havo pumped 20 -shells; into that gun-pit while the 'venerable iniquity' was being reloaded. Its smoke, shouts " Herd's a gun for you to '. fire atl'/ahd the,rcnemy.,fire, -ani lire ouickly, and they do hot liso obsolete muzzle-loaders. The Defence Department presumably knows this as well as anybody, and yet -these guns remain." ... . .

' MORE ACCIDENTS. "Gathering dusk prevented practice with the 6in., although . unmasked .and ready loaded, and the gunners had to' unlock' and .. mask ■ her and return to the .jetty disappointed. .Meanwhile fog had been creeping in and along, covering the water,'.as it were,, with cotton wool, and when the Lady Rob-,-cr'ts left- Harrington Point at 8.30-, p.nu on v ' her return' 'voyage • she' ran right into ft,' The engine'boll clanged. "Starboard," Came n hoarse voice from the bridge. "Hard a starboard." There was a slight bump and » grating sound as the keel scraped over »; bank, and the steamer stopped dead. Sh«' had lost her way in more ways than oneThere was not a light or a beacon', to bo seen. The idea was that thb vessel was'some-.'-. . where near the Heads. .Charts were consulted, i, Then the telegraph clanged again and she moved oni' 'Hard a port,' shouted the voice above in the mist. Then .there, wag another'bump, a long grating jar, and the Lady Roberts stuck fast (no one knew where) nearly at the. top .of high water. '• "Meanwhile the fog crept'down, wreathing fantastically stanchions and davits, arid curling over the bulwarks in wreaths of gossamer, jlfc- was 9 o'clock. The men had r hed nothing to eat since dinner-time —apparently there was nothing edible on board: and it seemed, as if they would remain.-there, till someone sent. a tug in the morning, j • "Here note ..the philosophy of the garrison gunner. Had the Lady Roberts contained a company of .-British Tommies, a growl would haVo .arisen from hor decks that would have , been heard from Dan even unto Beershebi; but from-, the. hows arose the tunefulness or mouth' organs and laughter," and a dim figure, swathed, in fog danced a breakdown. It would scorn hard to really annoy a garrison'gunner.; ...,„,. V "An inch or two of tide had still to! come. ' in, and'at thq top water the vessel was shifted by the time-honoured method of moving the men simultaneously from port to starboard., The .engines went full speed - ' astern, and at last she floated off. Having got into debp water,' it was deemed advisable to anchor). thofog lifted,' . and a' on th'S . s'tarbfard' , bbk' 1;, i flip,:m fore it 'shoula^iiappea?.'again. '"Those, wlib say. the, Lady Roberts movo'_'should have seen lior on tliat" occasion, with;'the .. foam roaring from her bows and. the twin screws jigging '■ behind 1 with a "velocity that Shook hor from stem "to stern. The halo turned out to'bo "the Acheron Head light, and the Garrison Artillery had narrowly oscaped spending the night hard and fast on 'Jimmy Dingle's Beach.' Port Chalmers was reached at a quarter to 10." -. ■ . , ;" GENERAL ITEMS. .The Naval authorities aro experimenting with a shell, whence a ray of light issues / as.it touches the ground and assists■ firing at night-time. ' ...-•' . Captain H. H. Browne, of the instructional staff, will hold classes for officers and noncoms, at tho beginning of next month, at Hawera/Stratford, and' New Plymouth. These classes are: open to Cadet as well as Volunteer officers. . . ' • : . , The Auckland Garrison .Officers' Club will entertain Lord Plnnkct and the Admiral of the Australasian Fleet at dinner, shortly.

It : is stated throughout this district (says the Taranaki correspondent to tho "Canterbury Times") that "servico pay" will be given to all officers and men in'the next Easter camp.' If this is truo, it will doubtless be appreciated by all wearers of -'"-the uniform.'' j :'■"