COLONIAL EYES ON GERMAN ARMY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 987, 30 November 1910, Page 8

COLONIAL EYES ON GERMAN ARMY.

■ 9 , "SIMPLY ASTOUNDING." (By Tclegraph.-Spccial Correspondent.) Christchurch, November 29. A well-known territorial officer who was recently in England and on the Continent, speaking to a- representative of the "Press," said that the organisation of tho German Army was simply astounding. Hβ mentioned as ail instance that, Metz and many of the frontier towns each had 20,000 troops ready to take the field at four, hours' notice, anfl so efficient were the transport, medical service, commissariat, and other departments that, in the time stated, no less than a .quarter of a million men would be ready to leave for the seat of war, and, would not need to return urftil the cessation of hostilities. At tho Metz Railway ~\Station there were as many as twenty-five loop lines especially> for entraining troops, and no fewer than 380 troop trains could, if the necessity arose, be dispatched in one day. A foreign military officer visiting Germany had immediately to inform tho authorities of his identity, otherwise'he would, if discovered, be summarily. imprisoned. A wonderful check was' kept by the police on all hotel registers, and, by this means, it was very hard for a visiting officer to escape detection. The informant also mentioned that in the South of Loudon alono there were no fewer than 25,000 Germans, and every ■ man of these knew exactly at which point of. mobilisation he was to report himself in. the event of an outbreak ,of war. These, said the officer, were instances of Germany's wonderful military methods that: should cause every though'"!* ful Britisher some degree of uneasiness. .... : ; ' . :. : .:"',. .'.iV.