MILITARY NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1002, 17 December 1910, Page 12

MILITARY NOTES.

[EDITED Vsy ■ Echelon:].:; 1 SOME RECENT' PUBLICATIONS.

lam indebted to-the Publications' D» partment of tlie Imperial General Staff in London for a copy of tho October issue of "R.F.M.1." (Recent Publications of Military Interest), an admirable compendium of concise review not-es upon the latest military writings. The serious study of military science, always' important, is becoming nowadays an imperative necessity) a* condition, in fact, of a successful career in the fession of arms. That is to say, it is not now, as it was in the comparatively recent past, .sufficient for an officer to satisfy merely the' requirements of tho regulations- with respect to his military studies. Ho must be a keen student of military literature. • Jn itself that of course is by no means sufficient, but other things 'being equal—practicdJ knowledge, efficiency'in the field, common senso —the student will win out, for he is a point ahead. Tho business: of soldiering has now become.a very definite ana serious ono in New Zealand, and the opportunity now presents -itself for reminding those who are mora actively interested in our New Zealand Army of dcfence that the-liter-ary side of the question must have a large sharo of their attention. X have made a few extracts from the October R.P.M.I. which may serve to indicate the trend of military thought elsewhere, as well as to suggest interesting sub-.. .jects for investigation and •'.serious" study. Colonel Novitzki (Russian Imperial General Staff) very pertinently, remarked: "The contempt for the study of,war which existed amongst us before tho war, and. consequent paucity of men endowed with higher military knowledge, produced most unfortunate results, especially as many who possessed this knowledge lived apart from the troops '(in continuous staff employ)." There is the argument in a nutshell 1)1 "Tactical Principles and Problems" (Captain M. E. Hanna, 3rd Cavalry, U.S.A.), the_ author has restricted himself to considering cavalry and infantry, the action of*artillery in combination with either or both of these arms is not touched on.. He gives as a. reason that he believes the student will make better progress if he becomes familiar with the tactics of infantry and ca,valry before attempting tho much more difficult subject of the combination of the three arms. In this view British instructors will probably disagree ■ with him, as it is usually considered that officers should realise from the first that in fighting it is the combination of the three arms that wins, and that they should study how their own arm can help and be helped by,, the other two to attain a common object. . Major Bernatsky, Austro-Hungarian General Staff, in "The Estimation of the Fire Effect of Rifles and Guns," considers it essential to the correct tactical handling of troops and■guns ih war, and especially to the effective co-opera-tion of artillery and infantry,' that officers' of all arms should' be thoroughly acquainted with the fire-effect of both guns and rifles at various ranges and against different kinds of targets.'. An interesting study is "The Position of France With Regard to German.- Expansion," by Henry Andrillon. ' The author regards the expansion of the .German Empire as the greatest' danger to Europe at the present time, and' draws a graphic picture of the superiority of Germany to her neighbours. ■ He shows that Germans look upon France : and Great Britain as docaying races and degenerate nations, who have passed the zenith- are-now. .on the ''downwaFdS-patli:;w P: . !, He' doesffinot, however, himself believe this to he thecase, but says-that Frenchmen,..at any. rate, only-Require, to:'be aroused., from their lethargy ;ahd to'be made to'-real-iso their danger before. it is too late. He gives a detailed description of German education Mid intellectual thought, and stows how much of Germany's suocess is duo to her .schoolmasters and professors. The Germans instil patriotism, serse of duty and loyalty into their children, whilst. this important duty is neglected, nay, even forbidden, .in France and Great Britain.. . : , Direct'and indirect laying is discussed in the "Spanish Regulations for tha Tactical Training of Field and Hors« Artillery." The regulations .state that it is impossible to lay down whethei direct or indirect laying is the prefer* able system; the method to be employ* ed-must depend on the lie of the ground, tho tactical object, and the action of the enemy. As a rule, it is better, to take up indirect positions during the earlier stages, but when the advance of the enemy's infantry begins it. will almost always be necessary for, at any rate, 'some of the batteries to come up to the crest and to lay direct. The great object of artillery is to support their infantry : as effectually as possible, and to do this-they must be-prepared to lose heavily if necessary. A "handy ■ volume" is Surgeon-Lieu-tenant Westphal's (Prussian Guards) "Improvisation "in Field Medical Work." The subject matter was originally intended to be merely an essay on the expedients adopted by German Medical Officers in the late Herero campaign; but,'at the suggestion of v. Schjerning, Director General of tho, Prussian. Army Medical Service, Westphal has drawn freely upon other sources in order ta make /it a complete handbook for med. ical officers on improvisation and selfV help generally in the field. The work ineludes a review of emergency first-aid on tho battlefield, the evacuation ol wounded by means of locally adapted transport, the. erection of .temporary shelters, some notes' on the preparation of emergency hospitals in existing build, ings, hospital management, with practical hints _on the improvisation of articles required for ward equipment, as well as on cooking, washing, etc.,. and tho employment of convalescents, and sanitation. A useful bibliography is included, and tho book is well illustrated. It should prove of great service to medical'men as a guide to improvise tion in any emergency. General Sir J. D. P. French has written a preface to Major Bridge's translation of Bernhardi's "Cavalry in Peace and War.!' In this ho emphasises the importance of officers studying the training, tactics, and organisation of the best foreign cavalry, and points out the mistake that will bo made if wa ima'gino that our recent experience of war lias been so considerable that we can-have nothing to learn from Europd, and draws special attention to the anthor's remarks on reconnaissance, cavalry fight, combination of fire and shock tactics, the divisional cavalry, strategic cavalry, training, and. organisationGeneral French is fully -in accord with Bernhardi's teachings except in thj matter of raids. The latter, holds that the disturbance' of the communication! of an army is an important matter, and will ofteu do the opponent more damage and contribute more to a favourabla decision of arms than the inter* veution of a few cavalry divisions in. the decisive battlo itself. Gens oral French, on the other hand,, agrees with tho German regulations, which state "enterprises-of long duration bj' large bodies of cavalry against the em emy's linos of communication separate them from their principal duties. Suci raids aro to be undertaken only whet cavalry is redundant. Sufficient am. munition and supplies must bo carefullj arranged for." "But I am convinced," observes General French, "that some of tho reactionary .views recently aired ia England concerning cavalry will, if accepted and adopted, lead first to tha deterioration and then to tho collapsa of cavalry when next it is called upon to fulfil its mission in war e "-