MILITARY NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1400, 28 March 1912, Page 2

MILITARY NOTES.

[Edited By Ecunr.oN.l THE NEW GERMAN FIELD GUN. FOREIGN AinUKS: A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. Thorp has been some talk recently in (ho German press nliotit a possible reorganisation of the German troops in AlsaccLorniine. Willi regard tu this the "Strusslwrger l'osl" says:—Thero is nil idea of forming a thir.l army corps command in Alsace-Lorraine, (lis licudq ua rtt>rs of which would bo nt Mnllmusen or Colmnv, preferahly the latter, for military reasons. 'J'lio objection to Jlullnnisen is its too Brent vicinity to the frontier, which ill peace timo would render it liable to espionage, and in war timo to surprise during mobilisation. Mulhauscn would 1)0 more suitable for the headquarters of a cavalry division. Tho Landsturm in Germany is composed of all males liable to service (who belong neither lo the army nor navv) from the completion of their seventeenth to the end of their forty-filth year. It is dividea into two levies, tlio first levy comprising men up to March Ul of the year in which tliey complete their thirty-ninth year of age, and the second levy from this limit to when they arc forty-five years of age. The Landsturm is intended lor homo defence, but may in cases of extreme urgency ba employed in filling up the rank* of' the nnny. The average number of trained men in the second levy is about 850,000. Certain disadvantages to the rifle accrue from tlio use of cordite. The "life" of a gun or rille is considerably shortened Inconstant explosions of cordite charges. The high temperature of the explosion gases renders the surface of the bore very susceptible to rust. Only by the exercise of constant cleaning and oiling after firing is this tendency! to corrosion reduced. In the case of heavy guns erosion sets in, tlio action of which eats awny the bore, especially in front of the chamber, and after a timo "scoring" or "pitting" sets in, and a new barrel is necessary. The action of "erosion" and "scoring" in the bore is totally different from that of corrosion, which latter is caused by the barrel not being thoroughly cleaned. After long experience a remedy has been found bv modifying tlio composition of cordite, by decreasing the proportion of nitro-glvcer-liie and increasing Unit of guncotton. 'This has increased the "life" of a gun barrel considerably. The Paris "Temps" publishes a resume of the scheme for the future military organisation ot tho Chinese Republic, according to the ideas of the President, hun-lat-Sen. China, it says, will be divided into ten military districts, which are, as regards China proper—First, the group of tho three towns of liankou, Hanfang, and Wn-Chang, which practically form together cue largo town where there already exists a very important military centre with an arsenal on the Yang-tse-Kmas; second, Canton; third, Han-Chou; fourth, Peking; fifth, Lian-chon; sixth, lun-nan-Sen. The other four parts of the Republic will be formed into the four military districts of—Seventh, Manchuria, with headquarters at Harbin; eighth, Mongolia, with headquarters at l.'rga; ninth, the Sunfjari, with headquarters at Ouroumski; tenth, Tibet, with headquarters at Lhussa.

. Italy is showing remarkable enterprise in army reorganisation, anil grout interest is being taken in the development ot the Bersaglieri into cyclist battalions, I hey now constitute a force of twelve battalions mounted on bicycles, and armed with automatic rifles, 'which can firo 100 rounds a minute. At first objections were raised to tho system, bocauso it involved great transport difficulties. Tho Italian War Office is rapidly making tlio ti'anport as mobile as the battalions themselves. Motor bicycles are used for reconnoitring purposes in the proportion of two to each company, and three to each battalion staff. The force will be completed with motor transport vehicles which can travel 12$ miles an hour. Tho Austrians have done something similar. A company of each of four rifle battalions has become cyclist, with threo rifle sections and one machino gun section. They are each 250 strong, and have not only light motor transport, but motor field kitchens.

Tho two principal features of the Japanese manoeuvres of 1911 were First, the preparation for tho operations down to the smallest details; and, finally, tho intensity of the offensive spirit shown on all occasions. As regard tho offensive spirit, it showed itself in every movement and in every order. Even if tho order to retire was given, it was merely to form a preliminary to attack. Tho troops never waited to be attacked in entrenched positions, and tho chief action between tho two opposing sides took place, invariably, midway between their positions. The attacks, conducted with the greatest vigour, always ended in hand-to-hand fighting, the chief objcct being to get at the enemy and 1 to attack liiiri with the bayonet; but little use was made of field implements. The fronts of divisions, contrary to the practice of 1909, were reduced to three kilometres. Very great importance was attached to the preliminary adoption of a formation prior to attack, anu two lo three kilometres from the enemy. This formation was generally taken up at night, so as to deliver tho attack in tho morning. Tho fire disciplino was excellent, and the endurance of tlio troops was remarkable, in spite of tho cold nights and the very exhaustive attacks. A very remarkable fact in the manoeuvres was tho interest and enthusiasm they excited in tho district in which they took place. In view of the great interest in shooting throughout tho Empire, tho following facts concerning cordite, cullcd by the "Military Mail," may be or interest: Tlio explosive by which a shell or bullet is propelled from tho barrel of a gun or rifle, commonly known as cordite, is a semi-transparent, horny, yellowish-look-ing substance, and is made in lengths like string or cord. Hence the name cordite, The cords or strands aro made into various sires, and are cut into suitable lengths.as required. It is a chemical compound of 58 per cent, nitroglycerine, 3" per cent, guncotton, and 5 per cent, vaseline (or what is technically known as mineral jelly). By cutting cordite info small portions it can bo transformed from a propelling agent into a strong destructive agent, similar to guncotton or lyddite. The 'properties of cordite are as follow:—(a) It is far more powerful than gunpowder, (b) it is poisonous, (c) it is not sensitive to shock, and can be transported with absolute safely, (d) it is smokeless, in that the smoke or gas produced on explosion is not visible si few yards away, (e) it is a slow burning compound compared with gunpowder, and a charge of large-sized cordite burns slower than one of small size, (f) a rise of temperature increases the muzzle velocity; it is very fixed or stable, does not become liable lo deconipcsitiou or doteriorntion from dampness, etc., and if wetted in any way speedily recovers its energy after drying, (g) if set alight when uncoiifined in any way (if loose), it does not explode, but smoulders away, even in large quantities, (h) the flash from a cordite explosion in <a gun or rifle is greater than that from a charge of gunpowder. The explosive force of cordite is easily governed or regulated by varying tho diameter of the cords. For instance, thin cords ignite and bum quicker, causing a more sudden explosion than in thick cords. Therefore thin cords ore used in ritio cartridges and thicker cords for gun charges, as the explosion of the latter is more gradual and develop.? during the time in which tho shell is moving along the boro of Ihe gun.