OUR MILITARY SYSTEM

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2346, 31 December 1914, Page 6

OUR MILITARY SYSTEM

WELL TESTED MACHINE RUNS EXCELLENTLY GREAT RESULTS The year of 1914 has seen the test of tests applied to our military organisation, aud tho'organisation has won through with astonishing credit. In 1909, the Inspector-General of the Forces reported:—' "I am quite confident that I am well within the mark in saying that not more than a total of 5000 1 officers and men of the Field Forco have done any work in the. field in daylight during the year." Five years after the disclosure of this unsatisfactory state of affairs war broke out, and New Zealand was, called upon to play its part. What happened? How did pur machine work—the machine which was called into; being only four.years ago? The machine has answered every call put upon it by the Imperial ' Government, there has not been a hitch, and everything has gono along so quietly and smoothly that" we have scarcely heard the engine' /running. The system, or organisation, adopted for this country is/of course, precisely similar to the British Imperial system/and military pnthusiasts who are specially interested in the Dofence scheme inaugurated here_ Lava been delighted to observe that _in tho present war tho British organisation has proved its superiority over others. Armies must move secretly and silently like thieves in the night, and one the marvels of the war is that British troops , were' sent through railway stations I without anyone knowing ;they had pass-. Ed, were embarked and sailed without anyone being present"to say farewell on the' pier, and were ; dispatched •to an unknown port, without England or Franco being aware of the f«tct. > A Smooth and Silent Engine. In New Zealand; a-similar system to that headed in London by Kitchener has worked admirably. When the Empire went to war Now Zealand was at. once called upon to occupy Samoa, a Gorman possession' at which there was an important strategic wireless station. Without the faintest suspicion of fuss, without any beating of drums and waving of nags, the ■ military authorities quietly announced that they desired to enrol' a force of 2000 men for service beyond New Zealand. Wellington city and suburbs supplied the men at once, and very shortly two passenger steamers .which had been converted into army' transports sailed out of Port Nicholson in the, grey morning, • whither, no. one knew.. Days went by,' and then the newspaper offices posted up a notice stating that the 'New Zealand Force had taken Samoa;and had hoisted'the Union Jack.. ' ' . Yet there had been no fuss, no clamour for men—the surest sign of an efficient organisation. However, the taking of Samoa is but an-episode in our share of the great campaign. thousand men .were asked for by Great Britain. The ten thousand have gone. They are now in Egypt. The raising of this mam body of troops was a severe test for a four-year-old organisation,' but, the under-taking-was accomplished, speedily, successfully, .and entirely', satisfactorily. Moreover, we equipped it without difficulty, and it is more than doubtful if any force, has left its native soil' as thoroughly provided for. Further, -wo have foundthe horses needed for. artillery and cavalry purposes, we, have dis- ', patched reinforcements,. and ... wo aro training others. . . ''" ;'.'." Chief Event In Training Year. • The success of tho organisation is a great tribute 'to the hard work of the General Staff at Defence headquarters, and it is of interest to remember that General ■ Sir lan Hamilton considered the scheme to be working very economically. "A striking .feature of__the militarysystem, in New Zealand liesi in its economic working," he said.' *ot a single professional:officer, or non-com-missioned officer, appears to. be employed whose services, with due regard to efficiency, could possibly be dispensed "'.Amrt from the war and its consequences, the.chiefevent of the.year was the visit to-New Zealand of the [nspector-GeneraUpf the Oversea Forces (Sir lan Hamilton). Owina to this visit the annual camps were held later than usual,' and -wet weather was encountered. The Wellington . district camp was at Takapau, the Canterbury camp at Kowai,.the Auckland camp-at 1 Hautapu„:and the Otago camp at 1 Matarae. The Inspector-General, whose visit of about a month,, entailed upon ' him a constant rush and almost incessant work, • expressed great pleasure with the New Zealand troops and the ' progress they'had made. Our mounted forces impressed him so. favourably that ' he said that ho could wish for nothing 1 tetter than to lead them against an ; enemy. The Inspector-General 1 ed the'' field operations conducted by 1 the h>tier: officers at all of these camps. His Excellency the Governor visited the 1 camp of the Auckland men, and ex--1 pressed his entire satisfaction with the 1 bearing, of .the troops and the progress shown. ~ ' ■ ... -.".. ; After these mam camps, and in ' order to save the cost of transport, ad- ' ditional camps wore hold at Tapawora ' fo-- the Marlbofough and- Nelson troops. 1 With tho completion of the big camps, second 'camps were held for casuals who, .'-for. some reason, or other, were unable to attend the:main camps.- Owing to' the exceptionally, early winter,. ' the-weather .experienced in. the camps left much -to' be desired,- but although the men were ■ exposed to a certain ' amount of hardship and discomfort, '• they sumbitted cheerfully to the tasks : imposed upon-thorn;: and, bore themselves in a soldierly manner.

Groat Advance. In Effiolenoy. Oh. the'score of efficiency of the defence organisation,, there havo been noticeable' improvements in attendances, in-discipline, in steadiness, and in drilling Valuable work has been done by W' assembling of units'for day's field operations. In some .cases the co-opera-tion of all arms was] practised. In.the district camps all arms—artillery, cavalry, • infantry, army sonnco corps, en-' gineors-rworo . sent ;under- canvas together, and trained together. It is recognised as futile to'train troops separately ■ all arms • and combinations must bo us'ed in training .is they would be employed on the field'of battle, or in any other phase of warfare. That was aimed at by the New Zealand Staff this year and the: results were excellent. There was really a small division undergoing training in ;.every district. - During the year a great many courses of special instruction, wore hold in all the districts, and:the effect v has been most marked on the; officers and noncommissioned . officers : 'of _ the Territorial Force In ■ musketry training very good progress lias been made. The Senior Cacfets 'havo improved very much m every wav. , Tfieir, steadiness in the ranks' and their ;manner, .of marching past are two' respects in which their advancement is easily' noticed Just now it is not desirable-to publish too much concerning the! strength of tho Dominion Forces, but!there can bo no harm in stating that,tho enrolment of Territorials and ly satisfactory. The-National Reserve has made considerable progress, and the .enrolment of moil m this forco will,provide a very valuable adjuncts iho.qtb.er forces,--- -~;'