THE CITIZEN ARMY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 199, 17 May 1919, Page 7

THE CITIZEN ARMY

ADDRESS BY GENERAL RICHARDSON. LESSONS OF THE WAR NEED FOR MAINTENANCE OF TERRITORIAL FORCE At the annual meeting of the Wellington Officers'/Institute, held last evening, a welcome was proffered to BrigadierGeneral Richardson, who attended after the ordinary business of the meeting had been concluded.

Colonel. G. E. C. Campbell, who occupied the chair, said that the General had had a good many receptions since his return to New Zealand, and had • learned pretty well how highly he was esteemed by the people. The speaker was sure, however, (lint the institute's welcome would lie no less hearty than the most enthusiastic that the General had been given elsewhere. The officers present remembered not only what their guest had done during the war, but what he had done in New Zealand before the war. It was, perhaps, to be. regretted in some ways that General Itichardson had been given an administrative position' instead of being permitted to remain in the field, where he would doubtless have had fine scope for his great abilities. Colonel Campbell reminded his hearers that General Itichardson had been one of tho first to move in tho matter of establishing. Territorial training as it existed in New Zealand to-day. Tiie meeting carried by acclamation a resolution of welcome to the General and his family, and another of appreciation of his services to the country. Lord Roberts and Compulsion.' General Richardson expressed his pleasure at being back in the old ctubroom again. The kindly praise that had been lavished lipon him only made him i'eel humble. He was pleased to see-present General Robin, an old friend, who had had the greatest difficulties to contend with in trying to keep tilings military in good going order in this country. The Territorial Force of New Zealand and the New Zealand Artillery were, in 1912JB, considered by the speaker to be far in advance of any Territorial army he had seen elsewhere. He had had the honour of discnssiiu; with the late Lord Roberts the prospects i/f the coming war. Lord Roberts had considered tha't themilitary provisions of his "day were inadequate to ensure the safety of the country and 'the . pence of Europe. He had said, in reply to the speaker's prediction that: his campaign for-better provision would meet with success: "No. not in my time. ; Yoii have no idea of the opposition in this country to any form of military training. You nnd I realise that it is absolutely necessary, but I fear it will come too late." If Britain' bad bad as large an army as she ought, to have had, General Richavd r sou believed. that the Germans would never have been on 'the Belgian coast, that the war would never have lasted so long, that possiblv there would not have been a itar at all. Jj ' . Predictions of 1913. The General devoted some time to an interesting exposition of the theories current in the Staff Officers' College at Home before the war. Ho prefaced his account with Ihc .observation that the opinions he would refer to must have been known to the Government and to the War-'Office. The teaching of the college -with regard lo the 'probable course of a war with Germany was, in 1013. as follows:—The war would probablv break out in tho autumn of 1014, or at the latest in the spring of 1015. The deciding factor would be the time of opening of the Kiel Canal, which was then being deepened. When the war out the Germans would not send their h'lcot out, but would keep it in harbour and bv menus of mines and nubmarincs would attempt, to polish oft' the British Navy. ,'L'hey would expect, to get about, one' big warship "per week, so that in about'twelve months' lime I hey "would have a margin of superiority which would, enable them to come into the open with some prospect of success. When they caino out, the probability was that they would go south in order to cut off the British communications, and would then attempt a' landing on the East Coast of England. The German authorities fully, realised .that n decision could be brought oboui only by a landing in the Old Country, the British Territorial forces had 'been primarily intended to provide a means of defence in such an emergency.

It was realised that the German system oi' mobilisation was very much in advance of the French, and that the Germans'would mobilise t heir Array, fo quickly that (hey would get right un the frontier and cross inlo France, carrying out an invasion at a very early period of tho war. Our troops would probably have to fall back even as far. as Paris, but that would not. ■ end the war because by that time the oversea troops and the Russian Army would have been brought into play, and'would prove sufficiently strong to defeat Germany and drive her back. 'Ton see," the. General commented, "that was' not exactly' carried out, but it was not very far wrong.': ' ' ' ■

Officering an Army, "When it. had been decided to organise a greater Army in Britain, it had been necessary to find new officers. Ar- first it had seemed n big thing to handle an army of six divisions and one cavalry division. • In the first days of the war the military authorities lia'd not dreamt of the twenty-three army corps that .were to come into existence before the armistice. Except tor the first six divisions the. whole of the British Army had been a citizen force, officered almost entirely by citizen officers, called to-day. Territorial officers. Tho way in which it was nil brought about had been one of tho eye-openers of the war. The story, however, would take too long to toll. The fact remained that the New Zealand Expeditionary force had been entirely a citizen army, trained-on-a system that was certainly different from pre-war systems of training in'this country. Intensified courses, nil intensified system of training in order to reach a high standard of efficiency— those were the things that had come of the war.

The system of providing officers for the citi/en army of Britain had not at. first been good. Almost any young fellow who had been well recommended was selected ns a cadet, and put through a short courso in order to make an officer. Later on, the proper system had been arrived at, and it was the system that New Zealand had adopted right through. We had taken the best of the men who had served in the ranks; had considered a man's brains, his fighting qualities, his qualities of leadership. The prospective officer had been selected, by those under whom ho hud served, for his good work iu the field. Then ho had been put through an intensified course and made an officer. Tho system luid been very succcssful, so that (lie officers of the New Zealand Expeditionary l'orce. had been as efficient as any to be found in c.ny theatre of war. From every place where our. cadets had been, he had received most excelleut report upon their efficiency. They had nearly always come out at the top, and I hat was to be expected, for they had first gone through a compulsory system of training as Territorials, Ihen through another as rc.cruits for the Expeditionary Force; they had entered the field, they had seen lighting; and they had been carefully selected for leadership and soldierly qualiiies. That had all old. Ho could not speak too highly of the.standard of efficiency that had been attained by (he method's described. The Moral. The lesson lo be learned from I hit l experience must lie borne in mind iu thi: future officering of the Territorial force nf Ihis cuunlry. ■ If some, similar system could be adopted New /.enliiml would he bound lo Imve a very efficient M.Tviee. ft mighl be possible lo have ('."del, companies in each district, and draft inlo Ihcm from other unils noncommissioned officers who had shown themselves lo bo specially efficient. These companies might be put through a special conwo, and members of them selected lo fill vacancies whenever officers were wanted. Ho believed that the sejieme could be made, to work, as it wonW be

merely au adaptation of the system that had boon put into prnetico iu England. It was the duty of his hearers, as officers, to urgo that a system of training in this country must be maintained. The country could not afford to bo without adequate defence. All sorts of wild ideas had got about that there was to be no compulsory training after tho war, that armies would not be needed, that the Peace Conference would once aud for ever limit the military forco to tho performance of mcro police duties, 'l'hoso who thought, who could visualise the future, would never submit to tho abolition of the military force designed purely for defence. Upbuilding the Nation's Manhood. In Addition to tho necessity, of having a force, there was to be considered its value in the building-up of' the youth of the nation. He believed that in England BO per cent, of tho meu who had been examined for military service had been classed physically as lower than "A." They had been marked "C 3." That was why so much had beeu said about England lining a "C 3 nation." If the system of compulsory training were used for nothing but the building up of tho nation's manhood, the money spent upon it would be well invested. He did not know what the percentage of rejects had been iu this country, but he was absolutely certain that tlie system of training employed here had been largely responsible lor the fact that New Zealand had been able lo send away such a fine body of men.

it had been one of the surprises of the authorities in the Old Country that draft lifter draft had shown practically no diminution ill physique, while such a diminution had been very marked in the [Iritish Army towards the end. He urged, therefore, that the. system that had been in vogue ip this country should continue; that the Territorial Force should be maintained.

Some men. had been sent from New Zealand that should not have been sent. That was true. But New Zeahiud was not the only country that had made that mistake. The same mistake had been made everywhere. Taking it all round, our standard of efficiency had been exceedingly high,, the discipline .'of. our men and their good work iu the field had been excelled by none.

The General concluded his address by returning thanks fur the welcomo that the meeting had accorded him.