TACTICAL LESSONS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 248, 14 July 1919, Page 6

TACTICAL LESSONS OF THE WAR

-4~ • LECTUKE BY COLONEL M'DONALD. At the Garrison Officers' Club, Buckle Street, on .Friday, Lieuteriaat-Colonel T. \V. Jl'Donald delivered a lecture tci tlie officers on the "Tactical Lessons of the War." Colonel G. P. C. Campbell presided, and there was an excellent attendance.

Have the pre-war principles of war 6lood the test? was what the colonel sought to prove. Tiioro had been allegations, ho said, t'hat those principles were obsolete. At the outbreak of the war that had appeared to be true, aud some departure was mado from the principles. It was soon discovered, howover, that the old principles were sound, and the Army reverted to them, and it was fully acknowledged in service papers, and by the foremost men.in the Army. The lessons to be learned from the wuj were numerous. There were a tew governing factors found by experience to be generally applicable to the leading troops, live . hundred /ears before Christ tho Chinese were a warlike nation, and the principles adopted then were-exactly tho same as they were now. He urged the officer* .to make themselves familiar with the principles of war, so that they could tipply tliein instinctively. The application of tho principles had been modified, to meet the changed conditions due to the introduction of machine-guns, trench mortars, poison gas, aeroplanes, etc., and also by tho terrain, or the theatre ot war. At the beginning of the Great War the Germans indulged in open warfare, but when they retreated from the Harne their flanks were protected, aud they were ablo to settle down to trench warfare. Here it would be seen that the application of tho principles- of warfare were modified to suit tho special conditions, aud there was developed the trench fighting. But, when shorn of its trimmings and side-show's it was open warfare, and was declared to bo such by the Imperial General Stall. The principles and training of 'open warfare wero ■just as necessary for this trench fighting. Colonel M'Donald showed how trench fighting was closely allied to open warfare, In tho Great War they violated some of tho principles of war when they sat down in the trenches and put as many' rifles as they could into them. The pre-war principles of wnr laid il 'down that the front .lines of defence should be lightly held. Germany first discovered the mistake and corrected her position by making special defences and the Allies followed quickly. When they reverted to the pre-war principle they discovered that thwo was a governing factor, and that was whether it was desirable to risk a large body of troops to'gain some vitally important sector in the enemy's front. Another violation of the pre-war principles was that they did not concentrate power at the vital point. This was disclosed when General. Gough was pushed back. There was no power behind him, and the Germans were able to beat him back. They surprised General Gougli, and there again there was u violation of the pre-war principles of war. Tho principles were violated when the scientific weapons of war, such as bombs, etc., were allowed to take the place of the rifle. The "Old Contemptible Army" that went to Franco was trained to tho minute in musketry, and in Colonel M'Donald's upinion the "Old Contemptiblos" saved France and saved the Allies with their rifles. That violation was also recognised oiul was quickly net right, for instead of only eight moil in a platoon being riflemen every maO had to carry his rifle, whether lie was a boinbei' or a Lewis gunner. The war with Germany might be described as » war of organisation and preparation. Colonel Jl'Bouald dealt fully with the abnormal development of artillery during the war, and tho officers and noncommissioned officers had to bo well trained in the technique of the artillery arm, for they had so much indirect firing to indulge in. lie also explained .(ho effects of artillery barrage and the tactics adopted in moving troops.

The lecturer was heartily thanked at the conclusion of his address.