92,000 ENLISTED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20039, 11 September 1939, Page 4

92,000 ENLISTED

N.Z. DIVISION RECORD EFFORT IN GREAT WAR TITREE-FOURTIIS OF FORCE 8499 IN THE MAIN BODY When New Zealand entered the Great War in August, 1914, the offer of troops for overseas service was one of the first momentous steps taken by the then Government to demonstrate the Dominion’s loyalty to the Mother Country. Raised on a voluntary basis, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force was maintained in the field for over two years without recourse to the draft, and over three-fourths of the men from this country who served abroad were volunteers.

In all, 100,444 men were sent overseas from New Zealand, this number including 2227 Maoris and Rarotongans, who offered their services with the same enthusiasm as the Europeans of the Dominion and its island dependencies. New Zealanders resident abroad contributed 2091 to the strength of the Australian Imperial Forces, and 1279 to that ot the British Expeditionary Force.

It w'as calculated at the close of the Great War that over 11 per cent of the total poulation was called up for service, including those taken for home defence and base-camp employment. Silent Division’s Decorations Between 4000 , and 5000 military decorations were won by members ol the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and the New Zealand troops in France, known far and wide as the “Silent Division” from their characteristic diffidence in canteen argument, had an exceptional reputation for dash in.' attack, steadiness under fire, and endurance in the face of counter-thrusts, and above all for the discipline which was an inherent feature of the division’s performances.

It is natural to seek grounds for comparison between the force now on the point of being raised by New Zealand for service at home or abroad —and which it is presumed will form the main body of an expeditionary force —and that which represented the Dominion in the great struggle of 1914-18.

The Main Body which left these shores on October IC, 1914, numbered 8139 men and officers. This body included, however, the men who had been enlisted as members of the first reinforcement, and who would number between 1000 and 1500. From these figures, it will be concluded that the number of men now being enlisted will not be far short of the actual main body of troops who went into camp as the basis of the N.Z.E.F. in 1914.

Strong Base in Territorial Force

When the Great War broke out, New Zealand had 29,447 territorials in training, with a staff corps numbering slightly over 300. The Samoan expedition, which sailed from New Zealand 11 days after the outbreak and scored the first signal success ol the British colonial troops by the occupation of Apia, comprised 1410 men who had been chosen from the ranks of the terl-itorials with lengthy service; and while the main body of the N.Z.E.F. and its early reinforcements were being formed, a large number of enthusiastic and highlytrained men from the territorial units was available.

Later drafts gradually exhausted the reserves formed by men who had passed through those district units, and by August, 1916, it became evident that to deal fairly with the classes of available men remaining in the country some departure from the voluntary principle must be made. The Military' Service Act, 1916, involved the enlistment of all men between the ages of 21 and 45 years. The total number called up for foreign service was 117,175, and, as indicated above 100,444 went overseas. The ballot system was instituted as the means Of drafting the available men into uniforms, and provision was made for reserving in essential industries sufficient manpower to carry them on. Voluntary enlistments were also accepted throughout the period during which the Military Service Act operated, and a large number of men who reached the age of service after August, 1916, served as volunteers.

Few N.Z.E.F. Veterans. May Serve

. There are comparatively few veterans of the N.Z.E.F. who may be considered likely to serve at the front in this war. Nearly 25 years have passed since the force was dispatched in October, 1914, and the great majority of the survivors are now beyond mintage age. Those still under 45 years of age include a number who, because of the previous service, are no longer fit for the exacting physical demands of active military life. It is felt among the returned soldiers of the Great War, however, that opportunities for service will be given many veterans in posts which will not make heavy physical demands A review of statistics connected with New Zealand’s effort in the Great War of 1914-18 indicates that approximately 16 out of every 100 men who served overseas were killed, and total casualties comprised nominally about 58 out of every 100. These casualties included minor wounds, of course, and .as there were many cases of individuals who suffered wounding on a number of occasions, it is obvious that the actual number of men injured on active service was substantially less than the 58,000 which represents the Dominion casualties in the records of the Great War. Since the division was in the field for four years, and was one of those chosen for the more critical actions in various stages of the campaigns it engaged in, the proportion of casualties was not unduly high. The avoidance of unnecessary casualities was one Of the guiding principles in Ihe conduct of the N.Z.E.F., and the sober efficiency of the division, allied to exceptional dash in action, was a by-word among the British and French forces.