ARMY TRAINING

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20101, 22 November 1939, Page 2

ARMY TRAINING

WAIOURU NEXT STEP ADVANCED MANOEUVRES ANOTHER CANVAS CAMP STRENUOUS FIELD WORK A further step in their acquaintanceship with active service conditions'will be taken soon by members of the Second New Zealand Division now in training at Papakura and Ngaruawahia. They are to go by units to Waiouru, near Taihape, to do more complicated manoeuvres than they have so far been taught. Sleeping out on the tussocks, digging trenches, marching by night and attacking in hundreds ,at a time, they will get as near as possible to the real thing. At one stage it was intended that the whole of the first echelon would be in'manoeuvres together, but this idea has since been replaced by an arrangement to take only a few units at a time. Wellington Battalion First Thus the 18th (Auckland) Battalion, now at Papakura. will not go to Waiouru until after the 19th (Wellington) Battalion, which will move from Trentham by rail at the end of the month. However, the Wellington infantry will be accompanied by two of the training units from Auckland, the divisional mechanised cavalry and the engineers. About 1700 men will be engaged in the field training manoeuvres over a fortnight and to accommodate them a canvas camp is now being built at Waiouru, with cookhouses, stores and other subsidiary buildings in permanent materials. The site is ideal for the purpose, Undulating with flats and hills, and covered with tussock and snow grass, it covers up to 80,000 acres and is 24 miles .in length. Wide Scope of Exercises To prepare for the advanced training they will do at Waiouru, the Papakura and Ngaruawahia troops will be taken over an ascending scale ol’ practice work which will include night marches and exercises. At Waiouru, for several nights of the time they spend there, they will have only their ground-sheets between them and the earth and the issue blanket to cover them. They will dig and occupy trenches, consolidate ground won after mimic attacks, march on objectives by night and follow with attacks. Ball ammunition will be issued and for days the bare country and hills round the. camp will echo to the discharge of hundreds of rifles. Advanced training is also being arranged for the artillery.