THE NEW ZEALAND FORCES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1750, 23 August 1917, Page 2

THE NEW ZEALAND FORCES.

Til KIR LOCATION. “liemhers have been asking for a. stocktaking ot; the New Zealand Forces,’' said Sir .James Allen in (lie House. “In order to make (he posilion (dear. 1 have prepared figures showing' Hie ])osiiiou on or about Anyus! .171 h. The ligures are not quite complete, because 1 have not yet received replies to eerlain cablegrams on August 17. We had 14,081 men in England, of whom 0,553 were at Sling Camp and available to go to the Cron!. They wore held as reinforcements in ease of heavy easualties. Some of the other men were in hospitals and eonvaloseont homes. Then we had at (he front, including the Division and the Tunnellers, 24,320 men. The reinl'oreements held at Eta pies, in Era nee, as a.n immediate support for the IVis i -ion, numbered H,l IT men. The available rein forcemeats in England and France therefore numbered fewer than .10,(100. Altogether the casualties veil Lin the few days covering tile .Messines buttle were close upon (i,OO(L i do not know what were (he casualties in the recent lighting, hut ii is (dear that the reserve is not too large. Most of the reinforcements may he absorbed by this lime. Then we had at flint lime 3,211 men in Egypt and Palosline. I cannot say how many men were in hospital in Prance. The ligures havejmt yet reached me. The number of men returned to New Zealand was 10,00(1. The dead, missing and prisoners numbered 8,353. The troops on the water amounted to between 0,000 and 7,000. That accounts for over 71,500 men. The. n inn her sent from New Zealand uj> to that time was about 74,000. The ligures do not include the men in hospital in .Eranee, the Samoan force, the nurses, the /lying corps men, naval ratings, wireless men, etc., nor the men on leave in England. There is thus no surplus to he accounted for.”