MOBILE ARMY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 50, 21 August 1911, Page 3

MOBILE ARMY.

? J GENERAL GODLKY'S ADVICE. (REPORT TO PARLIAMENT ON DEFENCE FORCES. d "I consider that we should rely for the : defence of the. country," says General . Godley in his annual report, "upon an . efficient mobile force rather than upon . lixed defences, and that our energies and d money should be devotel first and fore- . most to the creation of an efficient mobile Territorial army. What is required, , rather than guns of position, is an efficient mobile artillery which can be sent to meet a possible invader who [ might land anywhere, round the coast. ( It is impossible to attempt to defend all . the innumerable ports and harbors in the country, and our best chance of dealing effectively with an invader is to go to meet him wiiilo lie is landing or after he has. landed. With this object the Royal New Zealand Artillery has been reorganised so that, a consiiiera'ble porj tion of it has now been converted into Field Artillery. This Field Artillery portion will provide the permanent cadres for the Territorial Field Artillery batteries, and will, I hope, bring them to the same pitch of excellence us that to which they have brought, the. Territorial Garrison Artillery in the past. The Garrison Artillery portion of the Royal New Zealand Artillery will continue to form the instructional cadres at the defended ports." TRAINING OF THE STAFF. General Godlcy's report on the forces under his command deals only with the time between his arrival on December 7 and the opening of Parliament on July 27, and as that period was oue of transition from the old volunteer forces to the new citizen army the report is mainly a narrative of what has been accomplished. It records the officers who have been lent by the Army Council to assist in the formation of the citizen army, and expresses the hope that at the expiration of their time the New Zealand Staff Corps will be so far ad- t vanced, and the first batch of cadets so I near the completion of their study at • the Australian College, that in many eases the Imperial officers will be re- ' < placed from those on the local staff ■ corps. This corps, General Godley states, 1 has been formed as recommended by • Field-Marshal Kitchener, with a strength ' of one hundred, and the officers and 1 N.C'.O.'s appointed lo'cally have fully jus- '■ titled their selection. i APPOINTMENTS AND RETIRE- ! MENTS. ] Appointments as Territorial officers, ( says General. Godley, will go to the most , suitable and most deserving from the , ranks, or to those who show most pro- j ] mise as senior cadets. Every recom- j niendation . for a commission will be I, made in the first instance by the officer ] commanding the unit or corps in which . the officer is to serve. No officers will . be promoted, • even provisionally, unless they have passed the prescribed examination for the next higher rank. It was decided that the formation of Officers' , Training Corps should not be proceeded with, as it was not considered that the officers of a citizen army should necessarily be drawn from any particular corps or class of the community. The Officers' Training Corps was an organisation primarily designed to supply a want in a voluntary system, and has no place now that this Dominion has accepted the principle of universal obligation for military service. The regulations relating to the ages for retirement of officers must be most strictly enforced, if the proper efficiency of the body of officers is to be maintained. In the past it has been a great discouragement to junior officers to find that their chances of promotion and advancement were blocked by the retention of officers beyond a reasonable age-limit. WW SHOOTING STANDARD. The report pays a compliment to the { excellence of the material represented j by old volunteers, who are described as j a valuable nucleus to the force. The I standard of military rifle shooting is J said to be behind the times, but with J the promised co-operation of the Dominion Rifle Association and rifle clubs, and the experience of the Bisley team, it is expected to bring it up to date. General Godley expresses the hope that all men after completing their service will join a rifle club, forming a second voluntary reserve, and rifle clubs undertaking to carry out an annual course of musketry in return for certain conces- , sions. ARMS AND AMMUNITION. , Three extra batteries of field artil- ' lery (each to consist of four guns) have > been raised in the Dominion, making a total of eight batteries. These have ' been formed into four brigades, one brigade being furnished from each of the : four military districts. Twenty-four of ' the new LB-pounder field guns have been i ordered from Home for six of these bat- 1 teries, and eight of the latest pattern J field Howitzers for the remaining two. i The provision of an extra mountain hat- i tery is also under consideration. The first consignment of the Impounders is due to leave England this month, and it • is anticipated that all the 18-poiinders will, have reached the Dominion by next , February. Artillery horses are now be- ' ing purchased for the field artillery cadres, and the training of the R.N.Z.A. in field artillery work, will shortly be completed; so that, as! the guns arrive, ' the permanent cadres will be ready for ' the immediate commencement of the training of the batteries. Seven thousand new rifles have been ordered from 1 Home and are expected to arrive shortly. These, with the number already in the Dominion, make a total of 30,432 available for use. Requisitions for ordnance ammunition to maintain the regulation equipment, together with ample provision for two years' practice-supply for all guns, have been put forward. Arrangements are being made to complete the reserves of big-gun and small-arm ammunition, as recommended by the Colonial Defence Committee. The Commandant has inspected the works of the Colonial Ammunition Company, and is satisfied that they are well organised and can cope with the immediate requirements of the Dominion. REGISTRATION. The registration of all youths available for service has been completed, with the following result, up to July 17: Territorials, 21,5:i8; senior cadets, 20,901. To arrive at the numbers available for training, these must be added to the Territorials now serving, as follows: Under twenty-one years of age, 0300; those over age desirous of and permitted conlMiue service. 28112; making a total Of :il.n0!l- practically just the strongtif required for the new army establishment, of 30.000 men. A certain percentage of these will be eliminated by the results of the medical examinion, which is now proceeding. "We can, however," says the Commandant, "well afford to be below our full establishment at first."

September. The training at first' will he most ■elementary, and "" camps will be held till Christum-i time or after. TRAIN IXI; GROUNDS.

General Godley states that it is not intended to build permanently on the ! raining areas which will b» reserved for manoeuvre purposes in the future. The principle of the citizen army that the men should do their training territorially, and the practical elimination for the present of the general training section, make the establishment of permanent standing camps unnecessary. HARBOR DEFENCES.

"I have inspected all the harbor defences of the Dominion," the Commandant says, "and, though exception may be taken~in some cases to the siting of the forts, I am of opinion that the existing defences are in excellent order and' are sufficient for our present needs. The new works at Wellington and Auckland have been practically completed during the year. The works and armament are very well kept and cared for by the Royal New Zealand Artillery; the personnel of the Territorial garrison artillery is excellent, and will be able to efficiently man these defences; and I do not recommend that at present any considerable expenditure should be undertaken with regard to the harbor defences."