NEW ARMY.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 May 1921, Page 5

NEW ARMY.

ONE DIVISION FORCE. REDUCTION OF PRESENT UNITS. WAR TRADITIONS PRESERVED. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The new organisation of New Zealand’s citizen army territorial force was announced to-day. The outstanding .feature is that it furnishes one complete division throughout the Dominion, which, in case of mobilisation, will be capable of duplicating itself. In other words, the new territorial force will be to all intents ,and purposes a replica of the New Zealand Division which fought in France and Flanders, and the mounted rifle ■egiments which fought in Palestine will also he represented. The new scheme, of course, involves drastic alterations, and under it many existing units will disappear. The unite under the new scheme will a!' carry New Zealand Exped tioniry Force designations, and so will possess the N.Z.E.F. history and tradit ; ons. The existing twelve mounted rifle 'egiments will be reduced to 9, forming one mounted brigade under each command, while the 17 infantry regiments will come down to 12, forming one infantry brigade under each command. The mobile field artillery, on the other hand, has been substantially increased. The number of field batteries have been advanced from 9 th 12, making four battery brigades in each command, each brigade consisting of three 18pounder batteries and one 4.5-inch howitzer battery. There will be four heavy mobile batteries, three of which are sixinch howitzer batteries and one 60pounder battery. There will also be two mountain batteries and two garrison artillery companies. While the field artillery has been increased, the garrison artillery companies have been materially reduced. Under the old scheme there were eight garrison artillery companies in New Zealand, and now there will be only two, one of these being Auckland, and the other Wellington. - 173 South Island ports the garrison artillery are thus to disappear altogether. In substitution there will be big six-inpv lowitzer batteries. Apparently in the defence authorities are adopting the' lessons of the war, preferring other means than solely relying on fixed defences for the' protection of harbors. From the distribution of the various unite under the new scheme it will noticed that most of the specialists are. to be concentrated in the cities. On mobilisation quite a number of small • units will be required to be furnished by engineers, army service corps, medical corps and signallers, and it is considered these can be better trained and supplied from central depots, such as are now provided for. The strength of the three commands in “other ranks” under the scheme will be: Northern Command: 16 units; total, 7125. ■ Central Command: 18 units; total, I 7576.

Southern Command: 1 9 units; total. 7675.

The total strengths of the various arms in ‘father ranks” throughout the Dominion will thus be: Mounted Rifles 4,500 Infantry 12,000 Field Artillery 1,250 Heavy Bats. Garrison Artillery . 600 Garrison Artillery Companies .. 600 Mountain Batteries 125 Field Engineers 900 Signallers 450 Army Service Corps 600 Medical Corps 750 Railway Engineers 900 Grand total .22,675