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ARMY TRAINING

TYPICAL BRIGADE AREA ARMOURED VEHICLE & OTHER UNITS. GUNNERS & MOUNTED RIFLES. (Contributed) In an Army brigade area recently visited—one typical of others in various parts of New Zealand several hundred square miles of flat or undulating farm country and nearby ranges of hills form the tiaining ground. At any time of the day and frequently at night it is impossible to move far without encounteiing a oodv of troops engaged in some military task. The first of two days in the area was spent by the writer, accompanied by Press photographers and a Government cine camera man, on a general tour of the brigade s field of operations. A first call was made at the headciuarters of the Independent Mounted Rifle unit in that district. I.M.R. formations are not part of divisional troops and in this instance are administered through the local brigade. I.M.R. Headquarters occupies an abandoned boarding house in a small hamlet. The work that has been done to make the old building habitable and reasonably comfortable is yet another instance of how units similarly situated in “field” camps throughout the Dominion have shown resource and an ability to help themselves. Later the visitors were shown the horse lines in the shelter of a belt of trees. The O.C. was asked about his unit's particular job in the general scheme. He nodded to the nearby hill country. “I rather think we will be looking after those hills,” he said. “There is much country hereabouts that motor vehicles could not negotiate but it would be no trouble to mounted troops. If anything did happen in this locality we would be able to cover that country with scouts and if necessary use our whole force for harassing tactics against the enemy.” The personnel of this unit are drawn largely from the surrounding district. Most of them arc farmers with an intimate knowledge of the hills over which they may have to fight. Their mounts are a good class and include many splendid looking animals. Later in the afternoon one section displayed their prowess over hurdles. The personnel, many of them veterans of the last war mounted units, are keen and look fit for any job that might come their way. We watched the Independent Mounted Rifle Unit on tactical exercises. An advance was staged across one of the Dominion’s large rivers. First came the advance guard through the swirling stream and then the remainder of the unit, squadron by squadron. The O.C. watched the rear squadrons forging through the swift-flowing water up to the knees of the riders. “I think that would worry your armoured vehicles,” he said with a smile. The horses also jumped hedges, climbed up and slithered down the sides of a. steep spur, and finally permitted themselves to be photographed in a picturesque group of men and horses during a bivouac for lunch.

The main attraction on the afternoon’s training programme was a live mortar shoot held on an open beach. A large official audience consisted of new recruits to the brigade who had not previously seen this vicious infantry weapon in action. At the conclusion of the shoot a short visit was made to the headquarters of an artillery unit. Headquarters of this battery, which is armed with heavy howitzers, is a country hall, and here again the unit has produced its own carpenters to erect partitions dividing the floor into men’s, sergeants’ and officers’ messes. The main camp is located nearby in a wellsheltered hollow. The gun park is a former school playground. A short run to another part of the area brought the visitors to the camp of an armoured fighting vehicle regiment. Some of the regiment’s fleet of vehicles were out on reconnaissance and the remainder were being used for instructional purposes at the camp. The regiment has its own recently constituted school of instruction staffed by personnel of the regiment who have attended a special instructor’s course at the N.Z. Armoured Fighting Vehicle School. When the present intensive course is completed all personnel will know how to operate their vehicles under war conditions, and what is equally important, how to keep them running. All drivers are required to have a complete knowledge of road maintenance. Repairs requiring workshop attention can be carried out by the Light Aid Detachment attacheci to the regiment. Still another camp in this part of the area is occupied by a completely mechanised field battery. Officers and gunners know their job but that does not mean any let-up in training. The battery spends much time moving about the countryside selecting and occupying new gun positions. This, besides being excellent training, also gives the gunners valuable knowledge of their own battle area.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAITA19420818.2.58

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 August 1942, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
785

ARMY TRAINING Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 August 1942, Page 4

ARMY TRAINING Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 August 1942, Page 4

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