HOME GUARD

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21366, 10 March 1941, Page 4

HOME GUARD

HAMILTON BATTALION REALISTIC EXERCISES MANOEUVRES ON SATURDAY On Saturday the lst Battalion of the Hamilton Home Guard conducwd a most realistic and instructive field exercise a! Rotokauri on the properties kindly lent for the manoeuvres by Messrs Clark, Lee and McGowan. Shortly after one o’clock Rugby Park was the scene of great activity. The private cars of the assembling Guardsmen, close on 50 great lorries lent for the day by many Hamilton firms, and some 15 vehicles representing Red Cross Ambulancu, all converged on the park. The Guardsmen on point duty successlully handled this traffic problem without a hitch. By 1.45 p.m. the battalion was drawn up on parade. Parallel with the battalion were six imposing columns of motor vehicles position with military precision under the command of the transport om, Mr C. Kendal. On the battalion’s flank the Red ,Cross Ambulance unit was drawn up in column, with their drivers standing at the head of their cars and the V.A. Detachment drawn up in 'line in the centre 0! their column under Sister H. J. S. Johnston. The detachment looked very neat and efficient in their Red Cross uniforms. Certain instructions were then given to the battalion and company (*r/vmmanders by Major A. E. U: 15.0., who was acting as 15'. :1 Commander for the day as g: zusumed that other troops wen: engaged and Captain T. H. Melrose acted as Brigadier. Precision and Control Just prior to two o‘clock the motorcycle platoon set out as the screaa to the vanguard and at two o‘clock a plane, piloted by Mr Butler. dropped an aeroplane message on the park. The battalion then embussed and the precision and the control with which this movement was accomplished was worthy of seasoned troops. The whole column then set out for its destination and made a most imposing sight. The Mayor, Mr H. D. Caro, the Area Commandant, Captain J. Oliphant, M.C., and. Lieutenant-Colonel McFarland, M.C., were present and were impressed by the sight and the elficiency displayed. The country in which the manoeuvres were conducted at. Rotokauri could hardly have been bettered. It consisted of rolling downs, ridge features, scrub and wooded clumps. The whole operation, which i was a problem in defence, was carried out most successfully and must have given the officers and men splendid instruction in the way a battalion operates in present-day war- ! fare. To a layman it was astonish- ‘ ing to see the way motor-cycles could ‘ operate over farm land, the parking of the motor-vehicles, the way bodies of men moved over the country and took up a position according to a prearranged plan, the working ot the Regimental Aid Post by the V.A.‘s and medical unit, the flashing of sig- } nals by lamp and flag to all parts of tthe battalion area and even to the provision for sightseers and their cars. The release of messages by pigeon to Area Headquarters was even done, the birds being lent by the Hamilton Homing Pigeon Club. ‘ Throughout the whole assembly, imove and operation the stall . arrangements were excellent. i High Standard Shown 3 Everything right down to the ‘ smallest detail of the whole exercise had been provided for and the time calculations proved to be exact. lt spoke volumes for the organisation, especially as the troops are only in the course of being trained. It gave a slight inkling of the vast amount of staff work that must have been involved and the organisation re‘quired before General Wavell could successfully launch his Libyan carnpaign with its problems or supply. equipment, distance and all the hundred and one difficulties that arise in the movement of a large modern mechanised army over barren and difficult country occupied by the enemy. The highlight of the day was when an enemy plane piloted by Mr Butler “bombed” the transport park and some of the companies. The plane flipped over a belt 0! trees, circled and dived and gave a real thrill to those on the ground as it cleared the vehicles and men with only a few feet to spare. The battalion reassembled at five o’clock and dismissed at Rugby Park at 5.45 pm. after a most successful afternoon's exercise. If other Home Guard units in New Zealand are reaching the same standard of emciency in tactical work as the Hamilton Battalion it will not be long before we have a really dependable and efficient force that could give a very good account of itself it invasion of our shores_ were attempted.