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(iii.) BARRACKS.
No special arrangements are required for the housing of troops in barracks. When distributed for defence the majority of the garrison will be accommodated under canvas or in mat-sheds, the barracks in cantonments being guarded by the two Reserves.
·(D.)-Action by Officer Commanding Royal Artillery.
Personnel. The distribution of the personnel is detailed in Chapter II (B). The established number of artillerymen being insufficient to fully man all the guns of the fixed and movable armament, even without any relief or any reserve, recourse must on emergency, if possible, be had to reinforcing the batteries on one front by gunners withdrawn from another; and assistance will be afforded by the infantry, some of whom are trained, according to the sections to which they belong, to assist in working heavy guns, or to work the movable armament, including machine-guns. A list of men so trained is given in Chapter II (B).
Guns.-The guns are all complete in the forts, the movable armament being with few exceptions in reserve.
It is most desirable that the howitzers should without delay be placed in the positions assigned to them in this Scheme, viz., in groups of three at the points marked H, H2, &c., on the map. Those at H 1 and H 4 being 8-inch howitzers, and the others 6 6-inch howitzers, their great weight, the deficient means of transport, and the difficulty of dragging them up the steep and winding paths to get them into position would all tend to render their removal on the out- break of war a work of extreme difficulty, which should not be postponed until then. In view of local conditions the howitzers should, indeed, not be looked upon practically as "movable armament." Two of the 8-inch howitzers are already placed in position at H 4 (Lyemun), and the ammunition for them is in the fort magazine there. One 6 6-inch howitzer is also placed there for practice, but will have to be moved to one of the southern batteries. One 8-inch howitzer, with its ammunition, still remains at Stonecutter's East, whence it should be removed to Lyemun. If the remaining howitzers are not previously moved into position, the Officer Commanding Royal Artillery will immediately arrange for drawing them from the arsenal and dragging them over the hills into position, obtaining for this purpose a large amount of coolie transport from the Army Service Corps.
He will also at the same time arrange for moving the 9-pr. battery into its allotted positions, viz., half near the Wong-nei-Chong Gap, and half near the Sandy Bay Gap, on the Pokfulum Road.
The mountain batteries and machine-gun companies will be kept in reserve until required.
Ammunition.- He will make sure that the full complement of ammunition is stored in the fort magazine.
Immediate steps should be taken to draw from the main magazines :-
1. The ammunition for the 9-pr. battery (100 rounds per gun), which should be sent with the half batteries.
2. The 200 cartridges for the 10-inch R.M.L. guns for which at present there is no room in Kowloon West Battery, and which, if that accommodation is not in the meantime provided, will have to be placed in field magazines to be erected for the purpose.
3. The fuzes and tubes for the fort guns, half of which are, at present, kept in Ordnance Store.
4. The full complement of ammunition for equipment of the remaining movable armament.
The Officer Commanding Royal Artillery will, of course, be in possession of the Rules for Harbour Traffic which are contained in Schedule XI, Chapter III (E).
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