CAB11-57-7 — Page 42

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CHAPTER IV.

GENERAL DUTIES OF SECTION COMMANDERS.

The Section Commanders are appointed by name in Garrison Orders, and when- ever they are temporarily absent their places are filled by similar notification.

They keep themselves familiarized with the character of the area comprised in their commands, with all details of troops and materiel assigned to their Sections, and with the objects and duties severally entrusted to them. On mobilization they will be directly responsible to the General Commanding for at once reporting any deficiencies, for maintaining the discipline and efficiency of the troops placed under their charge, and for the due performance of the duties entrusted to them.

In active operations Section Commanders will, so far as is compatible with their responsibility, leave the working of the arms other than their own to the Senior Officers of those arms respectively.

During the season from November to April the garrisons of the various Sections have been frequently exercised in defence of their respective Sections from attack by troops landed at different places on the south side. The whole direction of the defence has been left to the Section Commanders, and at the close of the day's operations all faulty dispositions have as far as possible been pointed out to the troops concerned. This work has taken place in every Section, and the garrisons have had practical opportunity of testing the different positions for rifles and field-guns which were adapted to meet the varying modes and directions of attack. In some cases the lessons gained by practical working on the ground have led to a slight alteration in the position of the guns allotted to the defence, but, as a rule, the positions assigned to guns and to the garrisons of the various Sections have during the past season fairly coincided with those taken up in previous years against attacks from the same directions.

All the positions for the field-guns require some levelling, and in most it will be advantageous to throw up an epaulment to cover them. From one to three days' work would at most be sufficient to complete this, and the few shelter-trenches or cover for infantry fire which experience has suggested.

The directions of attacks on the various Sections are clearly indicated by the configuration of the ground, and these attacks have been sufficiently treated of in Chapter II, under the heading "Modes of Meeting various Attacks." If an enemy's landing instead of taking place in the bays on the south shore should be effected on one of its promontories, its direction will still fall within one of the lines of advance already considered.

As regards an attempt to force the harbour entrances, attacks have been made at night by a flotilla of launches, representing cruisers and torpedo-boats, on each harbour entrance when all the batteries were manned, the submarine mining made effective, and the whole attack made as realistic as possible. In all these attacks boats have crept in to attempt to destroy the submarine mining cables, but in each case were discovered by the garrisons on shore.

The search and beam lights at Stonecutters, Belchers, and Lyemun have all been revised, and within about four months Lyemun will have a search-light and two fixed beams, but all in temporary emplacements until the permanent sites are fixed on. Belchers has all its engines and dynamos fixed and in working order, providing for two fixed beams and one search-light, but the permament site of these electric light emplacements have not yet been fixed on. Stonecutters has two dynamos and engines fixed ready for use, and another dynamo and engine in course of erection will be ready for use almost immediately; this provides for two fixed beams and one search- light, but no permanent emplacements are yet provided, the three projectors being mounted in temporary sheds.

Last season, as in previous years, attacks have also been made by men sent round by launches on all harbour works, and the garrisons of Lyemun, Stonecutters, and Belchers have all been exercised in resisting attacks both by day and by night.

It seems that actual practical experience given to the Officer Commanding and

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