Hello,

I have come across a newspaper account of an address, given on 11th January 1918 to men and officers of the New Zealand Division at the 'New Zealand Corps Theatre' by Major General Leonard Wood of the U S Army.

From a subsequent search I see that Wood was on a tour of inspection of the Western Front in Jan 1918.

Does anyone have any ideas where the 'NZ Corps Theatre' might have been?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Joanna

I don't know off hand Joanna, but it could have been an existing civilian theatre, or a specially-constructed theatre, or a handy building. I imagine it was one of the first two options. I'll keep a look-out.

Many thanks Kate. The use of the word "Theatre" by the newspaper could have been quite arbitrary, and as you say, it could have been 'a handy building' - anywhere.

I'll transcribe the talk here tomorrow. Meanwhile, maybe some of our New Zealand friends might have some ideas.

Joanna

An interesting name for the theatre. From an infantry perspective, New Zealand fielded a division not a corps. There was, however, a New Zealand Machine Gun Corps. I don't recall mention of this place in the NZ MG Corps' history but will check when I get home.

Robert

Robert - thank you. It does seem a strange name. I will be interested to see what you find.

Below is General Wood's address:







Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14565, 28 March 1918, Page 5





AMERICA’S PART IN THE WAR



LECTURE BY GENERAL WOOD



“IN TO THE VERY END.”





The Rev. Charles Dobson, Assistant Principal Chaplain of the New Zealand Division, has forwarded the Nelson Colonist the following report of an address delivered at the New Zealand Corps Theatre on January 11^th by Major General Leonard Wood, of the United States Army.



“When the Army Commander suggested that I should come and have a talk to the officers and men of the New Zealand Division, I was only too glad to accede,” said the General. “You are situated as we are. You have come a long way, and it is rather a difficult matter to go home on leave. Well, to begin with, let me say we have not entered the war with the idea that we are coming over here to finish it. But we are coming to help you to finish the war. If we do as well in the days to come as you have done until now, we will, indeed, have something to be proud of. What you have achieved makes us proud that we speak the same language. We have been a long time coming in. This is neither the time nor the place to dilate upon the reasons of that delay. But, remember that we are 2000 miles distant by sea, and it is 3000 miles across our country, and there were many problems to be considered before we made so momentous a decision. Now, however, we are coming in with everything we have got, and we are going to see it through. You have seen the declaration by our Government. Everything we have goes into this war. We are not coming in in an ordinary way. We are coming in to assist you people in achieving a final and decisive victory. It is not going to mean the end of war. Only fools talk like that. There will be war, probably, as long as the world last.



“We have had a big job to get ready,” continued the speaker. “For many years there has existed a strong and influential party in America which insisted that there would be no more war; that arbitration would settle all disputes.



“Now, what are we going to do? Our draft provides for 10,000,000 men. That went through without a kick from anyone. Ten million, however, will not be forthcoming. We will, however, have at least 5,000,000, and will keep up an army of 2,000,000. To bring these men across to France and maintain reinforcements, means control of the sea. Your Navy has given us that. Our Navy is doing what it can. But the British Navy, within a few weeks, swept the second largest navy in the world from the seas, and made transportation possible. We could not have come, you could not have come, had it been otherwise.



“At the present time we have 1,400,000 men either in the training camps in America or in the war theatre. Only a small proportion is here, but they are coming as fast as they can, and 1,200,000 of this number will arrive eventually. In addition to building up a great army, there are other problems to face. For instance, we are not only feeding ourselves, but we are doing a great deal towards feeding our Allies. Three hundred and eighty thousand of our National Guard have been turned into troops. Many of them are here now. Our force of 100,000 regulars has been expanded to 350,000. But this work of expansion involves great difficulties. We need 250,000 officers. We actually had 190,000 officers in the Civil War, and that was a small affair by comparison. If we had had universal training, we would have had an army of two or three millions to move over in a few weeks. You know how difficult it is to create an efficient army! We have now in training 1,350,000. Next February comes another big increment of probably a million men. They have to be equipped. But they are coming, and coming to stay. This is not only a war for the adjustment of grievances. We feel that it is a fight for the survival of the people who speak the English language. We believe it is a war for right. Our people are not coming with a hurrah type of enthusiasm. They are coming because they feel that they must. It is a sort of Crusade. It is a war for justice and international fair dealing. We are not at war with any class of people in Germany, but we are at war with every man and every dollar against us. It is not a war of passion, but of reason, though there may be reason for passion amongst you men who have suffered here in Flanders. America comes in viewing it in the light of a real crusade – a holy war, and we must put into it everything we have got. It is not going to be as easy as we thought, but we will see it through.



“Reverting to the question of the training of officers,” said the General, “this is one of our biggest problems. We have had for four years camps where men came by thousands for training. They were men who felt there was war ‘in the air.’ Thirty thousand men went through these camps. Some of them were too old. We had bishops serving in the ranks. They wanted to down the heresy of quick and incomplete training. They did not want to see their people murdered. We had professors behind the idea of universal service, which is the very foundation of democracy – equality of obligation going hand-in-hand with opportunity and privilege. Thirty thousand of these men went forward preaching this, and that is why our first draft went through so easily.



“In our camps we provide for a class known as ‘The Slicker.’ It is where a man serves in the least dangerous kind of job. We don’t like to call him a ‘Slacker,’ but we call him a ‘Slicker.’ A year ago we put 60,000 men into training. Most of these were University men and capable young business men; 45,000 of these have gone through as officers. In another camp we are training 18,000 officers, and a third such camp is being formed now. Most of these men should be shoulder-to-shoulder with you early this spring, and we ought to be here in increasing numbers every month after that. You New Zealanders have come because you are part of the Empire. That does not apply to us. But we knew you were in the right, and now, thank God, we are in it.



“America has entered the war because the issue is one on which the real future of the world depends. We have plenty of resources and plenty of money. If I ever had a high opinion of any soldier, I certainly have of the men who have won these slopes, and who have advanced over this seemingly impassable country, and have done what you have done. We are coming to take the lesson you have taught us, and to stay with you to the very end.”



The meeting concluded with cheers for General Wood and the American Army.

Doesn't look as though Corps was a misread for Division, as this in mentioned earlier in the paragraph.

Robert

Yes, though it was a newspaper publication!

In the fourth paragraph of his speech, the General mentions 'here in Flanders'.

Joanna

You're not suggesting...

Flanders fits, as this is where the New Zealand Division was situated until they moved down to Picardy.

Robert

Just bringing this up to the top - so some fresh eyes may take a look...

JH

Or some not-so-fresh eyes that have just arrived back in the country and now have access to primary sources again

Robert

Hmm... A new pair of specs earlier this year, and a big consumption of Optrex - are my eyes trying to tell me something?

'Primary sources'??

Joanna

From pg 111 of "Ways and By-Ways of a Singing Kiwi" I'm getting mention of theatres at Nieppe and Dickebusche.

Then from "The Wellington Regt (NZEF) - I think a little before 11th Jan 1918, "While at Walker Camp, some attended a lecture by Major General Wood, USA Army, on 'America at War.'

Does anyone know if Walker Camp was fairly close to Dickebusche, please?

Joanna

No mention of the theatre in the history of the NZ Machine Gun Corps.

Robert

Many thanks indeed for checking that, Robert.