DENMARK. 41 



ARTILLERY PRACTICE. 



Denmark has, for many years, been troubled by lack of 

 sufficient appropriation to carry out the improvements in its 

 artillery materiel that its officers have desired. Recently 

 extensive trials have been made of all the most improved 

 systems of rapid-fire field guns, and, as a result of the reports 

 of these trials, large sums have been appropriated for new 

 materiel which will probably soon result in a revision of its 

 system of target practice. 



After the usual preliminary drills and instructions in the 

 theory of ballistics, and in the use of the sights against 

 targets of different kinds, the field-artillery practices at the 

 range nearest to the garrison, in firing with loaded ammuni- 

 tion, and when these exercises are completed, each battery in 

 turn is sent for several days to one of the target grounds for 

 field practice. One of these grounds, situated at a day's 

 march from Copenhagen, covers several square miles of roll- 

 ing country with a surface varied by forests, pastures, culti- 

 vated, sandy, and swampy land, with some fences and stone 

 walls and a few buildings ; but generally open and affording 

 admirable positions for imaginary warfare. 



The exercises here are based upon a tactical supposition 

 which is so contrived as to give practice in the work that 

 would be required of a battery in action. The targets are 

 made to represent as nearly as possible the appearance of the 

 enemy against whom the fire is to be directed, and the battery 

 and its commander have no more knowledge of the nature or 

 position of this target than in actual warfare they would have 

 about the enemy. For instance, a battery commander is 

 told to take up a position on a certain little hill and fire 

 against another battery in position on the right of the red 

 farmhouse with two chimneys, or against a line of skirmish- 

 ers in the cornfield to the left of a certain forest, or to take 

 up a position to prevent hostile cavalry from crossing a cer- 

 tain point, etc. In any event the target is not usually seen 

 by the battery commander until he arrives on the spot. He 

 must then find the target, select the ground for the guns, 

 estimate the distance, decide upon the ammunition, fuse, etc., 

 and take such measures that in coming into battery his men 

 and horses are not too much exposed to hostile fire. In the 

 latter case he may be obliged to fire with only a few of his 

 guns and even then with reduced effect. 



