THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
497 
keeping it. Let me give you an idea of Low guns are taken in action 
in these days of breech-loading small-arms. 
“ At Lipa, near Sadowa, ten Austrian guns fell into the hands of the Prussians, 
their teams having been shot down from a distance almost entirely by a section of 
the Pusileers of the Guards. 
“ Out of the 113 pieces taken from the Austrians in actual fight, 108 were taken 
by infantry, and almost all by swarms of skirmishers. The method of attack was 
always the same. The skirmishers got under cover within range of their rifles, 
and thus knocked over men and horses; they then charged the battery, generally 
speaking abandoned by its infantry escort, and with three-fourths of its horses 
down, the battery fell an easy prey.” 
Now, this Austrian artillery behaved heroically; it fired case shot to 
the last, and covered the retreat of the army. 
That is to be our field artilleryman's fate, unless we are better backed 
than were the gallant Austrian gunners ! 
But how is this backing to be managed ? 
The fire of modern small-arms is deadly at 500 yards; at 800 it is 
formidable; and even at 1200 yards, with the Martini-Henry, it is some* 
thing serious. 
A flat trajectory will avail you much; but if your opponents of the 
■ infantry are under cover, even at these short distances your guns will 
do so little that the expenditure of ammunition would not be justifiable. 
What is to be done, then, with these skirmishers ? 
Every flattery when engaged should have a permanent escort—not 
only theoretically, as at present, but practically—and that escort must 
on no pretence whatsover abandon its charge, as was the case with the 
Austrians. 
If the enemy's skirmishers advance against a battery, they must be 
met by skirmishers, especially on their flanks. If men and horses are 
being shot down by light infantry, one of two things must be done : the 
battery must retreat at once, or the escort, strengthened if necessary, 
must drive back the skirmishers. 
Thus far I am clear; but suppose the battery has to advance 1000 
yards at a trot and gallop, where would be your infantry escort ? 
I see nothing for it but to detail a cavalry escort to cover the advance 
in extended order, and to retire by the flank as soon as the battery has 
got into action, the cavalry being relieved by the infantry escort. This 
is complicated, but something of the sort appears inevitable. 
It would seem that now, more than ever, a battery in action must be 
dry-nursed; that the General under whose orders it acts, should be 
impressed with the indubitable fact that a battery of field artillery is, 
like’ gold, a very valuable possession; and that in proportion to its value, 
it is all the more likely to be robbed from him, unless he guards it with 
all the care that he bestows on his purse. 
In my own experience of service, escorts to batteries were often told 
off, but they invariably were left behind on the advance of the battery, 
and rarely came up to it again, being ordered off elsewhere and other¬ 
wise employed. This must no longer be permitted, on pain of the loss 
of our guns. 
[VOL. VI.] 
65 
