120 
ACHIEVEMENTS OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
to a flat-topped mound where he intended them to rest. The hostile 
guns meanwhile turned a rapid fire of common shells with percussion 
fuzes upon him. 
The absence of reliable non-commissioned officers compelled him to 
adjust every fuze himself, and to this task he deliberately set himself, 
opening a methodical and careful fire of time shrapnel. His first shell 
was short; his second fell amongst a team in rear and did great 
execution; while his third burst about the correct distance short of the 
Servian batteries. With this length of fuze, therefore, he continued to 
fire, still adjusting each with his own hands, for six minutes; at the 
end of which brief period the Servian guns had had enough, and 
limbering up with great difficulty and with severe losses, both of men 
and horses, were taken out of action. 
How trivial is the effect of the projectile which the Germans accom¬ 
plished their achievements in 1870 compared with that which may be 
looked for from modern shrapnel is unmistakeably indicated by the 
story of this miniature artillery duel. 
The ground (Colonel 0*Callaghan, who examined it carefully, tells 
us) on which the Bulgarian guns were served was admirably suited for 
developing the full effect of percussion common shell. It was hard and 
gravelly, and here there was no chance of shells being “ smothered,” 
as those of the Egyptians were at Magfar. Eight guns were opposed to 
two, and only one man was available to do the most important part of the 
service of those two; naturally, therefore, many more projectiles were 
discharged by the larger number. In point of fact 27 grazes or small 
craters were counted round the wheel and trail marks of Captain 
Matthieff’s guns; “yet,” to quote that officer himself, “what did they 
kill ?—a horse—he is there ! ” That was all that the concentrated 
efforts of eight guns firing the projectile that won Vionville for six 
minutes was equal to. 
With reference to the effect of shrapnel, we may best give Colonel 
O’Callaghan’s evidence in his own words :—“ Riding over to the other 
side of the valley, across which this interesting duel had been fought, 
we had little difficulty in finding the position which had been occupied 
by the Servian guns. Rags, bandages, scattered pieces of uniforms 
and harness, all bore mute witness of the lawyer’s skilful shooting, and 
showed that the eight guns had been beaten, and well beaten by the 
two, before they acknowledged that fact by limbering up. 
A better comparison of the two natures of projectiles, time shrapnel 
and percussion common, could scarcely be made. Both were used 
under the most favourable conditions : that is to say, the shrapnel were 
used with nerve and consummate skill, while the common were favoured 
by ground that might be termed ideal.” 
Do we cherish but a vain hope, therefore, when we trust that, armed 
with the newer projectile, guns may look forward in the future to sur¬ 
passing the achievements of 1870 ? 
For two guns to put eight out of action under any circumstances is a 
splendid performance, but to do so in six minutes is so brilliant an one 
that any nation and any army might well be proud of ifc. When 
we remember that this feat was accomplished by guns which had 
