R.A.I. PRIZE ESSAY, 1876 . 
445 
would not avail so fully to detach such a force from the artillery 
originally engaged; as this latter must continue to hold the enemy to 
a convenient attitude, and to employ, as far as possible, his whole 
attention. 
The same advantages are attained more completely by a successful 
flank attack, delivered by a wing composed of all arms; and this will, 
no doubt, be generally preferred to the arduous enterprise of the present 
frontal attack; but it is without the scope of this essay. 
The artillery of the main body of a defensive force , owning, equally with 
the artillery of the attack, the duty of self-devotion towards the ulti¬ 
mate establishment of the success of its infantry, under the same 
condition as to the absolute necessity of opportuneness of action, both 
as to place and time, must recognise, nevertheless, a vast modification 
of the mutual relations and requirements between the artillery and 
infantry. Whereas, with the attack, it was evident that the infantry 
could not attain its end without extraneous assistance, which had to 
be sought in artillery fire; so now, with the defence, it is clear that 
the infantry will achieve success and defeat the purpose of the assailant, 
in the absence of extraneous interference; and to provide, as far as 
may be, such absence—that is, to ward off, obstruct, and endeavour to 
put an end to such interference—the artillery fire of the defence must 
be had recourse to. 
Naturally, the first use of artillery, in the defence as in the attack, 
will be towards, reconnaissance and the compelling of the enemy to 
declare himself and deploy; and the defendant, by his presumably 
greater acquaintance with the ground, will probably be enabled to 
utilise very advanced positions, impeding the preliminary action of the 
assailant, and gaining valuable time for his own. But eventually such 
advanced posts will have to be brought in, under the protection of 
more retired batteries; and the assailant developing a powerful artil¬ 
lery, whose ultimate object will be the crushing of the infantry defence, 
the problem of counteracting it must be undertaken. 
The principle of applying the artillery by successive parts—the 
leading batteries to engage and tempt the enemy into committing 
himself to dispositions of which the succeeding batteries are to take 
immediate and decisive advantage, and so on—may not be neglected in 
an energetic defence; the more particularly if the position has been 
selected, as is generally so highly to be recommended, with a view to 
its capabilities for delivering offensive returns. It is, no doubt, to be 
supposed that the assailant will generally be able to carry the system 
of extension and outflanking to a greater length than the defendant ; 
but he will be liable to suffer severely in such manoeuvres, owing to 
the defenders superior knowledge of the ground and of the ranges, 
whilst the latter, having presumably superior positions, and protected 
by natural or artificial cover, will experience comparatively little loss or 
hindrance. Still, the superiority of fire must be expected to be estab¬ 
lished by the artillery of the attack ; whilst that of the defence, having 
engaged it from the time of its first coming within effective range, and 
having compelled, at the same distance, the deployment of the infantry 
