THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
431 
believe tliem to be invaluable, and I hope to see them introduced into 
our army, but not hampering the infantry by being rigidly attached to 
them.” 
For bush and mountain warfare the mitrailleur^ does not seem well 
adapted, except perhaps for defence of field works or stockades, if the 
ground be sufficiently clear.f Some Catling guns of 0'45-in. bore were 
sent out to the coast of Africa for service in the Ashantee War; but, so 
far as we have heard, these have not proved so usefulJ as the small 
guns,§ which have also been employed there. 
However portable such arms may be made, they would be useless 
against the weakest defences, as well as in broken rocky ground, where 
the moral effect produced, even by a small shell, is great, particularly 
when nations more or less uncivilised are in question. 
It may be remarked that mitrailleurs require flank support by 
infantry, when in action, even more than artillery does. Both at 
Paris and Le Mans the Prussian skirmishers captured mitrailleurs by 
avoiding their direct fire, advancing on their flank and then closing in. 
Conceding that mitrailleurs should be brought into the field for 
defensive purposes, we have to settle whether they should be attached 
to infantry or cavalry, or form part of the artillery of an army. Our 
own Committee and the military opinion of most other nations are in 
favour of making them a supplementary part of the artillery force, as 
has been the case, so far, when they have been used in actual war. 
To attach machine guns to infantry would hamper the movements of 
the latter, who would also, as a rule, select ground for advance not 
suitable to wheeled carriages. The Hungarian Giovernment, indeed, 
proposes to attach mitrailleurs to regiments of militia, to give moral 
and material support; but such a scheme seems radically wrong. 
The duties required of the personnel of mitrailleur batteries are quite 
distinct from those of infantry, and both officers and men should be 
highly trained in the tactical use of their particular arm. 
It has been suggested that mitrailleurs should be attached to each 
cavalry regiment for use with piquets, and in covering an advance or 
retreat. Cavalry, it is said, act principally in an open country, where 
mitrailleurs would be specially effective. But, on the other hand, in 
* A small Gatling, to fire from a tripod, was proposed for mountain warfare, but it turned out 
a failure when tried. 
f We find, indeed, that 50 Gatling guns of 0’45-in. bore have been made in the United States fof 
service with troops on the frontier. The Director of Ordnance, in his Report of 1873 (to Secretary 
of State for War) says, regarding them:-—“These guns are of such dimensions and weights as to 
be easily transported on pack animals. Their efficiency can only be tested by use; but it is 
thought they will be far more effective in Indian warfare than the mountain howitzer heretofore in 
use/’ Whether this opinion is correct or not must depend on the nature of the country operated in. 
On the flat western prairies they might be very effective. 
X Major Rait, C.B., has informed me, since the above was written, that these mitrailleurs were 
found cumbersome, and so top-heavy on the rough road traversed, that the fittings, sights, &c., 
had to be removed for travelling. They were not taken further than the Prah. These Gatlings 
were mounted on special carriages. 
§ 7-pr. steel R.M.L* * * § (Some 4§-in. bronze howitzers, S.B., weighing 280 lbs., were found to be 
too heavy for carriage). 
