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THE RUSSIAN FIELD ARTILLERY 
IN THE 
WAR OE 1877-78. 
(Translated from the “ Memorial de Artilleria.”) 
BY 
CAPT. J. C. DALTON, R.A. 
Introduction. 
Captain Politovski, in tke Russian “ Diary of Artillery,” gives under 
this Heading a series of articles, in which he describes the operations 
of his battery during this campaign. 
These writings have an eminently practical character, for the author, 
instead of (as might be supposed from the title) treating of all the 
artillery operations, as a whole, limits himself to describing the incidents 
in which he was an actor or present as a witness, noting all the minutiae 
of his battery or of those which were in his immediate neighbourhood 
on the field of battle, and deducing therefrom such lessons as he 
deemed the case required. 
The merit of this publication is that principles and ideas of great 
utility, as regards details, can be gathered from it; and for this reason 
we have thought it suitable to give to our readers, leaving it in Captain 
Politovskhs own words, and taking the liberty of ourselves making a 
few notes to draw attention to the many resemblances we discover in 
his writings between the Russian and Spanish artillery. 
Part I. 
Without entering into an extensive dissertation on the advantages 
and disadvantages of our (Russian) field guns, I wish to describe, in 
these lines,, such events as may help us to form an opinion as to the 
services our artillery has rendered in certain cases, and also as to the 
services that it might have rendered. 
Although I expound my personal opinion^ I shall be very grateful if 
my brother officers, or any other person, will corroborate or challenge 
my remarks. I ask this in the interests of the artillery arm generally* 
The events I mention are mostly from a note book which I kept up 
at odd times, sometimes during the battle, at others when it was over 
while all was yet fresh and vividly impressed on my mind. Regarding 
