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RUSSIAN FIELD ARTILLERY. 
to the coal; and smoke shortly began to issue from the windows of the 
upper story. The enemy abandoned the post, and took refuge behind 
the wagons on the terreplein of the permanent way, from which they 
kept up a brisk fire. 
Hundreds of bullets directed against the battery induced us to reply 
with shrapnel in the direction of the wagons. This excellent projectile 
did its duty satisfactorily ; The change from common shell to shrapnel 
was effected almost instantaneously, without any hitch or mistakes in 
the length of fuze; it is true that the officers kept a careful watch. The 
sponge was barely into the bore before the No. 1 had laid the gun, not 
waiting for it to be loaded; in this manner the number who was 
preparing the fuze was not hurried, nor had the No. 1 to wait for him. 
This method is not according to regulation, but it certainly was effective, 
and the firing was kept up without interuption, and with great accuracy. 
In the meantime the flames had spread to all the buildings of the 
station. 
The enemy exerted himself to place a battery on the right of the 
station; this attempt cost him the loss of two guns, the men and horses 
of which were put hors de combat by No. 6 battery. 
I am impressed with the firm conviction that it is impossible to hold 
out against a battery firing shrapnel. The result of our first action 
exercised a beneficial influence over all the succeeding ones ; the good 
effect of our guns made a favourable impression on the gunners, in 
whose faces one could read the confidence they possessed in their 
pieces, and in the certainty of a successful issue. Although we had 
been within effective range of the enemy's small-arms (1700 paces for 
the Peabody rifle), we had no one killed; the enemy's infantry did not 
understand taking advantage of the moment when the battery was 
changing its position. Keeping one shrapnel shell ready for each gun 
in case of emergency, we now returned to common shell, in order to 
demolish the wagons, in which it appeared to us the Turks were loading 
war material. Anyhow, it was deemed advisable to fire some wagons 
which obscured the camp from our view; for, whether the Turks had 
placed them there for that purpose, or whether they came there 
accidentally, they were prejudicial to us in either case. A few yards 
behind the wagons, the Turks were constructing a small redoubt for 
two ranks of infantry to fire from; although this was nearly completed, 
it was not quite so. The wagons obscured the redoubt, of whose 
existence we were ignorant; but afterwards we found out that the 
greater part of the common shell, which passed through the lines of 
wagons, had burst close to the redoubt, causing considerable losses. 
After two series of rounds we ceased firing, or rather were obliged 
to do so, because a dense volume of smoke and flames, partly from the 
burning, and partly from the firing, prevented us from seeing what 
was going on in the station. In front, and on the right, we heard rapid 
musketry fire going on, interrupted from time to time by volleys. The 
attacking force of the left was approaching the station. 
There is no more fatal moment for the artilleryman in action than 
when he hears such a remark as this—“ It looks very much as if we 
were firing on our own troops." This unnerves all energy, and destroys 
