ARTILLERY POSITIONS AND SCREENING GUNS. 
77 
When either in rear of the crest or 200 to 300 yards away, the 
limbers could then have fresh trays and horses supplied to them from 
the wagons when the latter came up. 
As to there being a delay in limbering up, which system is the most 
likely to cause it ? 
(1.) A rapid advance of the limbers to the line of guns at a 
trot or hand gallop, over say 300 yards of ground in exactly 
one minute on the signal from the commanding officer ? 
(2.) Or a mangled screaming mass of men and horses struggling 
to get free ? In this case the squealing of the horses and 
the shouts of the drivers in their attempts to disentangle 
the dead from the living, would considerably interfere 
with the fire discipline of the battery. 
One great advantage all troops on the move forward have, over those 
halted, is that the former leave their dead and wounded behind them 
out of sight. 
But with “ limber supply ” we have all the hideous din and con¬ 
fusion of the plunging horses quite close to the guns in action. To say 
the least of it, this is demoralising, and will in any case distract the 
gun-layers and cause them to make mistakes in setting their sights 
and laying with them. 
We have all of us heard of the “cat with nine lives; ” but oddly 
enough ( vide Colonel Walford’s translation of General Rohne’s book) 
a man’s exposure standing is about half that of a horse “ end on 33 and 
a quarter of that of a horse standing sideways. Consequently we may 
calculate on it being four times as hard to kill a man standing as a 
horse with his flank exposed. But 1 Captain Crampton says that 18 out 
of 24 horses were hit in 1 minute by 180 infantry at 1000 yards ! Also 
that 12 horses were hit out of 24, and only one man out of 18 at 1200 
yards in one minute by 94 infantry. In each case the horses 
represented gun teams at “ limber supply.” At a mean range of 1250 
yards the percentage of target destroyed per 100 rifles firing for one 
minute was men 3*1, horses 32*0. The deduction to be made from 
this is that horses suffer losses compared to men in almost geometrical 
progression. If this be true, the man has nine lives more than the 
horse—and one to spare after that ! 
Examples of great loss of horses in action:—• 
(1.) Captain Mercer’s (old) f G ’ troop at Waterloo lost one-third 
of his men and 140 out of 200 of his horses, i,e ., three- 
quarters of his horses . 
This was in the days of round shot. 
(2.) Colonel C. B. Brackenbury, R.A., in a lecture delivered in 
April, 1876, at the United Service Institution, on “The 
Tactical Power of Modern Artillery,” said :— 
“ At the battle of Borny, one German battery lost 4 
officers, 42 men and 50 horses , i.e ., about three fourths of 
its officers and men and more than its complement of 
horses .” 
1 Ses R.A.I. “ Proceedings,” Vol. XXIII, No. 5, “ Artillery and musketry fire,” by Captain 
P. J. E. Crampton, R.A. 
Result in 
each ease. 
Confusion 
during 
“limber 
supply.” 
Frightful 
losses in 
horseflesh. 
Example I. 
—Waterloo. 
Example II. 
—Borny. 
