FIELD ARTILLERY POSITIONS. 
391 
oar fire the battery commander must be able both to observe his fire 
and to command his battery. The ground must, therefore, afford a 
position for him close to his battery from which he can see the target. 
This is frequently a difficulty with a single battery. What are you 
going to do in the case of the centre battery of a brigade division ? 
Unless you mount the battery commander on an observatory, I can¬ 
not see how he is to observe his fire without being shot, or at any 
rate considerably disturbed, by the flank batteries. I notice that no 
one has yet advocated the adoption of the portable observatories 
which have been experimented with on the Continent. Like many 
other excellent things, I am afraid they would be killed by ridicule 
in this country. 
II. and III. — You cannot change your target or concentrate your 
fire without malting elaborate arrangements . 
Concentration of fire in its tactical meaning is practically change of 
target. I have, therefore, taken the two together. 
How is this to be carried out when firing from behind cover ? To 
take a couple of simple cases :—• 
A brigade division is firing from behind cover against an enemy’s 
brigade division. Each battery has ranged on the battery opposite 
and the brigade division commander wishes to concentrate his fire on 
one of the enemy’s batteries—-say the left. That means that our right 
battery has to change its target to one more than 200 yards distant. 
Another case —“ When the order is given for the infantry to advance 
. . o every gun should at once be turned upon the points selected 
for attack, and upon any troops which may take the infantry advance 
in flank.” 
And again, in the defence, 
“ As soon as masses of infantry or cavalry become visible . . . * 
or, as soon as the assailant’s infantry advances to the attack, the 
defender’s artillery must direct its fire exclusively on them.” 
How are such tasks to be performed if you are firing from behind 
cover ? They cannot be arranged for beforehand, because the concen¬ 
tration required will not be known until the action has developed. The 
whole business of planting aiming posts, &c., must therefore be com¬ 
menced over again—very possibly with the result that, with the new 
elevation and direction, the shell will not clear the ground in front ! 
Even if it will do so your arrangements will probably not be completed 
until the opportune moment has passed! 
Major Keir commences by saying that concentration of fire will be 
practically impossible in future, even when firing direct; that changes 
of target are only a practice camp condition; and that on the battle¬ 
field, “ where your action is to a great extent dependent on the adver¬ 
sary,” difficulties of changing target will be much less felt. I do not 
think many officers will agree with any of these conclusions. Even 
if changes of target are not very frequent, surely when they have to be 
made they should be made promptly. 
Having so far deprecated the necessity for being able to change 
Field ArtU- 
lery Drill, 
p. 16, 28. 
Infantry 
Drill, 
p. 116, 117. 
Field Artil¬ 
lery Drill, 
p. 28. 
Field Artil- 
lery Drill, 
P. 81. 
