MELD ARTILLERY POSITIONS. 397 
and from splinter-proofs close to tlie target, and my belief is that,at 
ranges over 1500 yards there must always be an appreciable pause be¬ 
tween the appearance of any target and its coming under effective'fire. 
I should put it at from 3' to 4' myself—call it only 2' and there is still 
time for the horses to get away. 
Colonel Turner bases his views on the well-known example of the three 
French batteries at Sedan. I have always been sorry for these 
batteries : for 27 years the memory of their gallant action has been 
kept green only by its being constantly quoted as the example of a how 
not to do it.” For instance, it is used as an argument against horsing 
batteries with greys, and as a proof of the soundness of our general 
principle, C( as batteries opening fire in succession are liable to be 
overwhelmed in succession a simultaneous advance and, as a rule, a 
simultaneous opening of fire are essential.” It must not be lost sight 
of that these three batteries came up one by one against a whole 
German brigade division in action. 
They also came up to reinforce batteries whose fire had already been 
nearly subdued. Colonel Turner says that the position they took Annim^Re. 
up was some distance from that of the batteries they were reinforcing o?° Gunnery, 
and not in the same exact line, but he does not say that they were not MeidArtii- 
at the same range, nor how far they advanced in full view beforei ler ^ in¬ 
coming into action. Prince Kraft says that they “ trotted up from the 
Fond de Givonne to Givonne itself and tried to take up a position 
between that village and the Bois de la Garenne.” 
The great question is :—Could they, coming up one by one, have 
occupied the same position with less loss if they had adopted the 
creeping system ? If not, the conclusion that their losses were due 
to neglect of this system falls to the ground. 
Then again how was it possible to bring the guns into action without 
any sign of a man until fire was opened ? Considering that the muzzle 
is only a little over 3 feet above the ground, I cannot understand how 
the men pulling the guns—double detachments unless the ground is 
very favourable—are invisible until the muzzle is over the crest. 
The solution I would humbly put forward is simply that the guns are 
halted as soon as the gunners can see the target and never run up until 
it can be seen over the sights ! I am afraid that most of my readers 
will be able to recall somewhat similar events from their own experi¬ 
ences ; and with the Fire Discipline, that from all accounts is main¬ 
tained in German batteries at manoeuvres, this would be quite good 
enough for firing blank. If-so,-ik is mo _.wonder that everyone is im¬ 
pressed with the invisibility of the guns ! 
I believe that in reality the position to be occupied would be 
“ given away ” by the appearance of the first men labouring at their 
drag-ropes. To quote a German writer: “ When a battery has 
to take up a position that an enemy can predict, it is of no 
advantage to have three guns unlimbered while the whole of the 
detachments of the battery are employed in laboriously dragging the 
other three into action, thus giving the enemy time to open on the 
unprepared battery.” 
