Orders and 
their chief 
objects. 
Criticism of 
all 
manoeuvres. 
Recognised 
normal 
procedure 
by the 
artillery in 
order. 
Means of 
estimating 
expenditure 
of ammuni- 
tion. 
342 GOLD MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY, 1894 . 
and in the second he will be so occupied with the conduct 
of the operations that he will neither have the time nor 
the opportunity of impartially surveying the operations as 
a whole. 
(3.) All orders issued by officers holding commands above that 
of Battery Commander to be in writing, and according to 
a recognised artillery form. By this is meant that they 
should be arranged in normal sequence on the same prin¬ 
ciple as orders for a march, or for the attack of a position, 
etc. The object of this is : 
(a) To insure the rapid framing in the field of clear, concise 
orders, of uniform type. 
(b) To enable the officer conducting the manuoeuvres to see 
what orders were actually given, and what have been 
omitted. 
(c) To thoroughly test the system of transmission, and so 
render certain their speedy execution. 
(4.) That with a view to deriving benefit from the experience 
gained, a report be drawn up by Officers Commanding 
one or more Brigade Divisions, at the conclusion of each 
exercise, to which should be attached the original orders 
on which he acted. The officer conducting the manoeu¬ 
vres, from his own observation and these reports, publishes 
his remarks, with any orders he may consider necessary, 
to avoid a repetition of mistakes. 
(5.) That, with a mass of guns in action, the following is the 
normal procedure :— 
The Officer Commanding the troops having specified the 
purpose of the fight and the task of the artillery, the 
Officer Commanding Royal Artillery divides the target 
fixed on among the Group or Brigade Division Comman¬ 
ders, and gives general instructions for carrying on the 
fight (rate of fire, occupation of position, &c.). 
The Battery Commander ranges his battery and fixes 
the projectile and order of fire. 
The Brigade Division Commander must order all alter¬ 
ations in the target, the Battery Commander only being 
allowed to change his objective in case of threatened 
danger. 
(6.) That, as one of the chief difficulties in action in the future 
will be the supply of ammunition, a system is proposed for 
manoeuvres, by means of which each battery registers the 
amount of ammunition it has expended by the number of 
minutes it has been in action, assuming the average rate 
of fire to be 4 rounds per minute. This will accustom the 
officers concerned to give due attention to this point and, 
it is hoped, lead to a regular replenishment of ammunition 
from the wagons in rear. 
