ATTACK OF A MODERN LAND FORTRESS. 
475 
amount of cover gives concealment with smokeless powder. The em¬ 
ployment of this powder gives enormous advantages to the attack, for 
the defender must expose his guns if they are to bear upon the close 
attack, and heavy guns mounted as at present in permanent emplace¬ 
ments giving command over all the approaches to a fortress are only 
useless encumbrances which will be quickly destroyed unless heavily 
protected with armour; if placed in more rational positions, retired be¬ 
hind the crest of rising ground, their usefulness will be limited to 
long-range fire. 
The defender will have to recognise these principles sooner or later, 
and the besieger, therefore, may expect, when he makes his final assault, 
to have to deal with a powerful array of mobile light guns suddenly 
run out into exposed positions to bear upon the close attack; and to 
silence these guns will be the task of the Auxiliary Armament of the 
Siege Train. 
The first batteries of the attack will have to be probably at ranges 
of not much under 4000 yards from the line of forts ; but if the invest¬ 
ment was carried out with sufficiently strong forces, and the defenders 
vigorously driven in on to their advanced posts, it is quite possible that 
they may be at shorter ranges, given that there are suitable positions 
there for the batteries. 
In any case, even the heavy M.L. howitzers can make excellent 
practice at over 4000 yards, as has been proved by experience, and the 
B.L. howitzers should certainly do so. With curved fire, naturally 
some slight loss of accuracy is to be expected as the range increases; 
but with vertical fire it is necessary at the shorter ranges either to 
reduce the charge or increase the elevation to an abnormal degree, and 
one may safely predict that greater accuracy will be obtained at long 
range with the heavier charge and more reasonable angle of elevation 
which may then be employed. 
With this question of the comparative accuracy at long and short 
ranges is bound up another most important one : whether it will be 
necessary to have any second artillery position, as has been laid down 
by all authorities on the subject, even when they assume the first posi¬ 
tion as about 2500 to 3000 yards from the forts. 
For my part, I should not recommend moving any heavy howitzers 
from their first position if it be under 4000 yards' range, and, if more 
than that, then only if it were found that their fire could not attain its 
object. For it must be remembered that the slight increase in accuracy 
gained by moving them in is counterbalanced by the following dis¬ 
advantages:— 
(1.) Difficulty of transporting these heavy weapons. 
(2.) Increased difficulties in bringing up ammunition and sup¬ 
plies. 
(3.) Probable difficulty in obtaining concealed positions at the 
shorter ranges. 
(4.) The fact that in their first positions they have ascertained 
the ranges of most of the important objectives. 
Ranges of 
Batteries of 
the attack. 
Objections 
to a 2nd 
Artillery 
Position. 
