528 DEFENCE OF ESTUARIES, ETC., AGAINST TORPEDO-BOAT ATTACK. 
be asleep until the first group was fired, i.e., until it was definitely as¬ 
certained that the alarm was not false. Then the detachments whose 
red lights were out would hasten to reload, while the others would 
stand ready to do so when required. On the many nights on which no 
enemy appeared, the men would get a whole night's rest, while the 
fort would, nevertheless, be quite ready for action. This consideration 
is perhaps the most powerful of all, as night-work wears troops out 
quickly, and our probable numbers are insufficient to give relief detach¬ 
ments in most cases. 
If the Fort Commander does not stop the boat with his first fire he 
would wait for her on the bearing of the next group, allowing a little 
more for “ travel of target," perhaps. If there are several boats or 
lines of boats, at irregular intervals, the form of attack we may confi¬ 
dently expect, he has every chance of disposing of them effectually with 
a minimum expenditure of ammunition, and with no chance of con¬ 
fusion on the gun-floors. 
The usual objections to fittings of this sort, are the difficulty of 
getting money, in this case but little would be required; and hesita¬ 
tion about increasing the number of “ jim-crack " appliances. The 
latter will hardly hold water, as the forts in question will keep out any 
but the largest shell, and when hit by them would probably collapse 
like a child's card-castle—guns, gunners, jim-crack fittings and all—as 
regards the part struck, and a good deal round it. Besides we have it 
on the best authority that they are only likely to be attacked by ships 
when we have entirely lost the command of the sea, while boat raids 
will probably be, like the language of Truthful James’s friend “frequent, 
and painful, and free,"—commencing, as last year's Prize Essay shewed 
us, a very few hours after declaration of war. 
As to grouping for electrical firing, that is clearly a matter for ex¬ 
periment and local consideration; probably a good general rule would 
be to group guns in pairs, each pair to cover a range of, say, 400 yards 
of water; two or more groups might, of course, be directed on the 
same bearing, with case or time-shrapnel according to range. This is 
now done in many forts, no doubt, but I have not heard of any system 
of centralised electric-firing. It surely would be more easy, more sure, 
and more economical of ammunition than any other. 
We seem rather to train for the attack which we need not expect, to j 
the detriment of that which we are bound to expect, in many ways. 
Surely the two most likely attacks (and they may well be combined into 
one), are night-attack by boats, to be met by M.L. guns at short ranges; j 
and distant, and more or less casual, bombardment, to be met by de¬ 
liberate fire of heavy B.L. guns at extreme ranges. Should not each 
company fire say ten rounds of M.L. case and six or eight 9‘2-inch or 
10-inch B.L. shell at ranges over 8000 yards in its annual practice ? 
It may be added that small incandescent hand-lamps (with accumu¬ 
lators), are badly wanted for Fort Commander's station, position-finding 
cells, depression range-finding drum-readers, and dials and other kindred 
uses—fighting lanterns, and “ lamps, tracing and signalling," are most j 
inconvenient, and in windy weather unserviceable—incandescent lamps 
will come in for all fort purposes eventually, no doubt. 
