COMMENDED ESSAY, 1899. 
415 
The first essential is a thorough understanding of the range instru¬ 
ments used and of their capabilities, and frequent work with the 
operators, using every case, and passing from one case to another. 
Every officer should periodically be given opportunities of working 
instruments himself, in order that he may keep in touch with any 
changes. 
F. Fire Commander's duties. —These, as before mentioned, can 
only be efficiently carried out by an intimate knowledge of the duties 
of subordinates, and by constant practice in directing the fire of the 
different works. In time of war a Fire Commander who has no ex¬ 
perience, would greatly handicap the defence. “ The rapid choice of 
an objective, the transmission of the necessary orders to Battery Com¬ 
manders . . . and finally the decision as to the right moment for 
handing over the control of fire to Battery Commanders, are all matt¬ 
ers which require experience, . . . the want of which might en¬ 
tail serious consequences in action 
G. Defence of land front. —In Chapter II. we attempted to show 
the importance of this class of defence. As a cadet an officer has pro¬ 
bably obtained a good grounding in the methods of fire employed in 
Field Artillery; this knowledge should be kept up by frequent drill 
with the light armament for general defence, ranging being practised 
against stationary and moving targets. This will teach the use of 
time shrapnel which is rarely employed in coast defence, and not gen¬ 
erally very well understood. The use of range finders for land ser¬ 
vice, and judging distances, should be taught. As practice over land 
ranges is rarely possible, it should be carried out against targets re¬ 
presenting landing parties in boats, in which case the system of fire 
to be employed is identical.t 
H. Siege work .—A certain amount of drill with siege guns and 
howitzers, forms part of nearly every annual course, but officers should 
receive a more thorough training in siege work, which might advan¬ 
tageously be carried out annually by the Instructor of Gunnery when 
siege equipment exists. A fair theoretical knowledge is obtainable by 
lectures and examination of practice reports, and the use of observing 
instruments and slide rules, laying out lines of fire, aiming at auxiliary 
marks, etc., can be taught practically without much trouble. A certain 
number of officers get a good training in this work during the Long 
and Short Courses, but those who have not had such opportunities 
should be allowed to attend at Lydd for a fortnight, whenever they 
can be spared from their companies ; seeing the work carried on under 
practically service conditions, they very soon would get a good general 
knowledge of the systems of fire, and with a little working up could 
take their place in the siege train if required. 
E. Courses of Instruction and Specialists. 
The courses affecting Garrison Artillery are numerous, so numerous 
that they may be said to indirectly prejudice the good training of 
Garrison Artillery as a whole, for a great number t of officers are on 
R.A.I. “ Proceedings,” Vol. XXII., No. 7, “ The training together in Peace Time the Gar¬ 
rison Artillery Forces of the Empire, including Regular, Militia, Volunteer and Colonial Artillery." 
By Colonel R. F. Williams, R.A. 
t ” Garrison Artillery Drill”, Vol. 1, Part VII., Sec. V. 
