460 THE TRAINING OF A HOWITZER FIELD BATTERY. 
combine to enable the Battery Commander to direct his fire with the 
greatest nicety. Especially when firing from behind cover, when 
every detail of laying is purely mechanical* and men’s nerves are not 
exposed to the disturbing effects of hostile fire, a well trained battery 
becomes a most perfect machine in the hanids of the Battery Com¬ 
mander, the control of which, being easier, he ought to be able to 
maintain longer than is possible in any other command. From his 
post on the hill, the Battery Commander should be able to use the fire 
of his battery in any way that he chooses, exactly as if he held in his 
hand the nozzle of a fire hose. The weight of each shell and there¬ 
fore its value by the time it has reached the scene of action, makes 
precision of fire and therefore economy of ammunition of first impor¬ 
tance. The responsibility of the Battery Commander in action is in¬ 
creased and that of the section officers somewhat decreased under 
these conditions; but as they may at any moment be called on to re¬ 
place the Battery Commander every officer in the battery should be 
most carefully trained to take up at a moment’s notice the duties of 
Battery Commander. The capabilities of the howitzer for indirect 
fire from behind cover are so great that when fully developed they 
will assert their claims to a share in the solution of the problem of 
how to be successful in an artillery duel with an opponent armed with 
Q.F. guns, without too great a sacrifice of personnel. The training 
and equipment of the batteries should therefore be such as will lead 
to the improvement of this class of fire. Fire discipline, or the power 
of control from highest to lowest, from first to last, is if possible for 
the reasons* given above, of more importance in a howitzer Field 
Battery than in any other fighting body, and should be the key word 
of the whole of its training. 
* The writer believes that for this reason indirect fire is in howitzer batteries more accurate 
and reliable than direct fire. 
