THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE 5" B.L. HOWITZER. 
499 
frtroops behind cover, which owing to the comparative flatness of trajec- 
i tory could not be searched by field guns. 
In a regular Siege the principle work that would be required from 
5 /; B.L. Howitzer Batteries would be work in the field under similar 
conditions as when employed with a Field Army, viz.: — 
(a) In the preliminary operations to drive the enemy back 
from the ground it was intended to seize. 
(b) To attack the enemy’s advanced infantry position which 
would probably be fortified with field redoubts and entrenchments, and 
include houses, farms, woods, etc., placed in a state of defence. 
Further uses for these ho withers which may be considered purely 
siege conditions are : — 
(c) To shell the enemy’s batteries with a view to drawing 
their fire, and thus disclosing their positions so that they might be 
successfully attacked by the heavier howitzers. 
(d) In expeditions involving the attack of small fortresses, 
coaling stations, etc., where 5-inch howitzers would be sufficient for the 
work required. 
We see therefore that though under some conditions of siege opera¬ 
tions the 5-inch howitzer should be employed on purely Siege Artillery 
principles, it will very frequently when used by the Siege Train be 
required for similar purposes as when used with an aimy in the field. 
This explains why it is necesssary to equip the Light Siege Train 
Batteries in the same manner as the Field Howitzer Batteries, and leads 
us to conclude (a) that the Siege Train would be equally capable of 
working effectively with an army in the field or in siege operations ; 
(b) that as the Field Howitzer Brigade Division is not trained to siege 
work, its maintenance is an unnecessary expense unless it can be shown 
that it is likely to be able to do the work required with a Field Army 
better than the Siege Train could. This brings us to the consideration 
of (2) but to get a fair comparison we must consider not only the 
question) of (a) fire effect but (b) facility for tactical employment of 
these batteries with an army in the field. 
(a) It must be remembered that the Siege Train Divisions are com¬ 
posed now entirely of howitzers, and that the training of the Siege 
Companies is therefore exclusively devoted to these weapons. It may 
equally well be contended that the training of the Field Howitzer 
Brigade Division is also coitfined to the howitzer, and that therefore 
these batteries are in a similar position; but there is this great differ¬ 
ence in the training of the two, that the one is trained under the guid¬ 
ance of the Siege Artillery School at Lydd, which may be said to look 
at everything from the howitzer point of view, while the other has to 
look to the Field Artillery School at Okehampton, and must necessarily 
largely imbibe the ideas that govern the working and employment of 
field guns. The gun is so different from the howitzer that the same 
principles cannot guide the employment of both and it may, therefore, 
I think, be reasonably inferred on a priori grounds that the Siege Ar¬ 
tillery is better fitted than the Field Artillery for work with howitzers of 
any description. 
