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ARTILLERY AMMUNITION SUPPLY. 
BY 
LIEUTENANT B. ATKINSON, R.H.A. 
I N the few articles which have appeared in this country on the de¬ 
sirability of the quick-firing gun as a weapon for artillery in 
the field, the question of ammunition supply has received but scant 
attention. This is particularly noticeable in the essays written for 
the Duncan Gold Medal, 1898,* and is the more to be wondered at in 
that this most important subject presents to us a two-fold problem. 
[a.) Is more ammunition necessary ? 
( b .) If so, to what extent and in what manner are we to increase 
our supply ? 
With regard to the first part of the problem, the general idea 
would appear to be that in future the rate of fire will be greatly ac¬ 
celerated, and that therefore our present supply will soon be exhaust¬ 
ed. With the exception of Major H. W. W. Barlow, most of the writers 
appear to somewhat over-estimate the uses of rapid fire, which is of 
course only intended for the more critical moments of the fight, and 
would thus prove the exception rather than the rule. 
For as far as we can tell, the change of weapon will not necessarily 
imply a change of targets. These will probably remain the same 
for the quick-firing—as for the present field gun. Given equally 
accurate laying and service of the gun, the same if not indeed a 
smaller number of rounds will be required for their annihilation, and 
the only difference will be the period of time required for the attain¬ 
ment of this object. 
Though in these times of swiftly following changes the campaigns 
of recent years are no criterion, yet they furnish many interesting 
statistics, of which the following may be found worthy of notice. 
They are for the most part taken from General Willems “ Feldgeschiitz 
der Zukunft.” 
Until the Franco-Prussian war, the only instance of a battery firing 
on a single day more than the amount of ammunition carried with it 
is that of an Austrian 4-pr. battery at the battle of Koniggratz. 
This battery fired 217 rounds per gun, or 139^ of its ammunition. 
During the war of 1870, notwithstanding the numerous severe battles 
of the campaign and the consequently heavy calls on the artillery, 
the 1,344 German guns fired an average of only 199 rounds a-piece, 
or somewhat less than 1^ times the amount of ammunition carried 
with the batteries. The light batteries of the Prussian Field Artillery 
* E.A.I. “Proceedings,” Yol. XXV., No. 7, 1898. ' 
4. VOL.^XXVL 
