ORGANISATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF SIEGE ARTILLERY. 448 
Certain batteries may require to fire very briskly for a time; 15 
rounds per hour by day^ and half the number by night, would seldom 
be exceeded for any length of time. 
Indirect fire for breaching would be usually less rapid than direct. 
By night, except in cases of attacks or sorties, only sufficient rounds 
to prevent repairs by the besieged would be fired. 
Prince Hohenlohe states in regard to rate of fire, that “ a daily allow¬ 
ance of 50 or 60 rounds per gun gives a very brisk fire, more than this 
has not generally seemed desirable,” and adds the above rate was not 
often exceeded. During the last war the Germans seldom fired more 
than 8 rounds during any hour of daylight, generally not more than 3 
or 4, and fewer at night.” 
The French official handbook (1876) gives the following as the lowest 
supply considered proper for one day (24 hrs.) :— 
60 rounds for each heavy gun. 
80 „ „ medium or light gun. 
40 „ „ mortar. 
The use of hanging scales greatly facilitates night fire; the lines of Night 
sight to different objects being painted on the platforms by day, should finng * 
be marked stating the object and elevation, if this be carefully done— 
elevation being given by the quadrant—there is no reason why night 
firing should not be almost as accurate as day. 
Another plan is to use the sights proposed by Captain French, C.M.G., 
B.A.,* pointing rods being fixed by day in the plane of sight behind 
the gun, a lantern placed on the rear rod will indicate the proper 
direction by night. 
* The following description of the sights proposed by Capt. French, C.M.Gi., B.A., is added, as 
by them ordnance may be laid by day or night with far greater accuracy than can be obtained from 
the ordinary hanging scales. By their employment, guns may be placed in any hollow or depression 
of ground—behind hills, ridges, or woods—and, whilst unseen by the enemy, inflict on him a 
maximum amount of damage. 
Two similarly graduated bars, about 6 or 8 ins. long, stand out horizontally from the ordinary 
trunnion sight and tangent scale, a small sight is free to move along each bar. The zero on each 
bar is equidistant from the axis of the gun, consequently, if the travelling sights are moved to 
lj 2, 3, in inches or degress from the zero, in each case they will be parallel to the axis. They are 
used in the following manner;— 
A plummet is suspended some 6 or 8 yds. in rear of the platform, so as to be as nearly as possible 
in the same vertical plane as the centre of the bars and the object, a second plummet is suspended 
8 oi* 10 yds. in rear of the first (a line on a board, picket, or other mark, will do as well), also in the 
same vertical plane as the first plummet and the object. In laying the gun, No. 1 moves round in 
front of the trunnion, and looking back on the two lines in rear observes where the vertical plane 
passing through them cuts the front bar; let us suppose that it cuts the bar at the mark 2, he then 
clamps the moveable sight there, moves to the hind bar and clamps the sight on it at the same 
division 2; looking over the trunnion sight on to the line in rear, he will probably see that the sight 
on the hind bar is a little to the right or left of this line, the gun is then traversed till the two sights 
are in line, when, consequently the gun becomes laid with its axis parallel to the plane of sight. 
There is a deflection scale on the inner end of the tangent scale bar. For night firing, a lamp with 
two wires (crossing each other in front of the light) takes the place of thej further plummet or picket. 
This means of laying guns, howitzers, or mortars, without seeing the object (or being seen there¬ 
from), has been tried at Shoeburyness, and reported as “ absolutely correct.” 
