266 
Field Artillery fire. 
a good look at tlio target and soon grasp tlio fact that it is not moving 
so very fast after all. 
The target being about two miles away the C.O. would give the 
word, “ Left Section, 3000 yards.” That round being short he 
would know that the enemy is beyond 3000 yards, he therefore gives 
“ Shrapnel, 2950 yards, Fuze ?” It is not necessary for him to repeat 
the words “ Right and Centre Sections ” every time; all the battery 
know that when shell are mentioned the left section is referred to and 
when shrapnel are mentioned the right and centre sections are 
referred to. 
The C.O., after a pause, fires another round from the ranging sec¬ 
tion, which is still short. After a further pause he again fires a round 
from the same section, which is over. He now knows that the target 
is just within the 3000 yards, and he has his shrapnel ready for 2950 
yards, he accordingly gives “ Shrapnel, rapid fire from the left of sec¬ 
tions; one round;” to this he adds “ Ranging Section, 2800,” and 
when the shrapnel have been fired “ Shrapnel, 2750, Fuze ?” the process 
is then repeated, the ranging section dropping 200 yards every time. 
Supposing the target to be cavalry moving at a trot, the procedure 
is exactly similar except that all distances are doubled. Thus :— 
Ranging section 3000 yards; shrapnel, 2900 yards, for the first series, 
and ranging section 2600 yards; shrapnel, 2500 yards, for the second 
series, being a drop of 400 yards instead of 200. 
When batteries are first being practised at running targets it is 
sufficient for them to get off one round of shrapnel per gun for every 
200 yards that an infantry target advances, but, as the training pro¬ 
ceeds, a great deal more than this can be done and three and even four 
rounds per gun have been got off. Three may be taken as quite 
sufficient, and the words of command would be as under. 
“ Left Section, shell ; 3000 yards.” Short. 
f All these elevations and fuzes are given 
I out at once. This presents no difficulty 
“Shrapnel, 2950, Fuze ? | to the memory of subordinates, the gun- 
2900, Fuze ? <[ layer sees that he has to drop 50 yards 
2850, Fuze ?” j each time, he need not, therefore, remem- 
| ber the elevation. The number setting the 
l^fuzes has no great strain forced upon him. 
All these fuzes are set, the one for 2950 being put into the gun at 
once. 
As soon as the ranging section gets a round over, the word of com¬ 
mand is “ Shrapnel, rapid fire from the left of sections; three rounds.” 
After each round the gun-layer drops 50 yards of elevation, and the 
fuzes beiug already set the rounds can be fired with great rapidity. 
Even if the target were to stop while this hail of shrapnel was going 
on it would not escape, for the depth of ground covered by the bullets 
would take it in wherever it stood on the 200 yards, at the lower end 
of which the ranging will be recommenced as in the former series. 
In firing at cavalry targets not more than two rounds per gun per 
