270 
FIELD ARTILLERY FIRE, 
observers some weeks in advance of the battery, wbo thus get the 
advantage of the observation of a considerable amount of fire before 
their talents are called into practical requisition with their own bat¬ 
teries. 
Difficulties arising from smolce.—Our oion. There is no doubt than an 
easy solution of our difficulty lies in the adoption of a smokeless 
powder, but, as black powder is still to bo met with, we must be pre¬ 
pared to accept and combat the conditions incident to its use. 
First, we have the case when, in a side wind, the smoke of the 
windward batteries drifts across the front of the leeward batteries and 
obscures their view. In this case it is as well, if the ground permit, 
to push the leeward batteries slightly forward, a very few yards is 
sufficient, so that the smoke from the others will drift behind them. 
If, however, it is not possible to place the batteries in echelon the 
following plan may be resorted to. Divide the mass of artillery into 
pairs of batteries, making the space between each pair as great as 
possible, at the expense of the gun and battery intervals. The guns 
should be fired by rapid fire (seven seconds interval) from the windward 
flanks of each pair of batteries right through both batteries. The 
amount of fire thus obtained is exactly the same as if each battery, on 
its own account, were firing ordinary fire with 15 seconds interval. If 
a Brigade Division of three batteries is ordered to fire in succession 
in this manner, then the same amount of fire is obtained as if each 
battery were firing, on its own account, ordinary fire with 20 seconds 
interval. 
Foreign experts say that this method of fire is efficacious at times, 
but cannot be applied to large masses of batteries without sub-division. 
Next, if the wind be blowing from behind, a great cloud of smoke 
will hang in front of the line of batteries and gradually drift down 
the range towards the enemy. Difficulties of laying must, of course, 
be met by the use of auxiliary laying points, but a small clear space 
for observation may sometimes be obtained by increasing the space 
between the batteries. 
In giving this increased space between the batteries the greatest 
care must be taken that the normal front occupied by a Brigade 
Division is not exceeded, the battery intervals must, therefore, be 
increased at the expense of the gun intervals. The reasons why this 
front must not be exceeded are :— 
< 2 . To keep the Brigade Division within one man's command. 
b. In a great modern battle the space for the deployment of artil¬ 
lery is limited as compared with the number of guns employed. 
If, therefore, batteries of a Brigade Division are too widely 
interspaced and the whole Brigade Division occupies more 
than its fair share of the available front, then batteries of 
other Brigade Divisions will, for want of space, infallibly be 
pushed in between them, and the unity of the commands will 
thus be destroyed. 
These increased spaces between batteries have the further advantage 
that space is given on the flanks into which the limbers can be with¬ 
drawn from the fire directed on the guns, 
