330 
FIELD ARTILLERY FIRE. 
case of error in observation the firing of salvos tends to waste of 
ammunition. 
Salvos are only permissible in three instances, viz. :— 
When firing at balloons. 
When the target is so obscured by smoke that it is impossible to 
observe the effect of a single round, then the simultaneous bursting of 
six shell may be apparent. 
In the attack of an enemy behind cover or behind a screen it is 
permissible, as stated on page 272, to sweep the ground backwards and 
forwards with salvos of shrapnel, the effect of a salvo, when the right 
elevation dias been obtained, being more striking than that of six 
successive rounds, and in this case we are ranging by ear rather than 
by eye. 
Such then are the rates of fire in general use, others, such as the 
“ sprungweisen ;; or “ intermittent ” fire of Count Thiirheim, might 
be mentioned, but they have all, after trial, been abandoned for those 
above-mentioned. Combinations of the above may, however, be made, 
such as the firing by rapid or ordinary fire right through a Brigade 
Division, as mentioned on page 270. 
Bates of fire must be studied from two points of view, the dis¬ 
ciplinary and the economic. 
The disciplinary point of view is very simple. It is held of the 
highest importance that fire should be kept up with REGULAR 
INTERVALS, for, it is the experience of those who have stood under 
a heavy fire that, if irregular intervals are allowed the fire gradually 
gets quicker and quicker until at last, the men becoming hurried and 
over-wrought, the fire gets out of hand altogether. The discharge of 
guns at regular intervals has, from its monotony, almost a quieting 
effect on the nerves, moreover the gunners know exactly how long 
they have for the performance of their duties and are not likely to 
become flurried. As with the rate, so with the succession of fire ; the 
succession of fire should never, without very good cause, be disturbed ; 
it is held abroad that a disturbance in the succession of fire or irregu¬ 
larity in the intervals between the discharges is the first sign that the 
battery is suffering and that the fire is beginning to get out of hand. 
The economic point of view is as important. If the amount of 
ammunition carried with a battery be studied, it will be seen that of 
shrapnel there is with every battery sufficient to carry on fire for the 
following periods 
Ordinary Fire, 20 seconds interval ... ... 
»3 33 33 ,, .. 
Rapid „ 10 „ „ ... ... 
33 35 7 33 ,, ... ... 
^...2 hours 40 minutes. 
... 1 
33 
20 
56 
33 
33 
The above includes, of course, the ammunition carried in the wagons. 
If this table be studied in conjunction with that on page 328, which 
shows approximately when the Ammunition Columns may be expected 
to arrive, the importance of a regular rate of fire will be appreciated. 
If un officer indulges in the luxury of rapid fire, or, by not having 
