COMMENDED ESSAY, 1892 . 
603 
the guns, the service of ammunition generally, and, on the part of 
commanding officers, the observation of fire .... The posses¬ 
sion of a superior force of well-served artillery would, in all probability, 
lead to victory. To ensure that this confidence in our branch of the 
service may never be misplaced, every available opportunity must be 
taken advantage of in peace time to make the service of the guns, not 
only as accurate, but as rapid as possible." 1 2 
Means op Securing Fire Discipline. 
The means of securing Fire Discipline may be divided into :— 
1. Those available within the battery. 
2. Those external to the battery. 
Means Within the Battery. 
Carlyle tells us “ there is nothing in the world you can conceive so 
difficult, primd facie , as that of getting a set of men gathered together, 
rough, rude, and ignorant people—gather them together, promise 
them a shilling a day, rank them up, give them a very sharp and 
severe drill—for the word f drill ' seems as if it meant the treatment 
that would force them to learn—and there is the man, a piece of an 
animated machine, a wonder of wonders to look at. He will go and 
obey one man, and walk into the cannon's mouth for him, and do any¬ 
thing whatever that is commanded of him by his General Officer." 3 
This, roughly as it is put, is the object in view. 
The system laid down in the official manuals is admirable, and com¬ 
plete even to the number of hours to be devoted to each subject. 
Supplemented by the instructions for practice, just issued, it must be 
the foundation of all battery teaching. No power exists within the 
battery to subtract one tittle therefrom. It follows that the applica¬ 
tion and success of such a system must depend upon the personal 
qualities of officers and men. Some of these are natural, but all are, 
more or less, to be acquired. Some have, by instinct, all the habits of 
military foresight, which in others are the result of professional educa¬ 
tion and long experience. Unfortunately, no examination test can 
guage to what extent such qualities exist in any individual. For 
instance, almost, if not quite, the most valuable quality a battery 
officer can possess, is the faculty of getting the greatest amount of 
good and willing work out of those under him. Yet nothing can 
prove its existence but the experience of actual hard work and real 
difficulties. 
The influence of the officers on the Fire Discipline of a battery 
can hardly be over-estimated. Both officers and men have lately 
developed a hearty desire for progress. This is much to the credit 
of the Majors, for it must not be forgotten that most of them began 
their career under totally different conditions from those which obtain 
at present. Such conditions exert a marked influence on a man's 
character, and it is no easy task to shake off habits and prejudices 
impressed on his, more or less, plastic nature as a young officer. 
1 Speech, to batteries at Practice Camp, 1892. 
2 Address to Students of Edinburgh University, April 2, 1866. 
