COMMENDED ESSAY, 1892 . 
638 
judge from the drill-book of the period—to “ spunge out bis piece 
smartilie and thereby afford much contentment to the bystander.” 
With the Crimea, however, came a great change in artillery owing 
to the introduction of rifling. Elongated projectiles, flatter trajec¬ 
tories, fairly reliable time fuzes, telescopic sights—all children of 
the rifled gun—have added enormously to its power and range, but 
the increase of range and complication of materiel have also greatly 
multiplied the possibilities of ineffective fire. The necessity has, 
therefore, arisen for a more systematic, concerted guiding of the bat¬ 
tery, which, up till quite recently, had always, on coming into action, 
resolved itself into six comparatively independent units. The idea, 
however, that each gun was the private show of its “ number one ” 
has died hard ; and, indeed, this is scarce to be wondered at, for until 
last year the error received very practical—and pecuniary—support 
from the system in vogue of individual competitive practice. 
This has now, however, been relegated to the limbo of lost things, 
and with its disappearance has dawned the third period into which the 
history of Field Artillery divides itself : the era of Fire Discipline. 
A striking contrast is noticeable between the two re-organisations : 
our earlier improvement was one in materiel , our recent development is 
entirely in the training of the personnel , in the organisation of the 
battery as one weapon wielded by one man. 
The secret of the great change which is now taking place lies in the 
recognition of the truth that the aim and goal and great event to 
which the peace preparation of artillery moves is the manvais quart 
d’heure which begins when opposing batteries open fire—for the duel 
that then commences is one to the death, decimation is a bagatelle, 
and there is only one end : the complete and utter annihilation of the 
side which goes to the wall. This fact once grasped, the principles 
which are henceforth to be the basis of artillery peace training stand out 
very distinctly. Every hour available for gunnery instruction must be 
utilised, every nerve strained, every round of ammunition devoted to 
the one aim of making the battery a perfect piece of mechanism in 
which every portion shall be fully fitted to the part it has to play, in 
which none shall be idle or superfluous, in which all, from the highest 
to the lowest, have their sphere of usefulness and importance. Con¬ 
stant practice—in which the casualties and difficulties of the fight have 
been foreseen and prepared for—must remove all possibility of friction 
and produce such harmony and thorough mutual understanding that 
the battery will, under fire and in moments of intense mental and 
physical strain, not only obey every command, but almost instinctively 
anticipate every wish of its leader. 
Nature op Fire Discipline. 
Fire Discipline, then, is that perfection of training which gives to 
the commander that meed of control, that grip of his battery in action 
which enables him to direct its fire with the same confidence, ease, and 
certainty as a capable rider guides a well-broken horse. This, how¬ 
ever, is no easy matter to obtain. Discipline of any kind is more than 
a desire to please—it is an instinctive, ingrained, unquestioning habit 
