649 
ACHIEVEMENTS OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
BY 
MAJOR E. S. MAY, R.A. 
PART IY.— Chapter I. 
The Renaissance. 
The short and decisive struggle between Prussia and Austria, which 
is the next war to engage our attention, is not distinguished by any very 
striking performances by the artillery on either side. The Austrians 
had perhaps somewhat the advantage as regards armament, for all their 
guns were rifled, whereas on the Prussian side six out of every ten 
batteries were still equipped with smooth-bores. The Austrian guns, 
however, were muzzle-loaders of an inferior pattern of rifling, had but 
indifferent fuzes, and a shrapnel shell whose performances were most 
uncertain. The newer Prussian pieces on the other hand were rifled 
breech-loaders, and were certainly superior as regards accuracy and 
effect of fire to those on the opposite side. 
While, however, a large proportion of the Prussian materiel was 
better than that of their enemy’s, the tactics with which their guns 
were handled were distinctly faulty. So it has come about that while 
the Austrian artillery emerged from the campaign with the reputation 
of being the best arm of their service, and although it could not gain 
the victory, still accomplished a great deal towards minimizing defeat, 
the Prussian gunners were reproached for the little they had done, and 
could look back with no satisfaction even on a campaign so decisively 
victorious as that of 1866. The Prussian rifled guns being capable of 
producing effect at long ranges were kept at them in order that they 
might enjoy the full advantage of their superiority. Their practice 
was indifferent, and showed a lack of careful training in peace time, 
and to crown the errors of their leaders, not only were they held so 
valuable that they were kept in cotton wool during the action, but for 
fear of accidents were likewise placed in safe positions far tofthe rear 
on the columns of march. There was in short a general lack of enter¬ 
prise about the manner in which guns were handled, and the secret of 
the arm had clearly been forgotten. 
Austria, on the other hand, relied much on her batteries^to counter¬ 
act the inferior armament of her infantry, and from her experiences 
against the French in 1859, was not inclined to overlook the value of 
employing guns in masses. Therefore, although Koniggratz ended in 
a fatal defeat for Austria, and although perhaps the Austrian artillery 
can scarcely be said to have on that day performed a great achievement, 
it is none the less instructive to mark how much their guns effected, 
13. YOL. XIX. 
