656 
ACHIEVEMENTS OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
Captain von Horn, who was in command of these guns, seeing 
the difficulties of the infantry, and anxious to give a fresh impulse 
to the battle, decided to take them across the difficult ground before 
him in echelon, and establish them on the other side of the defile. 1 The 
batteries were got over successfully and, except in the case of one 
battery, the 2nd heavy, which had two of its gun poles broken and was 
consequently delayed, without much loss, and were placed astride the 
Saarbruck road, 300 paces in rear of the foremost skirmishers. From 
this advanced position they shelled the enemy's infantry and artillery 
with good effect at ranges of between 900 and 1300 paces. Hoffbauer 
says this artillery suffered little from the enemy's artillery fire, as the 
French fired their shrapnel with too much elevation, and in his general 
observations on this battle he alludes to the services of these batteries 
as “pre-eminently conspicuous." 
These guns indeed advanced to shorter ranges than any other that 
took part in this day's fighting. The moment was a decisive one, for it 
was imperatively necessary to send succour to the hard pressed infantry, 
and considerations as regards effect of fire were held of more impor¬ 
tance than cover for the detachments. The batteries consequently lost 
heavily, and that, too, within the space of a few hours. 
We must bear in mind that the really combatant part of a German 
Field Battery then numbered 4 officers, 62 men, and 48 horses. The 
losses, according to the tables given by Hoffbauer, show that four 
batteries of the 1st Division of the 1st Corps had 4 officers (including 
Major Munk in command of the four batteries) severely, and five 
slightly wounded; 5 non-commissioned officers and men killed, and 54 
1 Hoffbauer’s account. 
