FIRE DISCIPLINE AND SKILL-AT-ARMS. 
701 
the Objective/* are all matters which have been severely criticised, and 
not without reason. If opportunity to do so occurs, and time permits of 
such operations, I agree with Captain White that so obvious an advan¬ 
tage should not be neglected, but to lay down such methods as the 
normal drill is, I submit, a great error. 
However well .such a drill may answer against dummies at a practice 
camp, it would rarely be possible on service, and the objections to it 
are so obvious and so numerous that I refrain from mentioning more 
than two principal ones, though there are others nearly as strong 
1. The great loss of time. 
2. The unavoidable exposure, for a considerable time, of the 
most valuable officers and men, the loss of whom means 
that probably the position will never be occupied. 
The first of these objections speaks for itself, and, in case I am 
accused of putting the second too strongly, I can only say I advance it 
from what I have seen, not on service, but at practice camps. We are 
told, over and over again, that this method of taking up a position can 
be and must be done without unduly exposing the Brigade Division 
Commander, the Majors, the Section Commanders, the Gun-layers, to 
say nothing of: the Bange-takers, the Trumpeters, the orderlies and 
horse-holders, but I must say I have never seen it so done, nor do I 
believe, if this drill is persisted in, that the first indication of the 
presence of our guns will be, as it ought to be, by the opening of their 
fire. Whatever our target may be on service, it will, as often as not, 
be formed of troops armed with modern weapons of precision possibly 
at long range, but not necessarily so, and we may rest assured that an 
enterprising enemy acquainted, as they soon will be, with our method 
of proceeding will be careful to take full advantage of our mistakes, 
and if the guns do reach the desired position, a large number of officers 
and of men difficult to replace will be hors de combat . 
I believe that on service hardly a case will occur in which the target 
requires pointing out. 
As regards range-taking, I would merely say it is valuable as a guide 
to open fire, and almost a necessity for very quickly determining a 
range; but that as a rule it need not interfere with the advance into 
position, and it must not be allowed to do so. Banging should be 
done by batteries, and I do not believe in a battery remaining under 
fire without opening fire itself. 
The practice, therefore, of the few last years has been useful as a 
training in slow time for really service practice. Is there any reason 
why Brigade Division practice should not, next year, be carried out in 
quick time ? It is, I believe, attempted in India where the country 
lends itself to practice under service conditions. This country, unfor¬ 
tunately, does not, and the only solution I see to the difficulty of 
getting practice in personally commanding and leading a Brigade 
Division, is that every year Majors of Horse and Field Batteries desir¬ 
ous of doing so should have command, in turn, of a Brigade Division 
at Aldershot, under the Lieut.-Colonel Commanding the said Brigade 
Division. If this could be arranged I am sure most Majors would 
gladly avail themselves of such an opportunity, and the experience 
gained would be of great value. A uniform system of handling , a com- 
