SILVER MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY, 1892 . 
533 
The mere recital of these headings is sufficient indication of the 
necessity of Fire Discipline in a battery, whether Horse, Field, Moun¬ 
tain, or Garrison, for without the correct performance of any one of 
them the action of the guns might prove abortive, however perfect 
the tactics, drill, and discipline under fire might be. 
Although there is no dispute as to the necessity of Fire Discipline, 
there has been some expression of disapproval at the prominence 
given, of late years, to the cultivation of this quality, and some of 
our officers fear that, in paying great attention to it we are losing, or 
may lose, the facility in manoeuvre for which our artillery has long 
been famous. 
Prince Hohenlohe has said, “the proper objects of the arm are 
timely arrival upon the field of battle and good practice when there,” 
thus placing good shooting, in which Fire Discipline plays so leading 
a part, upon an equal footing of importance with facility and celerity 
of manoeuvring. It is self-evident that, if the arrival of the guns be 
timely, it is useless if they cannot shoot well when there, and it is 
equally indisputable that, however well artillery may shoot, it is of no 
avail if its effect be not applied at the right time and place. 
With the necessity of manoeuvring power our artillery has long 
been impressed, and, in respect of it, is second to none ; but the 
importance of the possession of a high state of Fire Discipline has 
only lately dawned upon us; because we have never, since the adop¬ 
tion of rifled arms, been obliged, by an equal enemy, to feel the want 
of this vital element of success upon the battle-field. When we 
became fully aware of our failing in this direction, and we are lucky 
not to have had it forced upon our notice by disaster, it is but natural 
that a great prominence should have been temporarily given to the 
question in our endeavours to make up for lost time. This may 
account, somewhat, for the seeming diminution of importance attached 
to the quality of mobility, on which, hitherto, all our energies were 
concentrated. This relaxation is not real, and its apparent existence 
has been brought about by the enforced attention to a comparatively 
new subject, which has occupied the greatest share of our thoughts 
for the moment, an attention that will assume its just proportions 
when we have brought Fire Discipline on a par, as regards efficiency, 
with the other great quality of the arm already possessed by us in a 
high degree. 
Having defined Fire Discipline, let us now enter more in detail into its 
constituent parts, as enumerated under the headings given, and then 
we shall be able to see upon whom the responsibility for the correct 
performance of various duties rests, and determine what manner of 
training and instruction is necessary to attain a high state of efficiency. 
(a.) —Pointing Out the Objective. 
The selection of the objective, which is governed by tactical con¬ 
siderations, is the province of the Commander of the Brigade Division, 
who will receive orders from his Divisional General, in the case of one 
of Brigade Divisions of the Corps Artillery from the Officer Com¬ 
manding that body, or, in the case of the Corps and Divisional 
