540 
SILVER MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY, 1892. 
stand, and keep, to a flank, at least until the ranging is completed and 
the battery has settled down to a distributed fire. 
One of the most effective means of training for a commander and 
his battery, is battery gun drill, or, as some officers call it, Fire Dis¬ 
cipline drill. 
A Battery Commander’s duties demand so much of his attention 
that it would be well if we enforced in our service some of the strin¬ 
gent orders from foreign regulations on the subject of interrupting 
him. If an orderly is sent to get some information regarding elevation, 
&c., he is not allowed to address the Battery Commander directly, 
especially during ranging, for fear of disturbing the thread of the 
process. The question is either asked of a Section Officer or the 
orderly waits for the next word of command, which will give him the 
requisite information. 
Criticisms of a battery at practice should, for these reasons, be 
reserved until the conclusion of a series. A Battery Commander, 
deep in observation, does not want to have his attention withdrawn to 
the fact that his limbers are moving to the rear at an unauthorised 
pace, or some such comparatively unimportant detail. The order “ Do 
not speak to the man at the wheel ” should be strictly enforced. 
The training of a Battery Commander must be progressive from 
that of Section Officer and must be kept at fighting pitch by almost 
daily battery gun drill and by seizing every opportunity, when other 
batteries are practising, of exercising his powers of observation of 
fire. 
The Captain .—The understudy of the Battery Commander; and, when 
it does not happen that he is placed in charge of the massed 2nd 
line of wagons of the Brigade Division will, when the battery is 
in action, practically be in charge of everything but the guns. He 
will place the limbers under cover and will constantly move about in 
the battery, watching the expenditure and arranging for the renewal 
of ammunition, seeing that duties are correctly performed and that 
casualties are quietly and quickly replaced. He should, as soon as 
possible, by listening to words of command, ascertain what the target, 
elevation, &c., is so as to be able to replace his Battery Commander 
upon occasion. It must be understood that when he is in charge of a 
massed 2nd line he would not be allowed to leave his charge. 
Section Officers .—Although allowed but little initiative during prac¬ 
tice, the Section Officers are important links iu the chain of Fire 
Discipline, as the channel of communication of the orders of the 
Battery Commander to the gun detachments and as supervisors to see 
that these orders are correctly carried out. 
Hot only in this executive function is their duty an important one, 
but in the training and preparation of their sections they have one of 
equal moment. To this end they must themselves be thoroughly well 
educated in all the technical work of a battery and, more than that, 
they must be able to impart their knowledge to the dullest intellects, 
for the Battery Commander is dependent on them for the selection of 
layers and the instruction of recruits. 
