SKILL-AT-ARMS. 
549 
guish themselves in that way. It is a pity they did not limit their 
serious reading to the official account of the French and German war, 
and that they did not strive to form their own opinions from the study 
of the best narrative and the German drill-books of the time; but 
they preferred reading less dry, and with their light reading took ready¬ 
made opinions. They have given an impulse to the Regiment; and 
they have taught us it is not safe to leave gunnery and the gun to be 
looked after by the Ordnance Select Committee and Shoeburyness. 
The principal points of error in our new tactics are drilling to recon¬ 
noitre and to take the range, going into action independently by 
batteries, and halting in a preparatory position. In defence, artillery 
positions would always be reconnoitred, and ranges would be taken : 
in a first position of attack, some reconnaissance might generally be 
made by a Commanding Officer, and would be made if it were advisable 
to make it: to the nearer positions of attack batteries would almost 
always advance without reconnaissance. We make a great mistake in 
drilling for the first two cases instead of for the last. We ought to 
drill to come into action by brigade divisions, without reconnaissance, 
against something not seen from where we start. That would be drill 
in handling for the Commanding Officer and drill in gunnery for the 
Commanding Officer and his command. As often as not, the drill 
ought to be for the Commanding Officer to lead his batteries up to the 
position, and for the Battery Commanders to find their targets inde¬ 
pendently. Our range-finding is skill-at-arms for domestic use only. 
It is not possible to believe that any officer who has seen the proceed¬ 
ing can think it warlke; nor possible to believe that any officer will 
maintain that it would be right in war for the Commander of a brigade 
division or of a battery to put any faith in a report of range found by 
a non-commissioned officer. All Field Artillery officers ought to be 
trained to judge distance across country. Moving independently by 
batteries is not of the genius of Field Artillery : Field Artillery is or¬ 
ganised by batteries, and manoeuvres by brigade divisions Halting in 
a preparatory position is contrary to a first principle in tactics. 
Considering the state we are in, and the state to which we might 
come, it is advisable to look for immediate security against irrational 
change, and then to proceed with deliberation to amend our faults. 
We could find our defence in a standing committee composed of the 
General Officer Commanding Artillery at Aldershot, the General Officer 
Commanding Woolwich District, if he had held a command of Horse 
or Field Artillery, and the Deputy-Adjutant-General, Royal Artillery, 
at the Horse Guards, if he was in like manner qualified. The corres¬ 
pondence of the General Officer Commanding Artillery at Aldershot 
must pass through the General Officer Commanding the Division ; but 
the Commander of the Artillery at Aldershot ought to be on the com¬ 
mittee because he is most in touch with Horse and Field Artillery, has 
most means of making trials, and sees most of field movements of all 
Arms. The committee would take cognisance of every proposal of 
change in Field Artillery material, drill, or tactics. Their recommend¬ 
ation would carry great weight. Their adverse opinion would not be 
an absolute veto: the officer making the proposal could appeal to the 
Commander-in-Chief, 
