UAND 'AND WATER 
November 28, 1914. 
mana did to, but finding that the French and ourselves re- 
fuaed to walk into the traps of their devising, or when caugbt 
aroyed rather more than a maUih for them with equal numbers, 
the Germans were compelled to fall back on more primitive 
methods. Having their heavy siege artillery close at hand, 
they were for the time in a position of relative advantage over 
us, particularly over the British, whose siege trains had been 
left in England. _ j ait <i,« 
But this inequality has since been redressed. All tne 
Allies are abundantly supplied with siege gear and guns ol 
every description, and as our Flying Corps has now acquired 
a pronounced superiority over the flying men of the enemy, 
the iferman guns are not likely to give so much trouble in 
the future. Moreover, the German troops throughout are 
manifesUy deteriorating in quality and losing confidence in 
the issue of the campaign, and the degree of defence a fort or 
entrenchment can put up depends on the men inside it far 
more than on the skill or strength of its design. In the mean- 
time we have been gaining invaluable experience in the 
making of trenches of all kinds, and I notice particularly that 
our men have discovered what excellent cover can be made 
out of the craters blown out by the big howitzer shells. Years 
ago this point used often to be discussed as a possible method 
of rapid approach, and I fully expect to see it presently tried. 
If the ground over which the advance has been made has 
been sufficiently torn up by sheUs, so much the better ; but 
if not, it is quite practicable for your own artillery to drop 
shells some 30ft. apart along the line of your intended trench, 
as ehcwn in plan on previous page. 
When darkness comes on, your scouts creep out and 
occupy the most advanced craters, and working parties follow- 
ing with pick and shovel get into the holes nearest to the line 
of the trench and sap outwards to connect up with one 
another. 
" Sapping " is merely the art of digging in a trench with- 
out being seen. The sapper, starting from a trench or hole, 
shovels the earth out and throws it half-left or half-right in 
front of him as the case may be, building it up gradually till 
it is high enough to give cover from sight and bullets. If 
artillery fire is still to be faced, he digs right down till his 
head stooping is covered by the ground itself. At night, or 
in temporary lulls, he simply digs a shallow trench as rapidly 
as possible, creeping forward in it and leaving it to his com- 
rades to widen out, the rate of progress depending upon the 
depth of the trench. 
■^ 
^ t-^Qfeet—* Plan. 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
THE SIX-INCU GUN. 
To the Editor of Lasd and Water. 
Sir, — In reply to Mr. Beaumont, my " appai-ent incoibi 
eistency " is duo to the fact that the figures given in " Fight- 
ing Ships" are the usual proving ground figures with the 
maximum possible penetration assuming direct impact, such 
as never obtains in battle. In any case, as the Scharnhorst'i 
thinnest armour is 4 inches, our 6-inch guns firing A.P. against 
either cruiser would have been absolutely useless. We had 
only two guns wherewith to attack armour. 
Six-inch guns, of course, generally fire lyddite; but 
would etill be "practically useless" much over 4,000 yards, 
as the margin for error in elevation is small ; while against 
fhips with such large armoured areas as the Scharnhorst's, of 
every three hits obtained two — on the law of probabilities — ■ 
would fetch up useless against the armour. 
Feed T. Jane. 
SBOWUIO DOW SAPPERS WOHK IN THE TEENCH. 
In ground thoroughly shaken and loosened by shell ex- 
plosdons 2ft. an hour would be a fair rate of progress, so if 
the shell holes are not far apart the whole line should be 
connected up in ample time to admit of occupation by a full 
liiie of troops before dawn, quite close up to the enemy's posi- 
tion. If the line itself is not quite so straight as a sergeant- 
major might like to see it, on service this does not matter iQ 
the least. 
Rbcent and noterworlhy additiona to the Daily Telegraph sciies 
of ghilling war boolcs are Motor Transports in War, by Horace Wyatt 
and With the B.A.M.O. at the Front, by E. Charles Vivian. The first- 
named deals fairly exhanatively with the work of the motor transport 
■ervice, and the chapter on "The Importance of the Military Motor" 
is well worth reading— as, in tact, is the whole of the book. The 
•econd of these volnmcs presents the R.A.M.C. in peace and T^ar, 
and contains aome exceptionally interesting chapters compiled from 
the actnal experiences of men of the medical service now at the front. 
Both are very msefiil and well-produced handbooks. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir,— The question put to Mr. F. Jane by your correspon- 
dent may perhaps be fairly answered by saying that the calcu- 
lated 3in. perforation is by a direct hit, and right-angled hita 
are uncommon in war. 
But tie more engrossing question is the following : — If 8in. 
guns can destroy 6in. guns, uninjured and untouched, at a 
safe range, 9in. guns ought to be able with equal impunity^ 
given sufficient speed to maintain the range — to destroy Sin. 
guns. Tho best 9.2in. B.L.R. gun, therefore, according to 
Brassey, has a nozzle energy of 20,685 foot tons. Krupp's best 
8.2in. has 5,629 metre tons, or 18,757 foot tone. That would 
argue that the Krupp's 8.2in. is as good as the British 9.2in. 
Is that a factl And, if so, is it not evident (that was always 
more or less apparent) our cruisers, as a rule, are under- 
gunned 1 
If it is not a fact, why did not Uie 9in. guns beat the 8in. 
keeping out of efieotive ranged Is it not a question of vital 
importance, and eteema to "be one which might well receive 
discussion 1 
Sincerely yours, 
T. Batt* 
Sermoyly, November 24th, 1914. 
ZEPPELINS. 
November 20, 1914, 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Dear Sir, — Readers will find all about the liquid gas for 
dirigibles in an old romance of Uudyard Kipling published 
in the book, "Actions and Reactions." 
The fact is an indication of the value of the " revelations * 
of Dr. Karl Graves. 
Yours faithfully. 
A. H. S. 
To the Editor of Land .\nd Water. 
Sir,— Mr. C. I. Thomson, in his letter in your issue of 
November 14th, quotes Dr. Carl Graves' book, " The Secret of 
the Gorman War Office," as follows : — 
"... the Germans have disicovered a metal much lighter 
than aluminium . . . and a gas very much lighter than 
hydrogen, so that the buoyancy and lifting capacity of their 
Zeppelins is enormously increa.sed." 
The italic is mine, Mr. Thomson can be reassured. Even 
if the new gas were infiiiitely lighter than hydrogen, the lift- 
ing power of an envelope of given size could only be increased 
by 7 per cent. As for tie metal, its discovery, while possible, 
is in the highest degree unlikely. All the common metals are 
known, and a Zeppelin cannot be built out of something so 
rare as to have hitherto escaped observation. 
Yours, etc.. 
Optimist. 
WASTAGE. 
November 22, 1914. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir, — Mr. Hilaire Belloc, in his interesting calculations 
of Germany's supply of men, makes no mention of the Navy. 
Having calculated the number of men in the active regular 
AiTuy, Landwchr, and Landsturm, he reckons up the numbers 
required for railways, arms factories, mines, etc., but does 
not refer to the number of men in the Navy and Naval 
Reserve. It would be interesting to know how many he 
would place under this head. 
Yours faithfully, 
C. S. 
14* 
