LAND AND WATER 
January 30, 1915. 
of it 1 Expressed in terms of money only, every day by which 
the duration of the war can be shortened means a saving of 
Bcvcral tons of million pound*. 
Tho writer, for obvious reasons, cannot, in an aiticlo 
meant for publication, eipre-ss himself otherwise than in 
Kcneral terms. So he will, to^lay, content InmseU by asking 
hifl readers to conaider the effect it would have on the duration 
of the war if an aeria' attack by the Allies succeeded in cut- 
ting, for twenty-four hours only, all means of communication; 
teUvoen the Germans in tlieir trenches and Uieir base. And 
from his information as well as hia technical knowledge and 
calculations, tlie writer knows that, in seriously suggcstins 
a strong, comprehensive and sustained aerial ofiensivo, he is 
not a victim of wild dreams. 
THE QUESTION OF INVISIBLE 
UNIFORMS. 
By COL. F. N. MAUDE, C.B. (late R.E.). 
IN my last artick I quoted the opinion of the Duke of 
Wellington, vuat in his day the colour of uniforms 
was of small importance aa compared with the 
desirability of an easUy distinguishable silhouette 
against the sky-line, and it must be apparent to any- 
one who thinks tlie matter out that it must be of even 
less importance nowadays, when men begin to fire on one 
another at ranges measured by the mile. There were riflemen 
in the Duke's days in all armies who could shoot as straight up 
to about 400 yards as we can shoot at 1,200, and the sport of 
picking oft officers, shooting down gun teams, etc., was aa 
popular then as now, and concealment to the stalker must 
have been quite as important, and far more difficult to obtain, 
just as it is quite easy to get within a mile of a black buck, 
but to creep up unobserved within the last two hundred yards 
is much harder. The truth is, as I said before, that the 
whole question never received any scientific tactical con- 
sideration at all, and that we were rushed into the change 
from red to khaki by an utterly nninstructed public opinion 
which will cost us far more lives in the near future than the 
reformers ever expected to save. 
Cat tbl> picture out, place it acainst different backgrooods at a dietanea 
■waT firom tbe eyes until the tlgiire looks as large as a man appeals at 
(00 ;ardB, i.e., about liaK an inch high. 
I do not question that there are times when concealment' 
is desirable, but I do maintain that in the big battles which 
lie aihead of us it is far more Important for the success of 
the whole army that the Commander, and his Staff generally, 
should be able to see how the several units under their 
command are combining their operations, than that here 
or there a few skirmishers should retain a whole skin. Tho 
trouble is that a little more consideration of the matter would 
have shown us how to combine both requirements at the samo 
time. 
I found the key to this problem some years ago at a cold- 
weather camp in India, by the following curious experience. 
Riding with the Staff for a big Divisional inspection on 
a great open plain, witGiout a scrap of cover for miles, when 
approacihing the ground we found that we could see one single 
scarlet battalion drawn np, and, away on its left, the glint 
and movement of horses betrayed a battery. Apparently two 
battalions were still missing, and, as the General did not wish 
to catch the line unprepared, we pulled up and waited. 
There were the usual caustic comments on the and 
Hegiments. "Late again, as usual 1 " kind of thing. But 
presently a slight movement in the interval caught my eye. 
I produced my field glasses — an unusually good pair, with 
a big field for picking up colours in the dark or in a hnlf- 
light — and there, to my astonishment, 1 saw the two missing 
battalions drawn up in line, quietly waiting in their appointed 
places. I said nothing for a few moments until the General 
became impatient, and then I passed up my glasses. I waa 
the only one present whose uniform allowed him to wear 
field glasses in full dress, and the General's astonishment was 
complete. 
He had had much experience in the Mutiny. As we rode 
Ihcme afterwards we discussed the case and similar happen- 
ings, and found an explanation simple and scientific enough. 
All the infantry were weai'ing scarlet alike, and all in 
marching order, but whereas the one battalion we had 
detect-ed at once wore brown belts, the others had the usual 
pipeclay belts of the period. The white pipeclay belts broke 
up the mass of each individual into rectangles and triangles 
not exceeding 12 inches in size, and at anything over 1,000 
yards these little surfaces dwindled to points too email to be 
perceived as colour by tho optic nerves. 
Then we compared notes, and I carried out oloscr- 
vations for quite a long period under his direction, 
which led to the final conclusion that except ag.iinst 
ft particular background it was not the colour but the 
size of the unbroken masa of it that mattered. Even 
" Skinner's Horse," who then wore a most conspicuous canary- 
coloured tunio or kaftan, became invisible at 1,500 yards 
when wearing their white belts, whereas liliey, or any other 
regiment, in complete khaki, belts and all, could be picked 
up at a couple of thousand yards or more with ease. But 
the essence of the whole matter lay in immobility. Moving 
troops can always be detected, and the trouble is that it is 
precisely when troops are lying down — i.e., not moving — ■ 
that both Staff and artillery want to know exactly where they 
are, and that is just the time when, with the present khaki^ 
you ciinnot find them. 
The moral effect on the men themselves must also 
not be neglected. In the present war, the cause for which 
wo are fighting is eo great that no hardships or dis- 
comfort seem able to depress the men, but it will not 
always be so, and I can recall many instances told me by 
men in India, and in the Zulu War, of the electric effect 
produced on a " fed up " body of men by the order for a 
general clean-up and an inspection parade. When the men 
saw themselves again as a whole, clean and smart in spite 
of retreats and hardship, tho regiment found its own soul, so 
to speak, and became a different body. 
Let me cite a single instance told to mo by tho Subhada* 
Major of a native cavalry regiment who had been throntjh 
the dreary experience of the siege of Kandahai- in 1879; 
where depression had reigned supreme and blie native regi- 
ments were more than a littlo doubtful in their minds as t« 
the invincibility we had claimed. 
Roberts' column had arrived overnight, after the march' 
from Kabul, and next morning, the 1st September, my friend's 
regiment marched out to take up its position for the coming 
battle. On tho way they were overtaken, first by tho 9th 
Lancers, then by a battery of R.H.A., both of them turned out 
to perfection aa if for a Royal inspection, and he said, " Sahib, 
the sight of those men, so splendidly smart and efficient, 
made our hearts go up with a bound, and we fought that 
day as we had not fought for montihs before ; but if they had 
been all rusty and dirty it would have been a very different 
story, for our men were very full of doubts that morning." 
Messes. Maskei,tnb and Devant are inviting convakscent scliiicrs 
and Failars to tlKir enlertTinnM'.nt at St. George's Hall. Reserved s^atg 
will be given, free of charge, to any convalescent soldiers and s.nilor9 
who ask fnr them This inviUtion holds good for any performance 
until the Easter holidays. 
14* 
