270 ARTILLERY FROM AN INFANTRY OFFICER'S POINT OF VIEW. 
the guns only show their muzzles above the crest that artillery can 
fight at such short ranges.” 
There is no doubt a great future for machine guns, and as the results 
which I am about to quote will show a machine gun is at practically 
all targets equal to the fire of 30 rifles, and at some targets equal to a 
great deal more. One great advantage they have over infantry is that 
you can see with them where your bullets are going and can range, 
moreover, being as they can be in the charge of picked men, the 
chances are that hits in war will bear a better proportion to results 
obtained in peace than would be the case with ordinary infantry fire. 
In no way can machine guns take the place of artillery in Huropean 
warfare any more than they can supersede infantry. They will, how- 
ever, if properly used, be a most valuable adjunct to infantry and in 
many cases, such as holding a defile, guarding a flank etc., will often 
free half a company. Moreover it would be difficult to exaggerate the 
effect which, under certain circumstances, a few determined men with a 
machine gun and a bill-hook to improvise a little cover from view, 
could have on an advancing column. Cavalry, however good they may 
be, cannot search every bush in an enclosed country and a machine 
gun does not take much concealing. 
The following comparative results of machine gun and rifle fire made 
at Hythe last autumn may be interesting. 
Target a battery of six guns, 54 gunners, six limbers, six ammu- 
nition waggons at five ranges between 1550 and 1700 yards. Firing 
638 rounds which they could fire in one minute, two machine guns got 
81 hits on, including 17 on the gunners—40 men firing 600 rounds at 
the same target, which they could fire comfortably in about five 
minutes, got 58 hits on, including 18 on the gunners. The per 
centage of hits on the whole target, guns, limbers and gunners was 
in the case of the infantry, 8°83, and in the case of the machine guns, 
12°79. 
We may calculate that in either of the cases just quoted about 15 
gunners, 7.¢. 28 per cent. of the men of the battery were hit. The 
distance was found with a mekometer previous to opening fire. It 
may be presumed that the 40 men shooting were all picked shots, or 
they would not have been at Hythe. 
It probably took about one minute to get the range with the meko- 
meter. 
I think that we may safely conclude from the above experiments 
that at ranges over 1000 yards, and sometimes as great as 1700, both 
infantry and machine guns may reasonably expect under favourable 
circumstances to make it extremely hot for a battery, if they are 
already in position when the battery comes into action, and they will 
have the great advantage that they are usually much more easily con- 
cealed than artillery, and they may inflict heavy loss without the 
enemy knowing whence the fire is coming. Iam speaking of the ex- 
ception, for there is no doubt that under ordinary circumstances artillery 
can, even in peace in a given time with a given frontage produce more 
effect on a target than infantay can at ranges much over 1000 yards. 
