ARTILLERY FROM AN INFANTRY OFFICER’S POINT OF VIEW. 275 
such as artillery would represent on service, and from which gunners would derive 
much instruction as what they might expect to encounter on service, and enable 
them to draw tactical deductions therefrom ; such practice could not fail to be of 
interest to the infantry, as giving them the opportunity of ascertaining the vulner- 
ability of an artillery target, and the best way to attack it. The general 
deduction we drew from our experiments was that horses should not be brought 
within 1500 yards of steady infantry when coming into action or on the march. 
When limbering up at that range difficulty would be experienced and if you 
come into action against infantry in position who were not being fired upon by 
anybody else at ranges under 1500 yards you would lose most of your horses ora 
great number of them. With regard to the gun detachments we found that at 1200 
yards but small results were produced by very carefully aimed volleys from a line 
of rifles occupying much the same front as the guns they were attacking, but 
when they got to 1000 yards the detachments began to lose fast, though with well 
posted guns and detachments it seemed as if the guns could be fought for some 
time. Beyond 1500 yards the effect of long range rifle fire rapidly diminishes, as 
a rule the fall of the bullet cannot be seen, and except at large targets and when 
ammunition is abundant it is not worth the expenditure of the ammunition. Some 
good practice was made at a target representing a battalion in quarter-column at 
a range of 1800 yards, but very poor results against guns in the open at this 
range. Beyond this range results were practically nil. It is perhaps worth noting 
that even last year there seemed to be quite an open question as to the best way 
of firing these long range volleys, the size of the fire unit and what the system of 
distribution of fire should be adopted, we also noticed that better results were 
obtained when the volleys were fired quickly with little interval, than when fired 
deliberately with careful working by N.-C. officers and officers. These questions 
were much discussed by the infantry officers who were present at Glenbeigh at 
the time, including the officers of one of the courses which was then at the camp. 
Such combined practice cannot fail to be of interest to all concerned and I trust 
that it will be an annual institution at all our Camps. 
Lirevut.-CoLtone., C. M. Downine.—I desired to ask a question which, how- 
ever, has already been asked, about the advance-guard battery. There is nothing 
in the infantry drill-book which makes it a normal condition for the advance-guard 
battery, say with a division, to be with the advance-guard. I think the general 
feeling now on the continent, both in France and in Germany, is to keep the 
brigade division as much as possible together, and if the advance-guard find that 
they require artillery that the leading battery could easily be pushed forward in 
time to support the advance-guard, but that otherwise the batteries should remain 
together near the head of the main body. 
Lizvut.-CoLoneL R. W. Rarinsrorp-Hannay.—Sir Redvers Buller and 
gentlemen, a good deal has been said about high explosive shell this evening. 
The following paragraph taken from a lecture delivered by Major Shewell, R.A., 
at the Royal Engineer Institute, Chatham, gives | think a very good summary of 
the general opinion of the use of high explosive shell as an auxiliary to the fire of 
field guns. ‘‘ Against troops in the open high explosive shell do not, and can 
never be expected to equal good time shrapnel, in which control can be exercised 
over the direction, force and size of the bullets, which is not possible over the 
pieces of a high explosive shell. Howitzer fire of shrapnel with its high angle of 
descent and low velocity is of little value for any purpose. Thus the high angle 
fire of high explosive shell, though it can well supplement, can never replace the 
direct fire of field guns.” 
Then, gentlemen, the Lecturer has shown us a contrivance by means of which 
the Germans can use their tangent scales and fuzes at the same reading in yards, I 
37 
