854. COMMENDED ESSAY, 1895. 
bringing the more distant ones there, would probably be prohibitive 
of a more frequent recurrence than this of such large assemblies. 
Whether, however, at such intervals as those mentioned, or, if that 
were found to be impracticable, at longer ones, it is certain that the 
complete manning of the guns of a fortress is periodically necessary if 
the arrangements for the defence are to be tested, and their weak 
points detected, before, and not when, an enemy’s ships appear in 
front of the forts. 
(2) The. group of forts under a Fire Commander constitutes the 
largest fighting unit of a fortress; and he would require much more 
frequent opportunities of exercising his command than would be 
allowed by the occasional assemblies of the whole of the Artillery of 
the fortress. It is true that a Fire Commander’s duties are to a great 
extent of a preparatory nature, and that during an engagement his 
part would as a rule be confined to the earlier stages, when the enemy 
was stillat along range: but although his action would be thus limited, 
the subsequent conduct of the engagement by the Battery Commanders 
would entirely depend on it. ‘The rapid choice of an objective, 
the transmission of the necessary orders to the Battery Commanders, 
and their instant action on them, and finally the decision as to the 
right moment for handing over the control of fire to the Battery 
Commanders are all matters which require experience on the part of 
all concerned, the want of which might entail serious consequences in 
action. Skeleton drill could no doubt be profitably carried out in the 
absence of the bulk of the garrisons of the forts; but, for a rehearsal 
to be at all satisfactory, it is necessary that not only the Fire and 
Battery Commanders, but all those occupying posts of any importance 
should be the identical persons who would fill them in time of war; and 
this condition could not of course be fulfilled unless the whole of the 
Corps included in the Fire Command were present. No arrangement 
indeed could be considered wholly satisfactory which did not provide 
for the Fire Commanders of the more important groups of forts at all 
events having an opportunity of exercising their commands every 
year. There should be no difficulty in carrying this ont, as the most 
important guns would naturally be manned by the men closest at 
hand, that is to say by the Regulars stationed in the fortress, and by 
the local Auxiliaries. As it would be out of the question for Militia 
Artillery Regiments at a distance, which might be allotted to the 
fortress, to train there every year, they would doubtless be told off to 
the forts of lesser importance. It would probably be sufficient, 
especially as the guns in these latter forts would be likely to be of a 
simple nature, if they were manned every 2nd or 8rd year. The Fire 
Commanders of the groups of forts of minor importance would there- 
fore only be able to exercise their batteries together at these longer 
intervals, though perhaps a partial manning could be effected 
oftener. 
(3) Want of experience on the part of a Fire Commander in 
working together the Batteries under him might be partially remedied 
by his allowing independent action to the Battery Commanders under 
