PRECIS 
AND 
AP IBS AS INAS J vat, A EO) INT 
REVUE DARTILUERIE. 
OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE ARMS AT THE 
BATTLE OF THE YALU. 
BY 
M. P. MERVEILLEUX DU VIGNAUX. 
TRANSLATED BY 
IM, 135 16), 10p 
M. pu VieNAvx does not attempt to tell again the story of the battle, but avails 
himself of the more exact knowledge now procurable to derive some definite con- 
clusions from its technical details. The Yalu battle, says he, is but an imperfect 
image of what would take place, say in the Mediterranean, in case of an engage- 
ment between two Huropean fleets manned by well trained crews and furnished 
with up to date material. 
The weight of a Chinese broadside was 6 times that of a Japanese, but that did 
not suffice to give the Petchili fleet any real superiority. The state of its material, 
the absence of quick-firing guns, and the want of training in the crews, placed the 
Chinese in a position of marked inferiority. We cannot therefore hope to deduce 
from the various phases of this engagement any conclusions of absolute finality 
for the conduct of modern warfare. 
But some useful instruction may be obtained by the close study of certain 
episodes, and by submitting them to a sort of technical enquiry as to how far 
training and moral force may be considered negligeable quantities in the estimation 
of the particular facts disclosed. 
This enquiry will therefore be limited to an examinstion of weapons and armour 
Without opening up the complex question of naval tactics. 
i°—Hutis or,suips. Machinery suffered little, but top hamper, such as 
military masts, was completely swept away. Men were wounded as much by 
splinters of the hull and superstructure as by those of shells. 
All superstructures increase the number of splinters and the size of the target, 
and cause many shells to burst which would otherwise pass harmlessly overhead. 
They should therefore be reduced to a minimum compatible with the proper 
behaviour of the ship at sea. 
There were numerous fires in the cabins and in the coal bunkers. Wood and 
paint should therefore be as scarce as possible. The Japanese officers have come 
to the conclusion that all bedding must be carried below the armoured deck when 
12, vou. XXII. 82a 
