7 
in metal than in silk, and because there is no danger from burning fragments left 
in the bore. 
General Wille says the question will have to be decided by experience. 
(24.) With respect to the gun carriage twice mentioned by General Wille, 
which stood a number of rounds with a recoil of 14 tons without injury Captain 
Kuezera objects that this must have been a brand new carriage, and that no 
carriage weakened by travelling would stand it.. General Wille replies that over 
1000 rounds had been fired from it, and it had done various marches and more 
than one railway journey. 
(25.) Zhe Du Bange anti-recoil spur.—The end of the trail is bent parallel 
to the ground for about 2 feet, and contains a hydraulic buffer and spring. To 
this buffer is connected a spur or spike driven deep into the ground. On firing 
the carriage runs back but the spike stands fast, and the buffer spring, com- 
pressed during the recoil, brings the carriage to the front again to its original 
position. On hard ground the spike is not used, but is taken off and hung on 
the limber. 
The spur brake is objected to as causing violent and irregular jump. 
(26.) ‘The anchor brake is a grapnel with spring shank. It is fixed in the 
ground in front of the gun and connected by chains to the breast of the carriage, 
It is said to have been tried at Calais and to have stood 250 rounds without 
giving way. : 
With respect to this as to the spur brake, General Wille objects that it can only 
be used on favourable ground. The Griison buffer carriage which reduces the 
recoil to 2 feet, is good enough for him. 
(27.) Various opinions for and against armour shields—General Wille 
reckons that a shield would weigh 250 lbs., would demoralize the gunners and 
would make a handsome target and a screen for the enemy to burst his shrapnel 
on. The gunner’s best defence is the superiority of his own fire. 
(28.) Changes in War Material since °91-—Germany had added one 
ammunition wagon per battery and reduced one store wagon. 
Common shell have been done away with, and shrapnel with fixed double 
action fuzes introduced. The high explosive shell have been improved. 
Austria has introduced a light Horse Artillery gun and has equalized the 
weights of common and shrapnel shell. 
Other nations have made no progress. 
REMARKS BY TRANSLATOR, 
With the exception of the field howitzer man, none of the critics seem to take 
exception to General Wille’s main principles. They all seem to agree with him 
about deep zone of shrapnel effect, high velocity, flat trajectory, and great power. 
But besides the various objections to details, there seems to be a general idea 
that he has over-estimated the strength of his materials, and that his gun will 
burst or his carriage collapse. As regards the pressure in the bore, the critics 
have a trifle the best of it, and he is practically driven to admit that his gun 
cannot be made out of ordinary gun-steel. My own view, if I may be exercised 
for putting it forward, is that if General Wille trusts to shrinking one tube on 
another to equalize the strain on his metal, he will find himself mistaken; and 
further that his factor of safety for nitro powder should be doubled at least. 
Most of us who use H.C. and Schultze are familiar with the violent cartridges that 
occasionally occur in the best shooting batches. I think General Wille will have 
to put another hundredweight on to his gun, preferably in the shape of wire. As 
for the material of his tube and jacket, it is clear that “low” gun-steel will not 
do; the question is whether “ high ” steel—say with an elastic limit of 40 tons 
and a breaking strain of 80—can be used or no, Such steel, if required, could 
