938 CASUALTY RETURNS OF THE GERMAN ARTILLERY. 
arms. Of the German batteries engaged, 36 took part in two of the 
battles, and four in all three. 
The battle of Mars-la-Tour was tactically a drawn fight, though 
strategically the Germans obtained an important advantage: each side 
retained its ground at the close of the battle, and each side lost about 
16,000 men. j 
In the summary at the end of appendix A. and in all the following 
tables the casualties to wheels have been computed on the most liberal 
scale, in order that whatever deductions we may draw as to proportion 
of spare wheels required, we may err on the side of advocating an 
excessive rather than an inadequate provision. 
It may be urged, with some show of reason, that the casualties to 
poles and wheels are likely to be greater during an arduous march 
over difficult country, than on the actual battle-field, where it is 
notorious that casualties to matériel due to shell fire, are insignificant ; 
and that though the figures given here may be a guide for a campaign 
in Western Europe, where the roads are usually good; they cannot be 
a trustworthy guide for such campaigns as we are frequently engaged 
in all over the world. 
I do not however hold with this argument, for two reasons :— 
(1) Because in battles like those of Mars-la-Tour and Gravelotte, 
the rough cross-country work on the field of battle, is an in- 
finitely greater strain than the most trying march along the 
worst roads ; and— 
(2) Because experience has shown that our matériel is so excellent, 
that the roughest marches can be successfully performed, with 
little or no damage to wheels. As an instance, we may 
recall the march of 1 Battery R.H.A., 3 Batteries Field, and 
2 Batteries Heavy Field Artillery, from the Indus to Kandahar, 
without the loss of a wheel; this is probably the most severe 
march that a mixed Artillery force has ever been called upon 
to undertake. 
As stated above, the casualties to wheels have been most liberally 
computed in the summary and comparative tables, the system which I 
have adopted being to count every vehicle which has been abandoned, 
as a loss under the heading of “wheels” equivalent to the number of 
wheels on the vehicle—thus a wagon is counted as 4 wheels, a limber 
as 2, etc. Now it is obvious that this system gives us a wide margin 
of safety ; inasmuch, if a vehicle is so damaged that it has to be aban- 
doned, not only is it possible that some of its wheels may still be 
serviceable, but such wheels would actually become available as spare 
wheels for other vehicles, which have suffered no other injury than 
damage to their own wheels. 
Before proceeding further we may note that the establishments of 
the different natures of batteries were as follows :— 
Officers. Men. Horses. 
Inores® ATMBUNGIAY 350 - 000 4h 00> 386 LEO 306 300 BOY 
IniehtpiieldsBattenyamwass0= sess alton aeeeneme eee ello 4 
Heavy ss 5 Seedy We ees 0s SI ot eee aN 6 
a a 
