Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-07-19

Breech-LOnding Rifles i'm Action, ana
Vast superiority of the PruSsian
Small Arm. ......... ID. ..a
From the London Times, July a.

.-Hf.I. lffOm bne JOnuOn llmes, July 81 '. ID. /.
The great lesson to be learned by military
men from the present war in Germany
is the irresistible superiority of breech-
loading rifles in action. The Austrian
army in Bohemia was supposed TO be nu-
merically stronger than the Prussian; it con-
tanned far larger proportion OF veteran
soldiers and probably of scientific officers,
it was commanded by q man second in repu-
tation to no general In Europe, it was fight
ing on the defensive for q cause which, as
against the invaders, is a good one, andin
a country of which the population is loyal
to the House of Hapsburg, and yet it has
been gradually drtUen back, lCttb q loss eSttDaG-
ted 6y the PrussiG,as at thirty or forty thousand
men, and is R0lo said 10 be greatly dIspIlted by
the series of reUerses lobtch ii has sustained. lG
was for some time supposed that "strategi-
cal reasons" of an unexplained and mys-
teriOus nature might have induced Marsh ii
Benedek to fall back, point by point to-
wards position selected by himself Tor
a general engagement. This Supposition
is no longer tenable. 1t is altogether in
credible that such resistance as was offer
ed by the Austrians at SkalicZ, Trautenau,
and Munchengratz was a feint, after all, or
that Gitschin was allowed to be stOrmed,
and Prince Frederick Charles to effect a
Junction with the Crown Prince, in the
hope of drawing the enemy to the battle
ground between KOniggratz and Joseph
stadt, where nothing but decisive victory
could avail Austria, and where crushing
defeat might open to the Prussians way to
Vienna. In these sanguinary conflicts the
Austrian troops fought obstinately and
well, but they were Jdtrty GeateIl-dnd they
toere beaten, according to all the accounts
that have reached us--by the more rapid fire
Of the PrusSIdp infantry. From first to last
1t Is the needle gun chat has apparently
carried the day, aud the needle gun is sim
ply breech-loadmg rifle of very indiffer-
ent quality. In principle, as well as in
construction, it is not to be compared with
several bTeeeh-loading rifles manufactured
by English makers; but imperfect as it is,
il has proved quite good enough to secure
victory for the Prussians in almost every
encounter. If we refer to the letter of our
correspondent at the headquarters OF the
First Pru.sian army we find ample proofs
of its extraordinary effect. Ii was this
which mainly enabled the Prussans to
force the passage of the bridge over the
Iser at POdoll, between Turnau and
MunchengratZ. The Austrians had Occu-
pied the village through which the road
passes towards the bridge, and commanded
all the approaches from windows and bar
ricades thrown up across the street. But
Jil6 Il GuSslhu TllleillCu ''llTtu dOOuJ LuTeC
times before the Austrians, armed only
with muZzle-lOading rifles, were able to re-
ply" This more chan compensated for
any disadvantage in numbers or position,
and the AusJriails seem to have been COM
pletely overmatched. ''In the street, the
Austrian soldiers, huddled together and
encountered lotth clumsy TdDsrOdS, were unable
to load with ease, and could return no
adequate fire to that of the Prussians,
while these, from the advantage of better
arm, poured their quick volleys into an al
most defenseless crJwd.p. 1t was the same
at the railway bridge, about two hundred
yards distant, where like struggle was
going on simultaneously. Here, toO,"
says our correspondent, 'the needle gun
showed its advantage over the old-fashion-
ed weapons of the Austrians; for the latter
fell in the proportion of six to one Prus-
sian." At last the former retreated, leav-
ing most, if not all, of their killed and
wounded on the field and it was found
that not only was the number of Austrian
dead much greater, but that in the hOspi-
tails "the proportion Of aCOuRded AuStrSanS to
1oOHnded PrlLsSiGnS l0dS as .fUe TO one" .
These are startling results, and yet they
are no more than any one untetlered by
military prejudices would have anticipat-
ed. There may be still some lingering
doubts among old hands as to whether y
breech-loader shoots as ''hard"-in other
words, carries quite as far-as muzzle-
loader, but the better opinion is that ii held
straight it is fully equal to its awkward
rival in this respect, while no one ever ven
tured to doubt that it does much greater
execution. Now, battle strongly reSem-
bles a battue, with this difference, that
GOODNESS and self-possession are far rarer
and of far more Importance. If sportsmen
are often flurried by the difficulty of load
ing fast enough while birds are getting up
on all sides, how can young soldiers be ex-
pected to keep their heads clear and their
hands steady in the process of ramming
down while they are themselves under fire?
From this point of view, another remark
made by our correspondent with the Prus-
sian army deserves serious consideration.
1t is not only in rapidity of discharge and
in safety of loading that breech-load-
ing rifles surpass muzzle-l leaders, but also
IN the average direction Of aim. "A man
with musket, on the nipple of which he
has to place cap, naturally raises the muz-
zle in the air, and in the hurry and excite
ment OF action often forgets to lower it, and
only sends his bullet over the heads of the.
opposite ranks, while the soldier armed
with breech-loading musket keeps his
muzzle down, and if in haste he fires it off
without raising the butt to his shoulder his
shot still takes effect, though often low; and
a proof of this is that very many. of the
Austrian prisoners are wounded in the
is urged against the feech-loading system
for weapons to be used in war is one that
answers itself. 1t is said chat regiments
would fire away their ammunition so fast
that it would be impossible to keep them
supplied. ThiSis as much as to say that