Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-10
sMokeLEss POWDER IN WAR.
. Gives Many Advantages to the Sid
Making the Attack.

= Gives Many Advantages to the Side
Making the Attack.
The introduction of smokeless powder
has had considerable to dowith change
If tactics on the field Of battle. In the
absence of the smoke screen on both
tides, the company officers not only find
It easier to work together, but can con-
Tol their men and judge the effect OF
heir fire on the enemy to o far greater
degree than was formerly possible. From
sheir point of view this increased power
If control more than compensates the
attack for the increased facility OF CON
'cealment smokeless powder confers on
the defense. 1t is true that the latter
also profits by the same increased power
OF control, but they argue that from the
mature of things the defense, striving
only to prevent being beaten, whereas
the attack fights with the determination
to win, the latter is in a position to make
far better use of this new powder than
the former. Put in another form, it
comes to this: The heavier and more ac-
curate the fire whistling over a trench,
the harder it is to make men raise their
heads over it to take aim. Smokeless
powder makes it easier for the attack to
deliver such fire; hence the difficulties
of the defense will be increased.
Further, in the absence of smoke,
men stationary on the defense cannot
escape the depressing influence of the
/ dead and wounded lying around them,
but the attack leaves all these evidences
of the fight behind it. So here again
the advantage is on its side.
With reference to the question of the
use of smokeless powders by the artil-
lery, the general idea seems to be that
it was all gain to the side which
thought more of killing its enemy than
of avoiding being killed itself. It enor-
mously facilitates the maintenance of
fire discipline within the battery, permits
of continuous fire even at the most rapid
rate, for no smoke interferes with the
laying of the guns, and above all things
cheers the hearts of the men by enabling
them to see the results of their fire.
| As a means of concealment it is of no
use at all, for even at extreme ranges Of
| 5000 yards and upward the flash of dis
| charge is always distinctly visible. and
at fighting ranges the flash enables one
to note exactly the position of the ene-
my's guns. This was not always possi-
BILE with the old powders, for the smoke
obscured the object and prevented ones
picking up an exact point to aim at.
The artillery will be far from regret
ting the loss of the two clouds which
hung, the one in front of their own and
the other in front of the enemy's guns.
Smoke is a cover added to that furnish
ed by the ground, and no one has ever
been anxious for his opponent to have
covers which he himself could not turn
to advantage. If both are deprived of
this cover victory will belong to him
who, all else being equal, can most
skillfully supply the deficiency.
Manenvers will hereafter probably
take place over larger areas before ac-
tual fighting begins, and something of
an Indians craft and natural keenness
will be needed on the part of staff Off
GERS Smoke has been SO good a cover
on many occasions that its absence will
impose new conditions, and natural
cover will have to be much more ex-
tensively utilized. With the vanishing
poetry of the smoke battle the prose of a
new era will begin, in which cGmbat
will be more like game of chess in
view of the pieces as a whole, and new
dispositions of old qualities and virtues
will be wanted.-Iron Age.