The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-05-25
Smokeless Powder,

The better balIfstic qualities of the So
called "snokeless'' powder. now in use
oy the infantries OF the world are known
20 ali users Of single-S1n weapons. but II
VIII have other effects in warfare not so
immediately apparent out just as impor-
'ant- 1t Is not soundless powder. though
Its report Is faint compared with the
below OF the old black grained stun, nor
IS 1t utterly smokeless, but the former
dense hanging cloud which followed heavy
firing has been replaced by light nlmy
vapor rapidly dissipated- The rife IRE OF
one man using smokeless powder Is not
visible at forty yards distance, nor - the
smoke made by twenty-four men at w
yards Artillery smoke cannot be seen
at 1,5O0 yards, though there is sort OF
electric fash Of light following the dis
charge Of the guns and a cloud OF dust
rising from dry ground and caused oy
the shock. The film disappears almost I'M
mediately. II has been recommended TO
artillery officers that, where possible, they
dampen the ground In front Of their guns
In order to avoid be;raying their exact
positions by this dust. Owing TO the lack
OF smoke. the location OF guns IN fortress
es will not be so readily determined by an
attacking force as IN the past and their
liability TO being dismounted In conse-
Queace much iessened. It will be still pos
sfble for educated commanders. however,
TO determine the positions Of fortress
guns with reasonable accuracy by the
shape of the Notifications themselves.
The new powder will be of special value
in firing from classmates. as II leaves the
air at TO breathe,
In open country. defenders hidden In
bitches and behind hedges can not be
placed by the smoke of their guns, and
shooting under the rolls OF vapor. SO COM
monty practiced and with such fatal ef-
feet in our civil war, will no longer be
possible. There will be no rolls to guide
the attacking marksmen. The cost Of
feeling an enemy's position. therefore. by
daylight in ordinary country. Is apt to
prove enormous, Those advancing will
be more or less exposed 70 q hidden foe.
There is no more uncomfortable feeling
than that Of being shot at by SONS one
out OF vision. and the moral effect of a
storm of bullets from unseen foemen on
an attacking force is to be counted upon
as one of the real things of the war.
This force. steadily decreasing under the
impact of bullets sent from some unas-
certainaible point a thousand yards away
will not have the sustaining influence Of
hearing Its own gun go off. and 20 make
a successful advance under these condi-
tons will require either the most season
ed troops or levies of most exceptional
bravery and steadiness.
Owing to the increased range given by
the smokeless powder and the fact that
there will be no dun pail hanging over the
field to obscure the vision, troops lying
down in the open will not only make them
selves as small as possible and throw up
tiny earthworks for their protection as
fast as possible. but they will! not have
any glittering thing about their uniform
or equipment that can be dispensed with.
A silver dollar in bright sunlight may be
seen LOCO yards away, and troops properly
instructed will avoid giving the enemy
any salient mark. Gun-barrels will be
turned so that the light may not strike
them, buckles will be covered, and little
tinsel and lace used. The dark and light
blue uniform of the United States army.
while not so marked as the red coats of
the British, is still easily distinguishable,
and casualties would be fewer if our SOL
diers were of a better color. The best
battle uniform ever worn, as American Of
ficers readily admit. was the smoky gray
OF the southern troops in the late war.
A line of men clad in this cloth blended
indlstingushably with smoke at 200 yards,
and many times 1t was impossible for the
federals to say whether their opponents
were standing up or lying down, or had
vanished entirely. The advantage of this
uniform would be less, of course, on
field where there was practically no smoke
at all, but still it is of a less striking
h,,a
mark.
The German axiom that the offensive
is necessarily superior 20 the defensive,
has been so weakened by the develop
ments of late years that Lord Wolseley
and other authorities now deny It totally.
In their opinion the advantage has pass
ed irrevocably to the side of the defense.
and they are confident that the next pitch
ed battle between armies of approximately
equal numerical and moral force will
prove it, 1t is certain that the attack will
have hard time of it until means are
found to lessen the advantages now con-
ferred upon the defense by zone Of fire
which has been extended TO more than
5000 yards and a powder which does not
betray position. IT was formerly good
tactics 10 hammer a hole IN an oppo-
nent's line Of battle by means of the con-
centrated fire of artillery, and then to
swing an enormous mass of troops
against this weakened point, thus pierre
ing his formation and separating a wing
from the body. Just how this Is to be
accomplished in future is not apparent. II
is difficult TO hammer holes into an en-
envy which you cannot see and who may
have changed his position utterly without
II -. ~.
projectiles seems unfinished. Further
more. heavy guns steadily in action will
be placed at marked disadvantage by In
Visible sharpshoOters advanced to within
1.500 yards OF them, from which point
men about the pieces may be picked of
with safety. certainty and CELEBRITY.
Twenty years ago a commander upon
an eIninence viewing a battle through
glasses could tell the position OF his men
by the direction in which the smoke puts
were projected, and could tell also wheth-
er he were gaining or losing ground. That
is no longer possible to him. He will have
the flags to guide him II he can distin-
guish their narkins: he will have orderlies
galloping from the front, and, II he is
lucky, he will have a single strand Of in
sulated wire at the other end of it. but
that is all. The troops viii be too FAR
distant for "hurrahs" or ''vivas" 10 come
to him and the flashing. swirling. vanish
ing haze Will give him no comfort
II charges are TO be delivered g; ell
across zones swept by projeotiles driven
by the smokeless powder they must move
very swiftly. The lines must be far apart.
with wide intervals between the men. thus
robbing them OF the moral force and sup
port OF cohesion. Every form OF shelter
that offers must be seized. In the advance
and IN the defense will be much individu-