Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-12-24
HOW ARTILLERY Is AIMED.
The Art Explained Apropos Of South
African News.
0ondon News)

!
aiirg seemed to become deadly. This
may perhaps be read b. many as mean
ing that the nrst two shots were had
shots, and that the process Of getting
the correct range was rather slow. Inc
fact is Just the opposite The metnoa ny
which, Of late years, taking example rom
the Germans, we have incalculably I'M
proved our artillery practice, depends on
! the firing OF at least those two SHOTS
one over. one under. Indeed, as l shah
explain presently, gunner "oulo on
| reading such reports be a htte t-hp'eu
IN think that the battery commanders
I had been rather over-anKious 10 tniiiA
! that they had obtained the range before
| thev had really done so. a battery COM
mander Is exceptionally lucky II ne gets
the range by two trial shots. Ihese nc
| dooe not FIRE with the deadly time Iuse
which makes his shell burst 20 the point
he wishes I'm the air, but only WIN "
"percussion fuse" as it is caheo-lna. -
IN saw. with one that makes MS she,'
| hurst only when 40 strikes inc sIounu'
AeTau unite sure from reading the VAR
| ous roports that the deadly emclchey -,
our artillery I'm IT'S practice as coinpi'ep
with the BOer artillery despite lneH iN-
longer range of weapons, has p'eh u-1
10 the Beers being ignorant OF our i
/ thOds, II may lhl1lN1' ''''''''
understand them. r,u-
~ 60 very little difficulty for arui-
,or,, to Law their guns accurately III point
| NJ direction right and left Our lhs''r
nents are so fine that that can De eaaiI,
/ -llo,,,,,1isbod The difficulty IS 20 prevent
+ro gune from shooting too snort OF too
/ long as Il will be observed that DOM 80 ,,
Roer artillery and the 'machhie- ~,
| ,,.bfcb are practically a number or lhi"n-
!
| li,-er bv mechanical means q vast Noi".--
/ 20 infantrv ire. did at Mooder 5pIui~
/ y, oo, shrapnel-shell burst In the ar
/ - hon a ehaU .aat does NOT burst -
! 0re1 into the middle OF town, IL - ~
/ a---t,,ei,, dimoult for the observer some
! thousands Of yards away from inc OF
! foct 10 know whether 10 has beeh 80
! ehot or a quite inchectiFe one
! hcen calculated that tho Beers. Dv an *
,'o,,,iit,,ro of little snort Of 800 shells ON
! ,d,.eroith many Of the shells pelh5
/ laroo heavy. and costly. have succeedeu
| I'm killing EIGHT men. Obviously Tor ""'
| r,,rr.oeee artillery would be very li-
! amcient instrument Of that represented ils
I hest work. Yet. substantially, Wheh VIZ
/ great change took place when niul'ip-'l
more than twenty-fold the ele-tlFe l".'5o
of the guns M Waterloo thdI Wa IVY.
| hind of practice which We were caIlylH5
Tn those DAYS we had no pracuce-sFounl
/ for artillery such as we have now az
/ oi,ebampton and I'm other places. Inc
f Germans had practice-grounds connecled
och every garrison town in the country
There they. having made q horrible nae
~ their artillery work during a war WIN
Austria I'm 1856. set Themselves 10 improve
/ tbefr nracfice. They gradually arrived al
I tbo following method. Though When
/ shell bursts an air you cannot tel wiz
/ ther IL has been fired eAectualiy or pul'S
uselessly. you can get certain lnalcallois'
| from a shell which bursts ON the siouhu y,
such as enable you 10 know Whelher ~
tae gone under or over Che object az
--1,tob ,,ou aim. Thus the shell raises a
certain amount Of dust and smoke ana
| n Won see that the object IS partly Cd
scured bv this you may be- pretty sure
/ tbgt vour shell has fallen short lr, on
/ tba contrary. YOU see the object standing
ONT clear. and the dust behind it, you
know that your shell ha7 gone beyond
line object
sunpos.. then. that T estimate the range
a.. % an1 vardI want To- Doe quite sure
of seeing that l don't fire over tho ODD
loot bsoauee If 1 do. not only VIII my
shot be useless but ] shall nave no
means Of correcting &c. Therefore az Hr1t
7 fire at 800. and n find that my shot
IS short. / fire o. second round, say o'SV''
I'm order 10 go beyond the object II i see
| that my shot does go over ! am sallsueu
| that I have established what Is callea
loro brqclet": that Is to say. ! nave
couIl tv,, ranges. 800 yards apart, be-
tween which the object must H.. IL does
NOT however. follow that IL Hes exactly
/ midway between them, and it is very pro
/ bable-in fact. almost certain-tnat 1t Will
| be better TO get two shots nearer together
within which the target must stiu GER
tainlv lie. I therefore fire another snot
IN shorten the distance within Wnicn i
can then know that the target must De-
| This We call on the same principle as iHe
other. "a hort bracket j try then 10
fire shot actually az the object ana II 1
seem TO get very close 10 10 am S~llsu1u
| that / have 'the range.
Even then, however my work Is oniy
/ half done before j can fire with erect.
| hitherto I have not tried at an TO get the
corracf setting of the fuse which VIII
make the shell burst in air at the right
roinf IL was necessary first 10 make
| sure of the range, but ] want, in order
/ that the bullets may scatter properly on
| the target. 10 make one or two expert
! roeufs % insure that the fuse VIII burst
/ the shell in front " the troops a. "nlch
1 aim. and burst &c neither too high nor
/ too low. too near. nor too far. II is
ONLY when [ have made all these trlal
/ shots that I know that the battery D.
really ready TO bring am effective hre
! an tie enemy. Day after day. and almost
! an d4v long. our batteries &C home have
/ been going through the dreary drudgery
/ that is necessary for the perfectins OF
! the mechanism of this system Year after
wear they have gone down 20 carry OUT
! fine practice very perfectly az Okehamp-
ton. or very imperfectly az Shoeburyness,
while the irish batteries have had their
own nractice-gr0unds, and the batteries IN
Tine north theirs
Taat Is WY. despite the fact that. as
/ This camuaicn has shown, though IL was
well known before, they require "a new
gun. they have get. gun for gun, defeated
the Beers "-tenever the conditions admit
/ Ted of their getting within range OF them.
! That is why the Beers have not been able
10 make L3dysmith untenable; while, as
Lord Methuen has declared. 80 was the
/ fire OF our artillery that made the cap
/ nrro Of the AIodder position possible.
From another point u view, IL is inter
| esting 10 note that the commander, with
his whole battery, In order to produce a
decisive result. has, under the excitement
OF action aud the bewilderng effect OF
the enemy's fire, 90 carry out on the field
of battle the trained habit OF the practice
ground. 1t Is I'm this respect that our
artillery has proved itself 80 superior 10
the Beers; despite the heavy nature OF
the guns they have dragged into the field.
---xs.-
Needed the Soap.
Washington Post)