The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-02-25
b||ER VARS LESSONS
Six of Them, at Least, BuI, the
Greatest of All
is THE ARTILLERY LESSON
D.:.:L o. 0,Atronn,ofI ond
British Guns 0HtrangeGI and
Out Verythinged-

New York. Feb. 24-The Journal says
Three months have now elapsed sin, the
breaking out OF war in South Africa, and
IN these three months lessons Of deer
significance have been impaired to ma
items the world over. With starth ng
cIearness it has been shown that no arm
can hope for success that is lacking il
weanons the equal of those possessed by
the enemy.
tn summarize the advantages which
military men in this country are ascrIb-
ing in general to the Beers are:
/ Superior artiI1ery-superior in range
and in rapidity of fire.
. Superior craftsmanship, and the po-
session of practically an army Of sharp
shooters.
3. Greater mobility or the power to
change position with great rapidly.
4 The possession Of mounts for nearly
every man in the army, making the Boer
forces an immense aggregation Of mount
ed infantry.
4. Superior knowledge in knowing how
to take advantage OF cover, and in con-
cealing not only small but large bodies Of
men.
G. Superior strategy, due TO the skill Of
the general staff; a skill which IS gener-
ally credited to the presence of some OF
the most experienced officers Of CONT
mental armies.
The wonder Of it all is that England
with her limitless resources and her sup
posedIy great facilities for fabricating
war material of all kinds, has been out
done in nearly every direction.
Her field artillery, which in years gone
by. particularly during the Crimean war,
was held to lead the world, is found mis-
erably ,outranged by the Boer guns. Here
the sagacity of the Transvaal authori-
ties is shown. When war was counted
upon as inevitable the Beers sought the
makers of the best field and siege guns
in Europe. They made their purchases
for the most part Of the renowned Creu-
sot establishment, of France, and of the
Krupps, of Germany These great gun
works had developed the rapid-flre gun
to higher state of efficiency than any
other establishments in the world.
1t is estimated that the Beers secured
from these continental makers no less
than eighty guns of the field and siege
variety The field guns they possess have
u weight Of about 100 pounds for the guns
and about LOO pounds for the carriages.
With. six horses attached, these weapons
and their limbers and cassons are drag
ged about at the gallop. The projectiles
for the majority of the Boer field pieces
Weigh twelve pounds, and so powerful are
the guns that they readily attain a range
of 400 yards.
The English field guns, on the other
hand. not only weigh more than the Boer
weapons of continental make, but they
possess a range of only 400 yards, and
have absolutely no rapid-fire feature con-
nected with their mechanism. While one
Of the Boer guns can be fired at a rate
OF fifteen to twenty shots per minute, the
British field pieces do well if they fire six
shots per minute
The rapid fire feature connected with
the new field guns is a brake attachment
which absorbs the recoil of the piece The
field piece which is unsupplied with a
checking device will, when fired, retreat
several feet to the rear. 1t must then be
run by hand by the guners into its form
er position and again laid true. all Of
which makes against rapid firing.
The rapid-fire field gun, per see. has a
spade attached to the end of the trail.
When the gun is fired the force of the re-
coil causes the spade to sink deep into
the ground. The spade serves as a brake
and rigidly holds the piece in position To
absorb the succeeding recoil shocks re-
course is had by continental gun makers
to various devices. The Krupps employ
a piston working in a cylinder. the whole
being attached to the body of the train.
The French have device which permits
of the trail telescoping within itself, and
a still later device is one which permits
the gun to run up an incline shaped to
the carriage. When the gun proper has
exhausted the force of its recoil. its own
weight causes it to drop down on its bed
again. This latter type of gun, it is
learned, is largely used by the Beers, ana
is one OF their most efficient of the vari-
Gus types of field pieces they possess.
The Boer Long Toms" as they are
called by the English soldiers. are the
siege guns supplied by the Krupp and
the Cruesot people. They differ slightly
in calibre. but approximately both makes
have calibre little in excess of four
90 pounds each. With these Long Toms"
the Beers are able to attain a range Of
l.eeo yards. The gun and carriage weigh
collectively about two and one-half tons
and the surprise to the British has been
the CELEBRITY with which the Beers have
transported these heavy pieces over the
rough country. Siege guns have hereto
fore been reckoned on TO come I'D only
when a city was to be reduced. Their
place has been in the rear OF an advanc-
ing army. The Beers. however. have
fought the siege pieces almost. one might
say, on the line with the skirmishers.
In the development of rarid-fre artil-
lery the competition has been largely
confined to French and German makers
Both France and Germany purchase the
greater part of their war material from
private establishments. England. how
ever. has a government plant az Wool
rich. The private plants on the Continent
have for the past ten years competed for
the worlds business in artillery and
small arms. In small arms the Germans
hold The lead. The Spanish Nauser. the
best small arm in existence. Is made III
Berlin. II IS the Spanish Mauser which
The Boer troops possess. and Lord Ne
thuen has officially reported that il is alb
so-utely unsafe 20 expose oneself any
where within ae00 yards OF Beer rIiemen
TIL. keen competition displayed on the
coaU1eat between gun makers Is the real
cause Of 5he highly Developed field guns
seen today. The great Woolwich arsenal
supported by government funds and not
t-1uhie5 hy the doingS Of nrnc-eSsfy-s