The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-05-08
AUTOMOBILES IN BATTLE
MILITARY cHARloTs AS DEVISED BY
MODERN MAN.


motor-maElinitss - An Iuvinclble Ma
chine Manned by Cunners Behind steel
Plates Future Of Military Automobile.
The automobile seems so eminently
htted for pleasure purposes that 1t Is
somewhat OF a distortion of It's origin
al object in life TO convert It into an
engine Of warfare; yet so progressive
are modern military experts in adopt
ing every imaginable invention for
their particular line of work that the
automobile appears destined to create
as much of q revolution I'm transporta-
ton in times of war as In times Of
peace. The development Of the war
automobile has been fully as rapid in
the last few years as those designed
for ordinary riding. Germany In par
ticular has striven to construct practi-
cal war machines out of automobiles,
and somo quite remarkable tests and
experiments have been made by the
military authorities of that country
There are two distinct purposes
kept in view In developing war auto
mobiles. One is for the simple pur-
pose Of transporting troops rapidly
over a country that has not been pro-
yided with railroads. In AustriHun-
gary the Minister of War has lately
had a number of automobiles con-
strrcted for this purpose. These war
machines practically represent an en-
tirely new type of transport. They
are the heaviest motor vehicles yet
constructed and are intended to carry
troops over rough country at an aver
age speed of II to IS miles an hour.
Each vehicle has a capacity Of five
tons, and this will be sufficient to
carry 40 soldiers, with their necessary
provisions and equipments. A score
of such machines would be able to
carry respectable sized army across
country in a short time. The success
Of the experiments seemed to justify
the Austrian army in carrying on fur
ther work in this line.
The second line of development of
the military automobile is for the pur-
pose of carrying small field or Maxim
rapid firing guns, the gunners and
operators being protected from the
enemy by shields of nickel plate. With
the shield in front of them they can
run down an army, and almost annihi-
late a body of infantry without ex-
posing themselves to any great dan
ger. In the German army a number
Of these motor-maximites have been
constructed and tested so satisfact-
Orily that more of them have recently
been built. When these are complet-
ed the German army will have more
than a dozen mechanical gun movers
in the field equipped with Maxims, and
the small automobile cavalry thus or
gained will be quite able to attack
almost anything in the way of light
soldiery.
Germany learned much from Eng
lands experiments with the armored
cars in South Africa last year, and
military experts were sent there to
investigate the practical field tests OF
these new war horses. The armored
cars which the English operated were
all right except that they had one very
weak point. They were easily de
rallied and their progress or return
over railroad lines easily INSTRUCTED
They were thus rendered almost help
less by band of quick horsemen, who
could double on their tracks and teal
up the rails in the rear. This necessi
tated repairs by the soldiers under the
exposure of sharpshooters on distant
hills. The effect of the armored rail
road car was thus totally neutralizeC
by simply military tactics.
But it is reasoned that the military
automobile, carrying it's Maxim guns
and its soldiers, could not thus bc
crippled. There would be no tract
to tear up, and the automobiles coulC
return across country where no enem.
could possibly obstruct their ways
There would, of course, be certain
parts of the wild country, where thu
operators might be entrapped so tina
it would be impossible to escape with
ont running back over narrow road
But that would be the fault Of thu
operators rather than of the machines
The modern military automobile is in
tended for the open country, and no
for narrow, mountainous detiles, wher
a mobile, wandering band Of horse
men could entrap them.
Finally, there is another field in mil
tary tactics for which the automobil
is eminently SO far perfected bette
than any other nation. AS arme
scouts the modern high racing mil