The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1914-09-30
THE CREUSOT GUN /.
IS THE BEST YET
Is Used Exclusively BY the
French.
CAN SPLIT TREE 3 MILES OFF
Also Fires Shell That Rains
Big Shower Of Death.
Dealing Bullets.
SHOOTS QUICKLY: LASTS LONG

The guns used by the French
army are turned out by the hundred
mt the famous Creusot Works. The
history of these works, as well
known as those of Krupp in Ger
many, or Armstrong; in England,
reads like romance.
The first mention M Creusot,
under the name of the villa de
Crosot," occurs as early as 1888. IL
was then simple farm. 1t is now
town of 10000 inhabitants.
In the sixteenth century coal was
discovered at Creusot, though it was
not until 200 years later that a COM
pany was formed to mine it. Grad
ually iron works were erected there,
and the manufacture of guns started.
In 1888 the works were bought
by the Brothers Schneider, and it is
a significant fact that the German
name of Schneider was. TO become
the great rival of Krupp. the great
German gun maker. From that
date down TO the present time, the
Creusot guns began to become IA
nous.
The great superiority of the
French gun lies in its stability, and
in the fact that it will stand extreme
hard wear. To show its wonderful
stability, it may he mentioned that
a glass of water placed on the rim
of the wheel of the gun remains
unspilled after the shot has been
sFed.
This extraordinary feat, impossible
in the case of most guns, has been
made possible by the clever applica-
ton of a special recoil brake which
Krupp always declared could not be
fitted to field artillery. 1t was
adapted at the Creusot Works. how
ever, and that is one point where
the French guns are superior to the
Germans.
Another feature of the Creusot
guns is what rs known as the recu-
perator, which causes the gun to re-
turn to its firing position. The force
used is compressed air. possessing
advantage over many of the Krupp
guns. in which springs are used,
that il never wears out or loses its
Spring
Creusot guns We're Used in the
Balkans, and army officers declared
afterward that the. guns We're as
good at the end of the campaign as
before il. Only short time before
the German experts had criticised
the famous gun as being too compli-
Gated and delicate for use in actual
war.
The accuracy of fire of these guns
is simply marvellous. Once the
angle is set the gun continues to
belch forth death with unvarying
aim French officers. too. are so
expert in their use that they can
split a tree three miles away after
"A couple of shots to get the range.
Taken all around, the Creusot
guys not only fire more quickly than
the Krupp weapons. bat they are
lighter and easier to move about.
They are far more accurate, and
they last longer There are four
Creusot guns in a battery. each gun
firing an average of 20 rounds a
minute.
Each shell fired by the gun con-
tains 300 bullets, so that murder
Gus. awful hail of $4,000 bullets a
minute can be made to fall on a
charging regiment. No wonder the
Germans have been wiped out by the
thousand. Only entrenched infantry
can face such rain OF bullets. and
an attack in the front of such guns
must he made In a very widely ca
tended formation. The close forma-
tion of the Germans means the
throwing away of thousands of lives