The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-11
SEES Big CHANGE IN
ARTILLERY THEORY
"Evcwitnc>s" Says Value of
IIigh Explosives in Field
Was l'ndcrcstimatcd.
MORAL EFFECT Is GREAT


ra-,o, Iau l0.--An account by the
",,o ,uc.." OF tho British readquarters
sr0 r Gil, front. dItcl January s. aud
,.l. .uba. le ,rc official press bureau
,s.,,l.. mention. q continued and excep-
,iorH''y rcat, rainfall ~ the nshting
700. N,lto'-. tIo i'coun; says, report
FRAT '..t. ~eu,IIi .s We'll as the lays mas
oycrnu,,,.d and i- nr1iing large districts
TIE coalition e the trenches is shown
g. ,.. following extrac: from the state.
inert.
TIL, Germans ia some places have at
t,rp,.I t0 pump tho water from their
t.,rc.e. INTO ours bu, ovirg to the
rr -llura usy have been singularly
u-su,..-s:ut. The problem OF how TO
s1t Il Of tine water is engaging both
SIDE, T.. muddy water is difficult to
pumr out. but this d.''iculty is being
overcome. G,'ou-h continual bailing and
yurr.at are required
Tu, account relates some minor fights
ar them makes III. following references
10 . situation oi the enemy:
I'll. Germans are reported TO be col
'tctu- all the brass they can And no
Doubt .or tho purpose OF extracting the
.o,u,. for fuses The towns and villages
b.''rd trr front ave systematically ran
sl...1 and every thing that contains cop
per from church bells To household uten-
sic of al NMds. has been seized
SnNons Don't Like Prussiens.
"Nu.h has been said in the newspapers
- hIl feeling between the South Ger
mans and the Prussians II is easy to
rs conversations with prisoners prove.
Our saxon and Bavarian prisoners fire.
uuently abuse their Prussian comrades II
is reported that on one occasion "A Saxon
prisoner disclosed the fact that certain
trenches occupied by his unit were going
10 be- taken over by a Prussian battalion
reNt morning and expressed tho hope
that SO would shell them.
Information continues OF the prevalence
OF typhoid IN the enemy's ranks. The
military hospitals in Belgium are reported
10 contain many cases.
The German losses appear to have
been very heavy in the nghtlng OF the
last fcv weeks. According to prisoners
the average strength of the companies
begougag to the corps which attacked
tn British On December 90 was 1870 be-
for the attack and 20 afterward."
The following reference Is made e
artillery:
The experiences of this war have
caused many profound notifications OF
theories previously held. but no factor, per.
haps. was so underestlmated as the erfect
O. high explosive projectiles fired from
guns and howitzers. At the opening oi
tie war the Allies We're inferior to tn,
enemy In this respect. This fnferiority
has since been made good and the Ger
mans are now experiencing to Il far
greater extent than before the devastat
iug fleet Of these missiles.
TIE successes of the Japanese at Por
Arthur gave an inkling Of the potentiali
ties 81 the heavy howitzer against per
marc1t fort.ficatIons, but the decisive ef
t-cj ~ high explosives against troops Il
The rold as we'll as against field intrench
uents has come as complete surprise.
chief Destructive Agent
Artillery has assumed an importanc,
greater probably than IL ever before pos
sesstl and certainly greater than 1t ha!
known since the time Of Napoleon. Fo
the last hundred years, as used agains
troops, field artillery generally has beef
depended upon to create "A moral effec
rather than great material result
lbs been reserved for this war to prov
I To be the chief agent in destroying tn
ercmys power of resistance.
1T is extremely hard to conceal tn
position OF trenches from an aerial oh
server and once their position liz notife
o. the guns and the range Is obtained
Is Tot long before the whole length o
trenches will be blown in. Entangle
mout-, trous de loup and every form q
obstacle however ingenious, are swep
away,
That the moral effect is very great
shown by the written and verbal evi
deuoe Of prisoners.
"Th" Allies artillery is gradually as
sumirg superiority over the German,
factor of great Importance in the prosecu
ton OF our general offensive