The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1915-09-04

After Vimeiro little is recorded OF
the use of shrapnel until the battle
of Waterloo, following which histor-
ic engagement Wellington said to
Shrapnel, then a colonel Of artillery,
that the shell that bore his name had
played a most important part In the
battle.
Napoleon, after the battle OF VIM
GIRO, issued orders that all unexploded
British shells found on the field
should be carefully examined, but In
some way, never fully explained, the
order was apparently not carried out.
and Napoleon lost a secret that might
have prolonged his power for years.
The secret of the shell was abso-
lutely unsolvable by the French.
In the Crimean war British artillery
declined to use shrapnel, despite the
fact that it had turned the day at
Waterloo. The French made a spar
ing use Of it, while the Russians, who
had never then heard of it, naturally
trusted to the effectiveness Of the old
tllUO l11ob11CO. III lAC SiSAA VOL bOSA
the Union and Confederate armies
used shrapnel, but it was not until
1866 that the development of the mis-
sile to its present deadly effectiveness
may be said to have got definitely IN
der way.
1t was the Prussians who started 1t,
and they continued to improve the
missile until by the time the Franco
Prussian war began it was one OF the
Prussian army's most effective weap-
mendous execution against the French,
especially at Sedan.
In the Russo-Japan6se war both OF
the contending armies used shrapnel
with great effect, and again in the
Balkan wars Of 1912, the striking sue
cesses Of the Serbians, Bulgarians and
Greeks were largely due to their splen-
did French shrapnel-firing field pieces
There are several types of shrapnel
shells, among them the percussion
shrapnel," used for defense at short
range and in fire for adjustment. Its
effect depends upon the range and
the nature of the ground 1t is
effective against troops lodged In tall
timber. Masks, branches of trees.
ETC., frequently cause the premature
bursting of these projectiles. On
striking, the projectile cuts a furrow
in the ground and bursts two or three
meters beyond
Percussion shrapnel to be effective
must burst Immediately in front Of the
target Its most effective employment
is against standing targets. They are
also more effective at long range than
Is the time-shrapnel. Soft ground
newly plowed fields, terrain covered
with snow or underbrush, or rising
slope diminish the fire effect. When
the angle of fall is ten degrees or
more, half of the bullets penetrate the
ground, and the remainder ricochet
and pass on at greatly reduced We
locity.
On the other hand, time-shrapnel is
fairly Independent Of the terrain. The
bullets in this type are imbedded in a
smoke-producing substance, making It
comparatively easy to observe the
burst for purposes of adjustment. The
extreme range at which this projectile
can be employed is fixed by the "a
cility of observing the fire and by the
remaining velocity of the shrapnel bull
let's, both Of which diminish as the
range increases.
Shrapnel is most effective against
prone skirmishers at ranges from l..
900 to 5000 meters, when burst %
to % meters short Of the target, and
against standing skirmishers at the
same ranges when burst Sc to IS me-
tiers short OF the target. Black also
points out that q single shrapnel from
light field howitzer produces q great
er number Of hits when the point Of
burst Is favorably situated than one
fired from a field gun.
Shrapnel Is also playing a most i'm.
portant part in aerial warfare. and OF
these antiaircraft shrapnel, all Of
which embody the same general es-
senuals. there IN perhaps none more
effective than that known - mr.
hardt 0nt1aircraft o6yADnal"