Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-08-23

ing more than a ton, something over
seven miles. No superdreadnaught
ever constructed could Withstand the
onslaught of such battery, but 1t is
highly improbable that a fleet COM
mander would engage in g duel with a
land battery in which he would be so
hopelessly outweighed.
But 1t is not alone in the destruc-
tlon or the European forts that the
motor tractors have played such an
important role. They have invaded
the theater of diplomacy and 1t is not
too much to say that the necessity for
the rapid movement of the big guns
which was synonymous with east
transportation by the tractors-led to
the invasion of Belgium during the
frst days of the war. The highways
of Belgium and those connecting
northern France with the Flemish
border, are much more level than those
elsewhere on the frontier and 1t is an
open secret abroad that this was a
potent reason for the choice of the
German route.
Certainly a war which includes the
demolition of fortresses made possi-
BILE by motor tractors and the attempt
ed changing of the entire political
map of a continent in order that these
numbering juggernauts may have an
easier path, is something novel in his
tory. Who knows but that Germany's
decision to invade Belgium may not lie
at the door of some contractor, long
since dead, who failed to build
the roads to the south of that country
as well as he should?
The Armored Auto
If the motor-driven artillery has
supplied the body blows of the present
war, the armored automobile, a mem
her nf the 70 haav,' re
sponsible for great many smaller
but no less telling victories. Both the
Allies and the Germans have used the
fort on wheels" with excellent effect
and the entrance of Italy into the war
assured the Allied forces of a large
number of very valuable machines, the
Isotta Franchini type of armored au-
tomobile; with a revolving turret not
unlike that of Gruson battery, being
considered to represent the finest
achievement in this line of offensive
warfare.
The armored automobile has proved
a most effectual weapon in preventing
the depredations of snipers and in
disposing of large forces of armed citi-
zens or smaller forces of trained
troops. 1t is almost certainty that
the plan of campaign of an invading
army for the next decade or two will
be to throw a fan of these rapidly
moving forts, each armed with ma
chine guns and carrying a crew of
three or four men, and sweep the
country clear of snipers and isolated
bodies of men who would otherwise
render the advance of the invading
army very difficult.
Terror of Invaded Towns
This procedure is applicable not
only to open country bpt also to the
towns in which citizens may have
barricaded themselves in anticipation
of the enemy's entrance. A few ar
mored automobiles, the crews of which
are amply protected from rife fire by
the light steel coverings. could sweep
the streets and effectually dispose of
any armed resistance. Light barri-
cades could be overthrown by charge
of these machines, while heavier ones
could be shot away with the machine
guns. In this manner the entrance of
the invading army could be made COM
paratively safe and sniping, one of the
terrors of warfare. would be practical
ly eliminated.
The lessons of the present war have
been many and, from a military stand
point, revolutionary. But when the
final accounting is made and the ma
tions take stock of the weapons which
they will need to hold the pace of the
God of War, 1t is doubtful IL any sin
gle weapon will take precedence over
the automobile, with its infinite posi-
bilities of adaptation to the supreme
emergency.