The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-09-05
War Departments Lessons For
Men of The National Army

year-old soldier became Lieutenant
O'Leary. ....
There is always an element Of
luck in such unusual achievements,
but all the luck in the world is use
less unless the soldier has developed
his intelligence, spirit, and self-re-
lance during his months of training.
The Cavalry.
= The cavalry is armed with saber
and pistol, as we'll as rifle. Since
the. early months of the present war
there has been little opportunity to
use cavalry on the western front.
For the most part the cavalry for
ces of European armies have been
fighting in the trenches as infantry.
Under these conditions it has been
determined to reorganize several Of
the cavalry regiments of our regular
army as field artillery. United States
cavalry, as such, is not to be used in
Europe at present. Some good
judges believe that the cavalry will
again came into its own before the
war is ended, but on this question
no final opinion can now be given.
The coast artillery, which handles
the ig-caliber guns guarding our
chief haFbors against naval attacks,
tillery, which handles the smaller
guns drawn by horses or motors and
moved about with the rest Of the
army. The present field guns range
in size from 3-inch caliber to At
inches. The field artillery also handles
howitzers, which throw heavy shells
high into the air so that they will
fall upon the target at a very steep
angie.
The chief kinds of artillery am
munition are shrapnel and high ex-
plosives. The shrapnel Is intended
to burst in the face of the enemy
and scatter a large number of bull
lets. The high explosives are used
chiefly to blow up enemy trenches.
Increasing Importance Of Artillery.
The Importance of artillery has
been very much increased during
the present war. 1t is the most eff
fective of all weapons in preparing
the way for attack. In advance of an
attack on a large scale there are
often several days of continuous ar
tillery duel, during which the big
guns of both sides try to locate and
put out of action the opposing guns.
In fact, on the western front the ar
tillery duel never entirely ceases.
The chief qualities of good ar
tilleryman are intelligence and ten
acity. He must know his gun so well
that he can not only play his own
part but, If necessary, can take the
place Of any of his comrades. He
must have the courage that enables
him to hold any position assigned
to him until the order is given to
move.
Similar to the artillery in many
respects are the machine gun troops.
Machine guns shoot out steady
stream of bullets and have great
value against an attack from the
front They may also be readily
carried forward by attacking troops
and used with great effect against
the defenders of a position.
"A skirmish line can not advance
by walking or running when hostile
machine guns have the correct range
and are ready to fire. Machine gun
fire is not especially effective against
troops lying on the ground or crawl
ing. When opposed by machine gun,
without artillery to destroy them
infantry itself must silence them be-
fore 1t can advance. ,Concealment
and patient waiting for critical
moments and exceptional opportuni-
ties are the special characteristics
of the machine-gun service in de-
cisive actions" (Infantry drill regu-
lations, pars. 642, 545-546.)
In handling machine guns, just as
in handling artillery, intelligence and
tenacity are the qualities most need
ed. There are numberless examples
in the present war OF courageous
self-reliance on the part of individual
soldiers in repairing or serving ma
chine guns while under fire, and thus
playing a big part in helping to win
victories.