The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-02-04

science springs from so MANY differ
ent and hitherto unsuspected brains.
there seems to be no limit 10 what
man might have done for himself and
for the world which ia his. hal his
energies been turned toward construc~
ton instead OF destruction.
The Artillery.
Take the case OF the artillery which
armies now have in the field. All
have learned that victory depends on
heavy guns and unlimited anmuni-
ton Germany appreciated the value
OF heavy guns in the field before the
war She was pientifnlly supplied
with eight-inch. twelve-inch and six-
teen inch howitzers. Other general
stats did not consider II feasibie to
drag along this monster ordnance
with armies. Thus we suffered heavily
at the start. especially the French who
relied exclusively on heir superb
seventy-five quick firing field gun. For
the last Two wears there has been a
giant race in gun production. Now
the allies have not only overtsken. but
have go. long way ahead OF the
central powers.
Our superiority on the Somme was
the most noticeable, and this. COM
hine,i with our air-supremacy, rem
tiesea tAe position of the Germs rs. at
ltIilRS. almost iIkbifsd biH AhtA
not so short or guns. perhaps. as Of
ammunition In August. September
and October. three separate general
orders were found on the dead or
prisoners from different generals COM
fnaudnc groups OF army pointing out
the absolute necessity Of husbs nding
the ammunition supply and to take
greater care OF the material itself.
The. amount OF guns injured from
explosions in the barrels reached an
extraordinary total This Is caused by
mud getting into the barrels and the
guns themselves not been properly
Faikenhayn was TO issue a general
order pointing out that the monthly
expenditure greatly exceeded the pro-
Iuction and that unless this state OF
affairs was remedied. the war could
not so on
The allies have not been thus hand
tcapped. Take for instance the artil-
lery the French now employ on the
Somne. They commenced the war
with '5's alone They now have in
the field i05 en-. tfour-inch). 81 en-.
fsix-inchs eos cm. teigh,-inch). Gao
cm fa.esl $50 en- ieleven inch1.
3o5 en-. twelve inch). $40 GIN, off
tecn-inch). 400 en-. tstxteen- inchl.
and another monster gun, the greatest
the world has ever known, ia now be
ing experimented with.
The English army is as ISentifuily
supplied The Germans are busy aug
mentihg their material ana ammuni-
ton so ITS to compete this spring aHd
summer on more even terms. There
are acres Of heavy guns along the
somme front. There are whole fields
behind the fronts packed with guns
for which no room can be found along
the front When a piece Is damaged
or worn with prolonged Use Il IS sent
20 the rear for resi- and repair an6
another monster hungry for slaughter
Is dragged by motor or by ira in 70 its
allotted pest on this field OF glory"
Imagine what 3 task II lie getting
these guns 10 their positions. The
roads leading TO the Somne front can
not bear the weight OF the traffic.
They have disappeared into the mud
and have to be constantly repaired
The French have built miles of light
railways. These monster eleven-inch
and twelve Inch and sixteen-inch can
only be brought up on trains, Some
of them are placed in fixed positions.
Others have a rowing mission and
arc fired from the rails or anchored
trucks by an ingenious arrangement.
The roar OF the artillery Is so terrific
th'@t ~ RtcduISs nervous pTpstEAllon
in many.
The unfortunate infantry In the
trenches get no respite from 1t night
and day. ! often have heard men say
II don't mind the enemy's shells so
much. what | cannot stand is the
noise OF our own guns" Really II Is
he'll
on your way to the front you get
blown about from side to side by the
terrific blasts. | have had every
window in my motor car smashed by
the conclusion. Every road. village
and hamlet within fifteen miles of the
front is under she'll fire. You never
know where they are geing to drop.
| have been on the battlefield all day
and then on motoring back mile,
from the front I have come across a
group OF blood stained men, what
has happened?" we ask. The four
reply: We arc the only survivors
of thirty in a motor lorry on which
a big she'll has just dropped" Such
incidents are commonplace on the
Somme.