New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-09-20

Niuc sOIuctAluB u llttIc UcttcT III every
case. from poison gas and gas masks to
machine guns and h%igh-explOsive shrap.
mel.
The light Browning, also known as
the Automatic rifle" requires no cool
Ing apparatus. because In its tactical
use In battle as a tool 1t will be called
upon only for what are known as
bursts of firing" 1t Is n remarkable
new tool, better than anything Of its
particular type yet developed. and diff
ferent from every other weapon in the
world. Its nearest prototype IL the
French Chauchat automatic rife. which
has proved extremely effective In its
work and n now being used by Ameri-
can troops I'm France.
At the present stage of tactics the
Browning automatic rifle will be a su-
periOr tool for perhaps three definite
Jobs In trench warfare. First. being
as portable ms the ordinary nriny rife.
1t a he quickly brought into action
along every part of a trench by de-
tenders to stop the advance Of an
enemy. With the heavier types of ma
chine gun fired from II tripod and re-
curing considerable time for getting
into position. II 10 permanent m
placement, such resistance of invaders
In n pinch might prove difficult. With
the new Browning firing 70 shots auto.
m%atically in less than three seconds. or
~ shots seminutOmatically as fast as
n desires to pull the trigger, loading
with a fresh magazine each 20 shots
in II couple of seconds. an entire trench
front can he protected with outbursts
of machine-gun fire. which will not
have to be continued long to do the
wOrk-nOt long enough for heating of
the gun to become a problem.
The second job of work comes when
American soldiers are ordered over the
top themselves. Despite all the won
derful refnementS in high-eXplOsive
shells. shrnpnel. and barrnge fire. there
has been n single soldiers task during
the advance across no mans land for
which the efficient tool was lacking.
While the intensiveIy trained modern
platoon advances behind its " bar
rage equipped with rifles and bombs.
the Hun from his pill box had had the
advantage with his machine gum. and
In that particular moment in the battle
there was nothing with which to an
swer him. The light automatic rifle is
exactly the tool for this job. 1t can
be carried. instead of a rife, by hun
dreds of men In the advancing squads.
each with his ammunition bearer be-
hind him. and its speed and accuracy
Of fire in bursts, while soldiers are
walking, will he sufficient to put ma.
chine guns out of action, or at least
drive their operators down into their
trenches during the advance.
Sweeps the Trenches.
The third job for this characteristic
Yankee notion comes when our fellows
have reached the enemy trenches. AT
that moment. ave though hut Il few
arrive, the Browning automatic rifle
is expected to replace the bayOnet and
bomb under certain conditions. and
iIIuNilby liz VlIVNtiNNIiCSF VI VaNu "
der who gets across No Mans Land
for the rapidity and accuracy of the
Browning fire is such that it will be
only "A matter Of seconds to sweep an
enemy trench In both directions.
There are other tactical uses for the
weapon. As few as a dozen of these
automatic rifles are sufficient to lny
down a temporary harrage at right
angles to a trench front, and even two
of them quickly placed Mt opposite
ends Of a trench front can establish n
cross fire as effective as a bnrrage un.
der some circumstances. Fol- with
each gun firing along n leg of a let.
terry meeting ind passing somewhere
out In No Mans Land. the chances OF
an enemy getting through this V will
be very sllm-this will he II defense
equivalent to frOntless rife fire from
dozens of individual soldiers. and can
be established with the minimum OF
exposure.
These are the tactical points Of the
new weapon, and n has only to ron
slider it from this viewpoint to under.
stand that technical questions such as
have been raised by laymPn during
recent discussions of the merits of one
machine u as against another do not
touch the heart of the military prob,
lem-bOth the design of this gun and
It's use as a tool in battle are palpably
matters to be left to military men.
Another interesting viewpoint or
both the light and heavy types of
Browning guns n be gained by brief.
ly considering the general development
Of machine guns as fighting tools.
From the days of slings and stones
and arrows fighting man has sought
ways of delivering enough missiles In.
to the ranks of an advancing foe to
stop him. With %gunpowder and port
able guns the number of missiles In
creased, and also their deadliness. The
fired clumsily from a tri.
pod was replaced by SmOOth-bore muz-
guns, and then muzzle-lOnd-
ing rifles. breech-lOading rifles capable
Of firing shots singly, and finally the
repeating rife, with a capacity of five
or six shots in rapid succession. Then
came shrapnel. delivering a spray of
over a considerable range. and
also the first machine guns equipped
to fire hundreds of shots in rapid sue.
cession. but at first SO heavy and
that they could not he moved
much more quickly than artillery.
Fired From Shoulder and Hip.
These first machine guns are known