The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-06-20

feigned attack the part Of the foe
This is in part due to the German theory that
certain percentage Of hits will result from s'y'
en- number Of Shots The Boche infantryman. e4'
cept at short range, does not direct his aim at
particular adversary. He fires for general 10
suits.
A German oficer for instance. learns that there
are a certain number Of the enemy In given
zone about 100 yards square, 500 yards In irons
Of his position. He estimates that II his company
sprays this zone for haf-hour a certain perceht'
age of casualties will be inflicted. dependent upon
the rapidity Of fre. number of marksmen and size
of zone.
An American farmer boy could tell him how er-
roneous this theory Is. He knows because e4'
perience has taught him. Time and time again
he has fred with a shotgun into a flock Of ducks
n covey Of grouse on the wing punched appar-
emily SO closely that a miss is hardly possible
There $50 200 individual shot in the load
yet such an attempt nearly always scores COM
plete miss. Naturally this percentage OF failures
must be still higher in rife shooting.
An attacking party may be advancing in what
looks fke dense mass. There is to the eye very
little space between the men. general results
shot ought to score q hit. In point OF TACT, IL
usually does not. Spaces between the moving men
are constantly opening. Very little Of the front
offers q vital target. shot through q KNAPP
sack. a helmet, through baGgy breeches. or thick
leggings even through the neshy part OF the bedy.
will not stop q charging foe. The only way to
make Of q hit II to pick an individual tar
get. aim at dead center. and IRE accurately. An
infnntryman in full equipment 10 a good deal like
q hawk on a fence post. You are likely to get
a lot Of feathers from your shot and very little
hawk.
The ability to shoot accurately has made the
American rifeman dangerous This same skill Is
making our infantryman superior to his foe on
the western front. General Pershing recognizes
the need of maintaining this advantage. for In his
reports he recommends that the greatest care
be taken in rifle instruction at the cantonments
since this Is the most valuable weapon both In
offense and defense.
Put company of crack German troops against
an equal number Of ours. Let them direct their
fire based on the general results theory at our
men while boys follow the American method
of selecting an individual target. An average
company of Sammies would contain about ten
experts 20 sharpshooters, 35 marksmen and a
large number OF first-cass rifemen. The result
would not be hard to determine.
1t is because of the deficiency of the Germans
as ri1emen that their general staff has resorted
so largely to the hand grenade. For the same rea'
son the French and British have done the same.
We read stories of infantrymen chasing troops
a Quarter of a mile to get close enough to throw
hand grenades at them Well-directed rifle fire
would have been far more effective. There are
times Mt short range when the grenade is su.
perior weapon. One tossed into group Of men
will do more damage than single rifle bullet,
but the supply of grenades man can carry is llm-
tied and the distance at which they can be used
effectively is short. Since the French and British
are better shots than the Germans they send
more rifemen over the top and fewer grenaders.
The British regular army had great reputa-
ton for shooting. Most Of these had seen serv-
ice in Egypt Africa other colonies where con-
ditions in degree resemble ours. The work these
veterans did in the first battle of Ypres and at
the retreat from Mons. where with practically no
artillery they held four five times their number
shows what craftsmanship can do for an army.
The Latin instinct is to the knife For
this reason the French and the italian revert
often to the bayonet. Because the German does
not like close hand d-to-hand work he prefers the
grenade. pei
The Canadian is born brother at arms. The
conditions that have made made him. His ef
fectiveness a soldier is due to his individual
Initiative and to his skill with the rife. What Is
true OF him Is true of our soldiers Already they
show a tendency to stick to the rifle. When they
get going well the Germans will pray to be put
against any troops except Americans-and the
chief reason for this dread will be Sammy's ex.
pertnsss with the r1ne.