Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-07-01

ing great quantities of ammunition
after a feigned attack on the part of
the foe.
This is in part due to the German
theory that a certain percentage OF
hits will result from a given number
Of shots. The Boche infantryman. ex-
cept at short range. does not direct
his aim at a particular adversary. He
fires for general results.
A German officer, for instance.
learns that there are a certain num-
Der of the enemy in a given zone
about 100 yards square. 500 yards in
front of his position. He estimates
that If his company sprays this zone
for a half hour a certain percentage
Of casualties will be inflicted, depend
ent upon the rapidity of fire, numbers
of m~arksmen. and size of zone.
An American farmer boy could tell
him how this theory is. He
knows, because experience has taught
him. Time and again he has fired
with a shotgun into a flock Of ducks
or a coveS of grouse on the wing
punched apparently so closely that a
miss is hardly possible. There are $50
or 200 individual shot in the load. yet
such an attempt nearly always scores
a complete miss. Naturally this per-
centage of failures must be still high
er in rifle shooting.
An attacking party may be advanc-
ing in what looks like a dense mass.
There is to the eye very little space
between the men. A general results
shot ought to score a hit. In point of
fact, it usually does not. Spaces be-
tween the moving men are constantly
opening. Very little of tn front Of
fers a vital target. A shot through a
knapsack, a. helmet, through baggy
breeches or thick leggings, ever
through the fleshy part of the body,
will not stop a charging foe. The on
ly way to make sure of a hit is to pick
an individual target, aim at dead CEN
man in full equipment is a good deal
like a 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 rif1eman danger
Gus. This same skill is making our
infantrymenI superior to his foe on the
western front. Gen. Pershing recog-
nizes the need of maintaining this ad-
vantage, for in his reports he recon-
mends that the greatest care be taken
in rife instruction at the environments
since this is the nos valuable weapon
SON- ~ ohu uS4SIISCs
Put a company of rack German
troops against an equal number Of
ours. Let them direct their fire based
on the "general-results'' theory at our
men while our boys follow the Amer
lean method Of selecting an individual
target. An average company of Sam
mics would contain about 10 experts,
20 sharpshooters. 35 marksmen, and a
large number of first-class rifemen.
The result would not be hard to de-
termine.
1t is because of the deficiency of the
Germans as riflemen that their gem
eral staff has resorted so largely to the
hand grenade. For the same reason
the French and British have done the
same. We read stories of infantry
men chasing troops a quarter of a.
mile to get close enough to throw
hand grenades at them. Wen-direct-
ed rifle fire would have been far moro
effective There are times at short
range when the grenade is a superior
weapon. One tossed into a group of
mel will do more damage than a sim
gle rifle bullet, but the supply of gren-
ades a man can carry is limited and
n distance at which they can he
used effectively is short. Since the
French and British are better shots
than the Germans they send more
rifemen over the top and fewer.
grenadiers. 49,
The British regular army had a
great reputation for shooting. Most
of these had seen service in Egvnt
Africa. or other colonies where con
ditions in a degree resemble ours The
work these veterans did in the first
battle Of Ypres and at the retrea,
from Mons, where with practically M
artillery they held four or five times
their. number shows what marksman.
ship can do for an army.
The Latin instinct is to use tho
knife. For this reason the French
and the Italian revert often to tha
bayonet. Because the German does
not TX close hand-to=hand work he
prefers the grenade.
The Canadian is our born brother
at arms. The conditions that have
made us made him. His effectiveness
as a soldier is due to his indivjdnaI
initiative and to its skill with the
rife. What is trne Of him is true If
our soldiers. Already they show =
tendency to stick to the rifle. When
they get going well the Germans viii
pray to be put against N troops az.
cept Americans-and the CHIEF reason
for his dread. will be Sammy's exnertA
ness with the rifle 3S.