Evening star., 1918-01-08
Getting Back to Rifles.

Now the Americans are very happily
getting back to the rifle and the Amer
lean officers are very happily discover
ing that the average American seems
10 have the niakings of :, sharpsilooter
The work done by green men on the
American target ranges has iseau re-
marka BILE. and, like the British. the
Americans are specializing in Me use
of this arm. Both are aided b" the fact
that the Enfield lGae and our own
Springfield are Instruments of high pre-
cision. The French rife is a good
solid. workmanlike tool, but il is not
designed for the nicetieS of the butts
1t must be understood that the men
are being cutie as carefully instructed
in the use of the hand grenade as ever
Similar experiences Have been noted
by French officers. several of whom
have gone on record as saying that the
rifles day is done.
we would rather have a heavy club"
they have said. Its chief value is as
a handle for the bayonet''
Here again the difference of national
temperaments must be considered. The
agile and nervous Frenchman is a
Whlrlwind i'll speed. and he delights in
bayonet play. The Engiishman depends
on the weight and savagery of his at
tack. and goes through the, Gernran'.s
guard by sheer heft and deyiltry
New Rife Tactics.
In face of our national conviction that
we are natural born riflenen there are
things being taught, to American ofii-
GERS in the British schools just back of
the forward area that should be OF
eminent value when they are taken
over to our own lines. There is a snip
er's school, for example. in which
tricks are taught that would make
Natty Bumppo himself sit up and take
notice. Here the tactics that are of
value against big game are taught for
use against the meanest of big game.
Men are instructed in the use of the
binocular and of the telescope sight
Experts in camoufiage tell them how to
conceal themselves on bare hillside.
They are given camoutage suits to
wear. SO that they are practically in
distinguishable against their back
ground. A hillside is decked with
camoufiaged rifiemen and the novice is
told to locate them. Having located the
other fellow it is his job to figure out
how he can get the boche. He learns
how to hide the flash of his rifle. The
sound of the report is sometimes estop-
ped by silencer Usually, there is SO
much noise that it does not matter.
Above all they are trained to shoot.
Take Angle Measurement.
There is a plan of angle measure
ment by which two observers. at diff
located the flash of the, herr professors
rife, thereupon prolong their imagi-
nary lines until they cross. At the in
tersection is the professor. 1t is the
same system as that wholly marvellous
sound detector by which the location of
German batteries is& determined by
measuring the inclination of the waves
of sound The curriculum of the snip
ers' school is charged with magic and
science After hearing just little of it
one understands how it is that one of
its graduates has recognized record
of something over two hundred heads"
Apart from the sniper specialists.
the average British soldier is fairly
handy person with the rifle. l watched
d SQUAD of boy veterans from the front
one day as they were going through
their combined rifie-and- -bayonet drill.
They began at one end of course 100