The Raymer enterprise., 1918-06-20

felgned attack on the part OF the Zoe
This is In part due to the German theory that
certain percentage OF hits will result from s''
en- number Of Shots The Boche infanfrymah. eA
cept at short range does not direct his aim nj
particular adversary He fires for general 70
suits.
A German officer for instance, learns that there
are a certain number OF the enemy In given
zone about 100 yards square, 500 yards In froh'
Of his position. He estimates that II his company
sprays this zone for half-hour certain percent
nge OF casualties will be inflicted dependent upon
the rapidity Of fire, number Of marksmen and size
Of zone.
An American farmer boy could tell him how er'
roneous this theory is. He knows, because ex'
perience has taught him. Time and time again
he has fired with shotgun into flock OF ducks
or covey Of grouse on the wing punched appar'
emily so closely that miss Is hardly possible
There are $50 or 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 IKE dense mass. There is to the eye very
little space between the men. general results"
shot ought to score d hit. In point Of fact 1t
usually does not. Spaces between the moving men
are constantly opening. Very little Of the front
offers vital target shot through a KNAPP
sack helmet. through baggy breeches, or thick
leggngs. through the fleshy part Of the body,
will not stop charging foe. The only way to
make sure OF n hit is to pick an individual tar
get aim at dead center and fire accurately. An
infantryman In full equipment Is a good deal IKE
hawk on a fence post. You are likely to get
lot Of feathers from your shot and very little
hawk.
The ability to shoot accurately has made the
American rfeman dangerous. This same skill Is
making our infantryman superior to his foe on
the western front General Pershng 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
nm equal number Of ours. Let them direct their
fire based on the general results theory at our
men while our 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
large number of first-class rifemen. The result
would not be hard to determine.
II is because of the deficiency of the Germans
as raemen 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
hanG grenades at them. Weldirected rifle fire
would have been far more effective. There are
tines at short range when the grenade is su.
perlor weapon. One tossed into group of men
will do more damage than single rifle bullet,
but the supply of grenades man can carry is Him.
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 riaemen over the top and fewer grenadlers.
The British regular army had great reputa.
ton for shooting. Most of these had seen serv.
ice In Egypt, Africa or other colonies where con-
dltlons 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 or FIVE times their number
shows what craftsmanship can do for an army.
The Latin instinct Is to use the knife For
this reason the French and the Italian revert
often to the bayonet. Because the German does
not like close hand-to-hund work he prefers the
grenade.
The Canadian Is our born brother at arms. The
conditions that have made us made him. His ef-
fectiyeness as a soldier Is due to his individual
Initiative and to his skill with the rifle 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 Amertcans-and the
chief reason for this dread will be Sammy's exs
pertness with the riue.