IT'S THE GUNS THAT TELL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XL, Issue 12540, 11 May 1915, Page 2

IT'S THE GUNS THAT TELL.

BRILLIANT WORK OF THE BRITISH AiriILLERY.

THE • ■SPOTTER."

(By Major-General Sir Desmond O'Cal- ! • V .laghan, K.C.Y.0.) Whv is it that artillery lias become so dominant a. factor in recent warfare? Each. day* brings news that certain, lines of trench have been taken by the Allies after their defensive power has been destroyed by heavy artillery ; that a successful assault has been made after an area has been swept by shrapnel fire; that, a fortress which has been, hitherto thought to be impregnable, or at all events to have been capable of standing a long siege, has been taken after a. comparatively brief bombardment, its cunningly-designed steel cupolas, the last- thing in fortification, the much vaunted scheme ot a celebrated engineer, have been smashed to pieces—disintegrated—by siege howitzers ol unprecedented size. "Whv it is then, that artillery has come so conspicuously and so brilhaiitlv to the front of late years.-' I think the answer is that of all branches ot the service it is that which has always been most susceptible of improvement, most ' capable c/i progress. A REVOLUTION.

Cavalrv, though sometimes deprived of tiie armo blanche, the lance and the horse and made to dig trenches, can only 'be said to have taken up a.new rolc, and to have swelled the numbers I of the infantry. ; . Engineers nvav invent new mining tools and improved methods ol bridging and pontooning", but m these, there is no sensational progress, ll'.e inlantiv may be equipped with a new ride wlncli, by'reason ol its flat trajectory provides a lengthened killing area in front of each man, but his methods when lie comes, as eventually he must, to close quarters, vary little from those he affected in the' Wars of the Roses. Perhaps the nearest thing tude to the revolution that artillery has effected is the partial abolition ol the horse and the introduction of motor or mechanical transport. This certainly comes under the head of a departure, and its effects are widespread. It takes the place of die railway where none ' exists, and adds to the fighting value of the Armv bv enabling it to be led regularly and amply, and by the rapid removal' o: wounded men to base, hospitals where they get prompt and-skil-ful treatment thus increasing the numbers of those made fit'to return again to the front. . ■ Aviation, as a branch ol the services, both military and naval, is so recent ail .addition that one cannot as yet estimate its possibilities nor assign to it anv probable rate of progress. That its'usefulness has developed very raputIv the performances of the airmen duriii.T the last few months have clearly shown, and when it is remembered how diffident men were only about a year afo about flving in anything but a flat calm the steady use of aeroplanes no matter how strong the wind or how bitter the cold, shows what- great and rapid progress has been made. AVIATORS' SHARK. Aviation falls naturally into its place here, for it is one of the factors which, among many others, lias conduced to the present'dominant power of artillery, almost as much as the inherent improvement in artillery materiel. As regards the latter, fuses can now be made to burst their shells with such accuracy that an area can be swept by shrapnel and rendered untenable, or that men defending a parapet can he kept down below it, and therefore unable to fire on the assaulting troops 1 until the latter are within a few yards of the work, the rain of shells having in tlir- meantime been directed over their heads, but with perfect safety U\ themselves. Now, in this particular situation, volume and rapidity of tire are of great importance, and herein very definite progress has been made in late years. Bv skilful mechanical means of controlling the recoil, the held gun may now be said with truth to be a quickfirer, inasmuch as the carriage remains motionless, the gun after recoil is returned to its original position, and therefore tloes not need to he relaid. It is in this particular that the French Tomm. gun has attained such widespread and such well-deserved notoriety. Roth guns and ammunition are good, but in the rapidity and accuracy of its fire lies the power that has made it- pre-eminent. Closely allied with the preparation for attack is howitzer fire, and here T may be allowed to give a definition of a howitzer, for the lay mind has naturally some difficulty in grasping wherein, lies its difference from a gun. HOWITZERS. A howitzer is short ami stumpy, and' throws a shell very much larger m proportion to the weight of the piece than that from a gun. For instance, the German 11-inch howitzer weight a. little mor-e than six tons, and throws a shell weighting 2501bs to a maximum range of 11,00!) yards. An 11-.inch gun would weigh between 40 and 50 tons, and would have a range with the same projectile, of probably 20 miles. Before an attack is delivered, Ibowitzer fire is generally directed from a concealed position in the rear of the 1 field guns, and the high explosive shells bursting in the trenches or on the parapets destroy and bury those defenders which tfie shrapnel 'has failed 1 to account for. These shells, moreover, carrying large bursters, make such large cavities in the ground l close +r> the trench or work that is being attacked, that these afford good cover for the attackers at the end of the final rush. Here the services of the aviators are of inestimable value. So that the reader may realise this, 1 must premise that artillery cannot fire by map. In other words, although Uho exact range and direction- of the target may be known, the fire must be corrected by what is known as "spotting-," that, is, the fall of the projectile, either short of or beyond the target, must be made known to the battiry. Civilians .and a good' many service men have some difficulty in grasping tlhiis fact. "The .gun sights are graduated' in yards-, the range tables give you the feme of flight and the necessary adjustment of fuse, and you measure youm distance on the mail/ What more do you want? Why ail this business of 'spotting'?" The answer is that there is a certain I disturbing factor known to gunners as the "error of t?i« day." This shifty factor is due to mirage,, varying heights of barometer, general atmospheric conditions, and different brands of powder. As an. instance of how it can, affect shooting. I can. quote some practice at which I ivas present in the Isle of Wiight. Firing from high-angle- guns at a range of about 10,000 yards, some excellent results were obtained before practice was stopped about five o'clock in the evening. Beginning aga>Jn on the following morning, the first shells fell so wide of the mark that very considerable alterations in both elevation! and direction had' to be made. In this particular instance the same brand of powder was used throughout, and climatic conditions were therefore solely responsible for the error of the day. Using different brands of powder may .always be expected to alter conditions, for although every care is taken during manufacture to ensure uniformity, there are always sensible variations of strength between them. Herein, then, lies the value of the aeroplane "spotter." Flying about 3000 feet above the guns, and as far I in front of them as lie can go w%hout being unduly exposed' to the enemy's fire, the pilot so manages his .machine that biis observer can note the fa!l,°f the projectile from the .guns for which he is working, and he. bv a simple system of signals, corrects their fire. One of these observers home on a few day's leave described this to me, and I was struck by the accuracy wiith whichi work under such trying conditions could be carried out. The long-range fire from ships over the Gallinoli Peninsula "was no doubt corrected by "spotting.." but in this case the aeroplane would be assisted bv - a flanking .shin in the struts. The fill of the. shells could thus bo "snot-Wl" and signalled readitiy and' accurately.. The" foregoiiiig has been sufficient, perhaps, to demonstrate the present value of modem artillery, but what, is dear to the heart of the gunner is to hear men of other branches say, "Tf it hadn't been for your people there..have been a good many occasions on which we should have been wiped out."