size of the infantry target for service practice should average 48 dummies.

When practicable, a simple tactical idea for each day's exercise should be made out and executed. The following are suggested in the circular.

The battery to range and fire shrapnel at the enemy's guns,say, about 16 projectiles in all to be fired.

To change position to repel infantry advancing on another part Time allowance 6 minutes or as prescribed by the superior commander.

To advance to a range of about 1,500 yards and open fire on infantry who are assumed to be advancing over the second zone; supports being 200 yards in rear of the firing line.

ance 6 minutes.

Special instructions as to targets:

Time allow

a. A battery of artillery in action (supply from caissons) consisting of four guns without limbers; 2 caissons (without teams) 10 yards in rear; 36 dummies, omitting No. 7, but including officers and observer.

b. A company of infantry in single rank, formation for attack, consisting of 48 standing dummies, more or less (officers and file closers included); each dummy to occupy one yard in line.

A company of infantry in column of fours, double rank, facing the battery, without officers and file closers, and consisting of 48 dummies, more or less.

d. A line of infantry, consisting of 48 standing dummies, more or less; each dummy to occupy one yard in line.

e.

The same as (d) with kneeling figures.

f. A battery of field artillery in action (supply from limbers), consisting of four guns and carriages, four limbers and teams, and 24 horses and 39 cannoneers, standing.

CHARLES B. SATTERLEE,

1st Lieutenant, 3rd Artillery.

Journal. 22.

A lecture delivered before the Militär wissenschaftlichen und Casino-Vereine zu Temesvar, By Major-General Moriz Edler von Reichold.

Organ der Militär-wissenschaftlichen Vereine, 1896, No. 4.

During the target practice season of 1894 on the proving grounds near Lippa there was tested a method devised by Major von Brilli, of shooting from a position hidden from the target by accidents of ground.

The satisfactory results obtained by this method by one of the war batteries going through its shooting experiments, of which we will speak later, permits us to hope that Brilli's method has solved the problem, which has been often discussed in the immediate past, viz, that of Indirect Fire.

In the year 1895 a method was proposed by the Technical Military Committee, based on a principle similar to that of Brilli's method, which had already been tested; it is, however, not yet definitely adopted.

If I permit myself to speak at all upon this subject, it is because there is already a division upon it, even in the artillery corps itself. While one side holds that indirect fire for field artillery is an absolute necessity, the other allows it to be used under exceptional circumstances only. I will, at the very beginning remark that I adhere strongly to the latter opinion, not saying, however, that field artillery can do without indirect fire. On the contrary the ability to shoot at unseen objects has become a necessity, which in the future will devolve upon the field artillery.

If the increased range, efficiency and precision of modern firearms have already made the utilization of natural and artificial covers, and the keeping one's self as long as possible out of sight of the enemy of such great importance, so much more will this be the case after the introduction of smokeless powder.

The maxim"see without being seen" is not entirely feasible, even when shooting with smokeless powder, if by "see" we mean the possibility of aiming directly and not merely the possibility of observation by the battery commander. The flash at the instant of firing is even stronger with the new powder than with the black powder, and therefore is more easily seen, so that one must still endeavor to fully shelter his guns by placing them behind a mask with command enough to prevent their discovery.

Covers, or rather masks, which appear to a certain extent advantageous, such as fences, hedges, positions behind the crest of a hill, etc., would not be able to prevent discovery by the enemy and therefore would not answer the purpose. Other covers must be used if one wants to work his guns quietly and undisturbed by the enemy's fire. But such covers will naturally prevent a man at the gun from seeing the object to be fired at, and hence the gun can not be aimed directly.

This will also be the case when the position of the guns is not taken on account of the cover, but is forced upon one by the existing circumstances, such as a wood lying in front, the buildings of a farm with the walls enclosing them, etc., which hide the enemy's position.

If the guns are not to be condemned to inactivity, and if we are not to have a division of fire power, then "indirect" laying must be used.

The employment of indirect laying by field artillery is, however, not a new thing, but has been given a great deal of attention especially since the introduction of the present ordnance. According to our "Firing Regulations" of the year 1888 indirect laying shall be used:

I. When shooting at very long ranges.

2. When the target is not distinctly visible, for example, in cloudy weather, bad light, etc.

3. When there is a mask before our own position or that of the enemy.

4. When shooting at guns in a covered position.

For these several cases our disposition of existing expedients are, the use of natural or artificial auxiliary aiming points for laying the gun for direction, and the elevating are for giving elevation. It is however no easy matter for a battery of eight guns, with intervals of 15 to 20 paces, to make use of a common natural auxiliary aiming point. We must therefore often have recourse to artificial ones.

As a natural auxiliary aiming point we make use of some distinctly visible object-a tower, farm house, tree, etc., in the neighborhood of the targets.

As an artificial one, the direction stakes set out in the plane of fire in front or in rear of the guns. The German target practice book allows the use of natural auxiliary aiming points only when the setting out of the direction stakes is not possible. In Italy only artificial points (direction stakes with movable discs) are used. The like holds in Russia. With us, artificial auxiliary

aiming points (direction stakes) are used only when no natural one is to be found.

We will now consider the process of using indirect fire.

All indirect fire to be of value requires primarily the ability to shoot over the cover lying in front, and the possibility of observing the effect of the shots from a point lying before, to the side of or behind the battery. The question, therefore, is, at what distance from the cover shall we be able to shoot over it. The flatter the trajectory, the greater must this distance become. For the necessary computation more or less practical rules have been given. One of the simplest was the use of a table, in which the ordinates of the trajectory for the several abscisas were to be found. In the end it is still always necessary for the captain of the gun to have personal control of the laying of the gun in order to ascertain whether the trajectory goes over the cover with the requisite accuracy. The conditions under which indirect laying is found to be necessary are the following:

I.

When the target can be aimed at directly from one gun of the battery only.

2. When the target can be aimed at directly from none of the the guns, the laying of one or of all of them, being possible, however, from some point in rear.

3.

Same as in 2, but when the laying of no gun is possible, from a point to the rear. In this case the cover lying before may be (a) accessible and sufficiently broad for exploration, for example a dam, a hill, etc. (b) the cover in front, accessible but narrow, for example, a wall, etc.; (c) the cover in front, not accessible.

4. When the target can only be seen from a point going to the side of the battery's position or the cover is so far to the front that one can not make use directly of the method of marking out the plane of fire.

In the first case.-If the target is not visible from some of the guns, the laying for direction will be accomplished, by means of cross-bars, from one of the guns which can be aimed directly.

In the second case.-If the target is not visible from any of the guns, but the laying is possible from an elevated point to the rear, the laying for direction will be done by means of a plumb line or by holding a sabre blade vertical, and bringing the target, front sight, and sight notch into one plane. In this plane of fire the direction stakes will be set out, and the positions of the guns fixed, the elevation being given by the elevating arc.

In the third and fourth cases.-The operation is more compli

cated if the target can not be seen from any of the guns, nor from an elevated standpoint in rear or, when the target can only be seen from a point lying on the flank of the battery, or under circumstances when it will not be possible to make use directly of the method of setting out direction stakes, because the cover is so widely removed. In such cases the ordinary methods of aiming are not sufficient, and one is obliged to bring in practical geometry or other auxiliary means, as, for example, the angle prism (Winkelprisma).

It is therefore conceivable that the battery commander, rather than use such a complicated method, will if it is possible, prefer to advance even into a dangerous position, from which he can see to aim his guns directly, because of the uncomfortable feeling of not seeing the enemy and coming eventually to be surprised by him. In peace maneuvers, in going through which the batteries will begin shooting as soon as possible, and where there is no effect of the enemy's fire, indirect laying is never used; and even in the later wars, no example of indirect fire is known. To be sure, it cannot be argued from this that the same will be true in the future when we shall have at our command a better method of indirect laying.

By the use of such covered places as above mentioned, we can avoid being seen by the enemy and therefore make his range finding shots more difficult and less effeetive; furthermore, a part of his shells and the fragments thereof will be stopped by the fore-lying cover. But against these advantages stand many disadvantages. Our finding the range will be delayed; by sending forward officers or men our position is soon revealed; a change in our target is hard to keep track of; the shooting at objects in motion is prevented.

It is in general not possible with the present means of aiming to use covers when shooting over masked places in the terrain, such as woods, farm yards, and other localities, where an exploration and therefore a direct marking out of the plane of fire is not possible, or which lie at a considerable distance from the position of our own guns.

The present investigation of a method of aiming which takes into account all the controlling circumstances, seems therefore seasonable.

In our professional literature of the past year we find proposed various schemes bearing upon the solution of this question, and the writer of this paper will now proceed to discuss them in the following important particulars.