DEFENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 924, 17 September 1910, Page 12

DEFENCE NOTES.

{Edited By Echelon.] THE BULL'S-EYE: A LAST WORD. BISLEY AND TRENTHAM. To thoso who have attentively followed tho interesting and instructive controversy on the subject of bull's-eye versus service 'shooting, which inaugurated by "Kobin Hood" in The Dominion, has. been running from ; week to week in this column, the sincerity of each sido must be held to bo beyond dispute. A flood of light has illuminated one of the most vital questions in military training-effi-ciency in musketry. And now, where, do we stand? "Dobin Hood" and his friends, whole-heartedly in favour of pursuing a course which will not involve the sacrifice of the .bull's-eye target as a one of the principal tests—of first-grade musketry, haye based their arguments upon certain' fixed principles which uro either very largely discounted or rejected: altogether by "Maimlicher-Carcano," and his supporters, who represent that par-, ticular school which has uncompromis-' iri'gly relegated to the recruit stage all musketry jiractice at targets over fixed distances. To absolutely condemn "Kobin Hood's" side of the case would, figuratively speaking, amount to a declaration that one of the most popular.of our national sports should be discountenanced; that, district prize meetings and' the New Zealand rifle championship ' meeting- at Trentham are preserves for the fattening of "pothunters"; and that the annual Government giants fol the promotion and encouragement of rifle shooting are simply so many pounds sterling thrown into the sea. On the other hand, rifle shoot ing, being; fundamentally a part of military training, is-inevitably governed by its tactical relationship to, the . larger question of military strategy, anjj for this rjasori it would be folly to disregard the principles laid down by military authorities for the promotion, of musketry, efficiency as defined by such, relationship.

An Unsound Argument.; ■'■/:' It. has been asserted by the supporters' of the black disc that a'good bull's-eye shot invariablyacquits : himself ■ with credit when shooting under service, con-, ditions, which is merely another way of saying that a. first-class bull's-eye marksman should Be classed "Al" in musketry. : The statement. ■ was' ;, made—and. on the face-of it, appeared to be a. strong, argument—that the rifle clubmen did as well,, if not better,' in, the service matches at the last . New Zealand . , championship : meeting, as the volunteers.As a statement of fact, this'is perfectly;-true, but it cannot' be used as ah. argument in .'support of the contentions of the bull's--eye men, for this reason: Under the present system of musketry'training in New; is bull's-eye training and nothing else-r-rifle. clubmen and : volunteers "compete in "service", matches on equal terms. If. a .rifle clubman. beats a volunteer, at service shooting, he has nothing to' boast of, for tho only occasion upon which the volunteer—l am■' speaking generally—engages'; in a "service" match is when he comes to the Trentham championship 1 meeting. / It i 'picked team of: bull's-eye'- shots/, were matched against a picked team from, the Hytlie. School of - Musketry-in, a service match—a real Hythe service' match—the. result,' I venture to say, would afford the bull'sreye men, food for / serious reflection. ■ '/ We in New Zealand do not know what servico shooting really means; we contrast' the two /systems as fre know them here, and so are led to erroneous [conclusions; The value of a service match can /only ' be accurately; fixed : by determining. its -approximation 'to, active, service": conditions,/- and /.though ' in these times; of ; piping. : peace a service, -matoh must .always be more or less, of an approximation, it is yet possible/ /in : -.a country lite this -to. get -fairly close, to the .stern reality," as ..our .volunteer: field, gunners, haye/ialready'idemonstraied.,,.,:; Individual Training.: i i o'iii j^i !' Buli's-eTO- : ,shooting. over''.fixM* ) - iaage9 is individual, training pure /and. simple; Since it forms/. the ; basis 'of 'efficiency in musketry, and hence is properly. defined as- the elemehwiTyyst&ge. of the. training of tho marksman, its importaKe: cannot be too highly "estimated. .. It. was. rermarked,'somewheip during the course of the: controversy, that a detachment of 'aver-, age shots, well. disciplined,/was j/nfinitely /to be preferred' to • a body of high-olass marksmen, ;■undisciplined. . ..This;7 ; of - course, is quite, obvious; ':/ It .is equally - obvious, that th'e'" higher one/ raises the average standard':/of individual' marks-, maiiship . in bull's-eye ~ shootin?, tho higher becomes the quality, of the /ma'wherewith ; we construct; our war machine, and the greater, its moral effect in' war—if individual training'/ in muf kecry; is / intelligently co-ordinated with, tactical training.//' Ten "George .'Hallidays," vsnugly . ensconoed .'behind' cover and picking off the enemy one by;'one, would do considerable mischief, .but the moral/.effect of their,''fire-would, be/in-/ "finitesimal. same combination," firing under direction, could sweep the country like the rays of a searchlight.'-/It must be remembered, that the. primary; object of,' fire, whetfier. by artillery- or: riflemen',. is to .compel, tho/enemy. to-manoeuvre-in fiuoh a way that' he is "ultimately l placed at a tactical' disadvantage"'. . . In other words,, to hunt his units from.pillar to post, by, concentrating a deadly hail of. lead upon given points,'not . with the immediate object of killing, but\ with the primal object of rendering such points uninhabitable. The actual' killing is an incidental . consideration,; and - only comes. material ■ to, the argument when the enemy /refuses to move from the fire zone, the temperature of which .depends upon the' efficiency i of the collective fire of the attack. ." Collective Efficiency. • • It is an axloin that' the whole is as good as itsSparts. Collective effioiency depends upon two .things—the .efficiency of the. individual soldier aiid. the. efficiency of the fire commander.' One may take 20 first-class' bull's-eye 1 .put' them through a course' in judging distances, field firing at- service targets,'and so on, but all' these factors in collected efficiency will be utterfy wasted if the' fire commander, is ■ inefficient. It is a sound conclurion, . therefore, that . .the major responsibility for- collective efficiency -rests with the: officer,. hot with the men,/ :Jlow many of our infantry officers are practically versed in. range.finding?: H'm—m.- , An officer who,cannot find the range for. his men is minus the /fundamental requirement for efficient; fire discipline, and the; finest marks-' men in the world, under such, an officer, would be of as much use in the firing line as the camp-'cook's, for' the: direction of his company's fire is not a matter for the men to 'decide.. With, this hint on. the' subject of collective, efficiency the question of musketry training. may now be approached. ■ "' i ' r. Don't Interfere, But Go Farther. I do not think that' it would be wise to do anything that would tend to-dis-courage bull's-eye shooting as a sport, now am I prepared to agree altogether with ;the_ suggestion that, taken big and large, prize-winners at rifle, meetings are "pot-hunters." • Somo aie, of course— I could name a few—but.'speaking generally, the expenses of attending a rifle meeting are, more often than not, in excess. of tho returns in tho . shape of prizes. Rifle. meetings, properly - conducted, should be an incentive to young shots to qualify for honours at the range, and the more we encourage shooting as a sport the, higher and more extensive the average standard of bull's-eye marksmanship should become. ' An increasing, army of bull's-eye marksmen is a valuable asset; it. is material, whereupon to develop in accordance with • the principles laid down by military opinion, an ultimate condition of musketry efficiency. The danger ■ lies in accepting efficiency in bull's-eye shooting as effick-ncy in musketry, Using the latter term in _ its widest sehss, and so',-, - creating false- ideals and erroneous standards. The supreme test of the individual who aspires to championship' honours should embrace a comprehensive trial under bull's-eye conditions, plus test in judging distances, snap-shooting and rapid firo at disappearing targets and so on; the training of the individual should have regard to. this final test. The samo principles apply to competitions for honours in toams matches, with this addition, that points -should bo awarded for tlio work of the team • commander. A teams championship' match might include a' test ut

fixed ranges, plus snap-shooting and rapid- fire, with a , final test at service targets over unknown distances, the sole responsibility in: this final test to bo upon the team commander, who should be required to locate • the targets determine the ranges, and direct the lire of this team; All these suggestions might be carried out—they, are certainly quite practicable—without in any way discouraging the sport of riflo shooting. Bisley and Trentham. The British Government annually donates ,£SOOO to the National Rifle Association £or the encouragement of ritltt shooting. This expenditure ■ : is a pure waste of public monoy;,for several reasons. Firstly, a visit bo the Bisley Carnival is an expensive luxury. The entrance fees are.high, the cost ofiaccommodation by 110 means moderate, . and all sorts of adventitious aids to high scoring—expensive to the rifle, privately manufactured barrels, and so on—are permitted. Bisley has degenerated into a 'huge advertising centre for the "trade," and nearly all the "big guns"—Ommundsen ; and others—represent trade interests. The general tendency of the Bisley meeting,: in- short/ is •to, encourage pot-hunting, and to make the affair so expensive that men of modest means are shut out. Bisley is declining,' as was pointed out last week, and will continue its decline unless the N.R.A. takes immediate steps to reform the conditions. ..

.' The ■ .Dominion' Eifle Association lof New Zealand receives; this year, a JBISOO, grant from the Government. Last , year it received JSIOOO. Is the expenditure justified? I think it is, if for .no other reason than that the Executive 'of ■ the D.R.A. has evinced a desire to follow, at a discreet distance, of course, upon thu trend of expert opinion on musketry training. Trentham, during the championship meeting, is purely a . testing ground, but the association is capable of exercising a powerful influence upon, the training of the riflemen- by setting up certain standards and conditions in its programme of events. This year, I understand, some important changes will be considered with' reference to -the extension of the figure' target, and although the D.R.A. may hot move in these mat-. ters :so rapidly as military men • would wish, preferring to develop' certain transitions in such" a', way f that "its patrons do not' receive too . great ' a .shock at; one'time, .the fact .that, it', has. given praotical evidence of a-progressive policy is certainly assuring../.The D.R.A. is. altogether, free from;, the,. abuses which havl contributed to the decline of tho Bisley meeting; it is not,'all things considered, an expensive meeting to attend; the. entry fees are low, and every; consideration is given to' the young .shot'. Tho future development of the DJt.A., lies, in my opinion, in the direction, of stiffening conditions of winning championship .honours by adding tho ."service" tests referred to, and of.'improving the conditions of the service matohes so that a closer approximation to the' conditions of active service may be.; attained.

■ In -, the >meantime, .-we: musfv give , heed to the immense importance of .educating our infantry officers .in .fire tactics, and, of placing the musketry; training of ;' the rank and file ,upon such a footing that the men will, gradually come to see for themselves that the wholei .'art of musketry is something very, different from week-end practice at-the bull's-eye. \