A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 186, 3 May 1940, Page 8

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

French Artillery

MANY EFFECTIVE

WEAPONS

The French Army, a magnificent lighting organization in all respects, is noted for the excellence of its artillery. It needs to be, for the Germans are also good artillerymen, and the fact that von Hilldeniburg, after the last war, praised the work of the French artillery, is therefore all the more valuable as a testimonial.

In these days of relative inactivity on the Western Front, the artillery has had more work to do than any other branch of the land army except, perhaps. the forward patrols, and the brief communiques from the front refer frequently to exchanges of gunfire. Army Well Equipped

France's modern artillery ranges from huge 15-16-inch weapons to a type of anti-tank gun that is also used by the British and in the armament factories behind the lines men work night and. day to augment the French Army’s supply of guns large and small.. It has been recorded that when the first officers of the B.E.F. to arrive in France reached areas behind the Maginot Line they were astounded at the number of heavy guns the French had assembled, all of them mobile. The opinion has been expressed that it is safe to say that the French artillery controls every road for 30 miles beyond the Maginot Line. Even considering artillery as a separate army department apart, every French infantry company of 250 men can fire more than a quarter of a ton of assorted projectiles a minute, not counting rifle Are or tank support. By one of the many vitally important co-operative agreements between the Allies, new types of guns—also other weapons—will be manufactured in both Britain and France, so as to give complete interchangeability of ammunition and parts, thus minimizing the delay should factories in either country be destroyed.

Monster Rail Guns The -heaviest French guns have an accurate range of about 15 miles. These weighty pieces are so heavy that they can be transported only by rail. Even then, they have to be jacked off the line before discharge as otherwise the shock of firing would bend, the rails. They are enormous, grim-looking weapons. Heavy artillery of lighter weight maybe transported by road, in which case the barrel is often dismounted and placed on -a separate travelling carriage to distribute the weight over a greater area and lessen the chance of the vehicles becoming bogged if the ground is at all soft. Heavy road-guns are drawn by tractors but it is notable that in the moving of the rather lighter guns the French Array still relies to some extent upon horses. These medium-heavy guns fire from pits dug so as to permit the maximum lowering of the breech necessary for high-angle fire. Another device the French have adopted is the split, or two-pronged, trail which, besides facilitating the lowering of the breech between the two prongs, gives the guu a firmer grip on the ground. The Famous “75”

For medium artillery, the French use largely a 155-millimetre gun, about equivalent to ' the British six-inch howitzer, and next in order comes the still famous “seventy-five,” but slightly changed since the Great War and still occupying pride of place as the chief weapon for the support of infantry. One of its outstanding qualities has always (been that it can be fired very quickly, little adjustment of sights being required between shots. Qualities which make the French anti-tank gun so effective are the fact that it is easily handled by the infantry who use it, and that its small, armour-piercing shell has a low trajectory, which helps when firing against moving targets. It also has a quick rate of fire and. virtually punctureproof tyres. Lag In Oil Drilling

A considerable lag in the 1940 Russian oil programme is revealed in an article in “Industria,” organ of the Commissariat for Heavy Industry, in the middle of March. The article says that under the 1940 plan 2, 135 new wells were to be put into operation. During February drilling activities covered only 1722 metres, compared with 1995 metres in February, 1939. During January and February only 61 new wells were working in the Baku area instead of the 97 planned, and in the Grozny region only 20 wells instead of 42. In the Maikop region nine wells were drilled instead of 22, In Bashkiria nine instead of 31, and in the Emba district five instead of 33.

. The output has fallen sharply in recent months in the eastern oil regions —“Little Baku” —because the plan for putting new wells into operation has only been 30 per cent, fulfilled. The 1940 schedule, says the article, represents the minimum programme. “The interests of industry and defence demand that the lag in drilling operations be overcome.” War Cabinet Advocated

Time is never the automatic and unconditional friend of any belligerent, writes Mr. J. L. Garvin. It favours the more efficient. Time is never a neutral either. It may changq sides, and more than once, before finally fixing its support on behalf of those whose energy and ability have excelled. In other words, time, like Providence, helps those who help themselves. The second truth is inseparable from the first. It is that the practical value of potential resources, however great, depends on the vigour aud grip with which you develop and apply them. In ordinary life we see a thousand instances of this around us every day. Some men can do more with little than others with much. Again and again iu the history of war the slower use of superior resources has been thwarted by superior organization. The question for the British nation and the Empire is whether we arc yet making the best use of our means. The reply is that we are not. Then why? The plain answer again is that it is impossible to make the best use of our means till the present system of direction is altered and energized by the creation of areal “War Cabinet,” such as that which led us to victory before. Black-out Saves Rates

The black-out is affording relief to the ratepayers of Jarrow, which is the most heavily rated borough in Britain. A rate of 7d. in the pound has been saved on street lighting, and the finance committee has reduced the rates from 22/- in the pound to 21/4 for the next 12 months. In addition to this, by other economies, there has been a further saving of 5Jd., but this has been placed to reserve to meet any emergencies.