INFANTRY'S MAIN AIM

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 9 November 1917, Page 1

INFANTRY'S MAIN AIM

RIFLE FIRE, US' WAR, The multiplication or weapons of offence, sueh as bombs, riHe grenades, trench mortars, machine, guns, gas, and liquid lire, and the increased use of artillery iir© during tne actual assault on trenches have tended to obscure the value of the rifle as the infantry soldier's main arm (wrote a correspondent to ' The Times' on August 8). It is sometimes spoken of by those not acquainted with conditions at the front as if ic were merely a handle for the bayonet . and as if. as a firearm, it were comparatively useless, except for snipers and specially seleeted shots'. This is by no means the case, and it would be very unfortunate if such an impression got abroad. Only yesterday the special correspondent of ' i'he Times' spoke of the pre-eminent importance of rifle lire in recent fighting, and of the soundness " beyond everything else "• of musketry as a tradition of the British Army. ■ln the early stages-of the war, when "the Germans had an immense superiority over us in artillery, the rifle tire of the "British infantryman, more than any other single cause, saved the British Expeditionary Force from annihilation. 'Outnumbered as it was in all the early' engagements of tho war. it would have been overwhelmed and almost wiped out had it not been for the infantryman's 'wonderful shooting. At Mons, Le Cateau, and elsewhere the Germans ventured to approach our trenches in massed formation. 'They reckoned, it is said, on losing most of their first line from our rapid fire, and possibly the second, but with the third, they expected to come in. But they had not reckoned with the British soldier's *' 15 rounds a' minute." In consequence, when the Germans came up in their compact masses the British soldiers found Ihem such an easy target as they had never experienced on the range. With no perceptible pause • for reloading their magazines, as an observer noted!" the pitiless lire went on from tho man lining the trenches, until finally thc thick masses broke and withered away. And so it wa6 in all the early battles. A German officer, an expert in musketry, described our shooting in these early days of the war as marvellous. The Germans, he added, had counted on being able to rush us by weight of numbers, and found themselves quite unable to do it, because our tire was "so straight and so quick." Such mastery of the rifle as these men possessed could not be expected from the new armies and the new drafts, whose training had to be completed sometimes in less monthsXthau the old* army had years of soldiering. Nevertheless, by" a careful selection of points to be insisted on in training and still more by copious practice with live rounds at the ranges, the standard of musketry in the' British Army lias been consistently maintained at a high level.Recruits have to be practised in picking up objects at which to aim on miniature targets and at 30 yards ranges in the open, where the varying conditions of light and distance and the multiplicity of objects can be demonstrated practically by the instructors. By such methods the recruits of today are being trained for the actual conditions of warfare. The old 15 well-aimed rounds a minute is, no doubt, Unattainable now, but 10 or even 12 a minute is a by no means rare accomplishment in our new "battalions; whereas the best-trained German regiments before the war did not exceed au a-verasre of eight or nine rounds a minute. THE ESSENTIAL INSTRUMENT. Haw far, it may be asked, is this power of rapid firing utilised in the present war? When it comes to active attack -or defence the rifle as a fire-weapon is still, hi spite- of guns, binvbs, mortars, and machine guns, an essential instrument of victory. Other weapons have their uses in greatly facilitating the at'.ack, but success in the mam is duo to the personal factor of the infantryman carrying out the charge. The importance attached to the rifie for his work is obvious from the fact._that he carries 170 rounds on his person iu~+,he assault. If the infantryman had nothing to rely upon during his advance across the open but his bayonet or the few bombs he carries our successes would not have been what tbey were on the Somme, at the Vimy Ridge, and 1 at Messines and Wytschaete. But he has his rifle, ami lias often to use it in ihat perilous journey. For the successful -use of fire tactics in the advance through a bullet-swept zone the officers must have a complete control of their men and be quick to grasp the situation, wlule the men must have had a thorough training in the use of the rifle. The fact is that, in spite of new.weapons and, in some respects, new methods of warfare, the old regulations for training in the use of the rifle and for its use in the attack are in principle as sound us ever. lii the defence of a- treuch against au assaulting party the rifle is equally the best weapon. Bombs and treuch mortars are of comparatively little use against attackers rushing forward in the open. Shrapnel, if it can be -brought to bear quickly enough. may be useful, but it cannot take the place of rifle fire from the trenches. This' can be brought to bear at once, and- each ronnd can be aimed with deadly effect. Heuce a cool line of riflemen in the trenches still provides the most effective method of picking off the assailants as they advance. Machine guns are, of course, useful for the samo purpose, but. even with their vastly increased numbers, they are unable always to sweep tho whole line of advance. As long as the infantryman has confidence in lumself and his rifle and has plenty of ammunition ho remains the real master'of the situation. • The same applies to the defence of a captured trench, which has at once to be strengthened against counter-attack. The ends leading into the enemy's communication trenches are barricaded, and bombers and riflemen are posted to resist au advance. New reverse parapets are hastily dug, and the diggers are guarded by riflemen posted to pick off any enemies seen advancing. Once more, until the next wave leaps forth to a further trench, the rifle is chiefly used for defence of the newly-acquired trench. Besides, the trench warfare of the western front is not the only form, of battle for which" the British soldier must be trained. Throughout this war, even on the west, wc have consistently, kept before our eyes the possibility of more open warfare, when bombs will be useless, and the day must be won by the rifleman's advance and fire mastery of his opponents. On oilier fronts this is already '< the case. -Constant exercise, therefore, in i fire practice with the rifle, as is insisted on i in courses of instruction both at Home and [ in France, is essential." The infantryman , mist learn to reiy on his rifle as his* own j ultima ratio. In fact, to use the words of . a recent army memorandum, "It is the spirit of the bavonet that takes a position * and the bullet which holds it. The biVPet 1 shatters the counter-attack and kills outside 1 bayonet distance." And, finally, "the bullet V is tho paramount executioner for offence an:! :i defence."