WHY IT RAINS AFTER A BATTLE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 1, 3 January 1916, Page 7

WHY IT RAINS AFTER A BATTLE.

It is one of the extraordinary things of warfare that a big battle invariably produces torrents of rain. History eontainn innumerable instances, both on lan dand sea, and on more than onecccasion the storm or showers that followed an engagement had no small influence upon the life of nations.

We can hardly have a better example than that recorded in 1588, when England was threatened by the great Spanish Armada. After its encounter with our own fleet, it was, as we all know, struck by a heavy istorm, which completed the work of our own gallant seamen. The soldiers who fought so bravely under the leadership of Marlborough at Blenheim in the year 1704 had to suffer the. misery of successive downpours after their brilliant victory.

Marlborough was anxious to fellow up his victory without delay, but his me nwere so worn by the fatigue of the battle and the discomforts caused by heavy rains and the contingen-

cies of warfare that he was unable to DUEh en for several days.

On June 16th, 1315, the British defeated the French at Quatre Bras, and Napoleon worsted the wily Blucher at Ligny, both within measurable distance of Waterloo. The heavy rains which followed these engagements made the clayey soil almost impossible for cavalry manoeuvres at Waterloo (fought on June 18th), and so crippled the tactics of Napoleon and greatly assisted those of the Duke of Wellington. The victory would have been gained in 'any case, but experts are of opinion that 'the rain was an ally of s ome value. During the early weeks of the siege of Sebastopol in 1854, the roar of cannon and explosion of bombs was followed, day by day, by heavy downpours of rain, until, as we read, our men stood in the trenches knee-deep in mud. A terrible gale broke over the Black Sea, and caused great disaster to our transports, and on the heels .of this tempest came a heavy, steady downfall of rain that brought death to hundreds of our gallant fellows.

In yet another instance the heavy cannonading of a siege brought in its train a disturbance of the elements. This was just prior to the fall of Plevna, in 1877, when the moisture of the clouds was turned to nnow as it fell, and, by increasing the sufferings of the beseiged, helped to make Osman come to the determination to try a last chance for freedom. The explanation of the rain i s comparatively simple, and has been made use of for the benefit of agriculture in various parts of the world. The atmosphere is laden with moisture, a concussion caused by loud reports or noises will often burst the clouds, with the natural result that the drops of water fall to the earth. This has been practically tested when farmers have been groaning ever the-drought, and scientists have induced the desired rainfall by causing cannon to be discharged at altitudes varying with the locality. When, however, the discharge is continuous, as in battle, it is obviously more effective.