ARTILLERY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 90, 11 September 1914, Page 7

ARTILLERY.

'illE lIEA,YY ARMAMF.XT. ' ITS DUTY IX WAR. On more ttian one occasion it has 'been stated that in heavy artillery the [ Germans -possess a superiority over the | Allies 1 . Certain it is tlmt at Liege and X'aiimv they made every use ot their .'big guns. In the lighter branch the ' French are confident that they arc more ' than a match for the invaders, while ; tlie Rritish artillery is a. very" ellieient 'branch of the Army. The heavy armament of a field army 'comprises iieJd guns', field liowrtzdrsj 'heavy guns and heavy howitzers. They' 'all fire shrapnel shell and high explosive /.shell, the former being provided either [with time or percussion fuses. The i.chief difference between a lie!d howitzer 'and a field gun is that the shell used in the former is heavier, contain,* a 'bursting charge, and lias a steeper 'angle of descent. Fire from, howitzers, 'therefore, is more searching; the angle ' of descent of .the shell may be as steep 'as 1 in 1. For this 'reason they can tire from behind steep cover, and can 'therefore ha well concealed; they can 'also be very effective against men in '.entrenchments, and can continue with safety to support the advance of i:i'.fantry, by firing over their heads much. longer than can field guns. Shrapnel 'shell are hollow, containing] as many bullets as possible, together with n bursting charge sufficient to open the 'shell, release the bullets, and givn enough smote to know where the shell 'burst. 'The bullets spread over an area about 2.t yards wide by 200 yards long. '.Shrapnel are burst either by time or percussion fuses, that is culler at a certain time during flight or only after 'the shell has struck the ground or some 'other object. Time fuses- are utwd 'against men in. tne open, percussion 'against troops behind buildings or wails.

Ccoiinion shells are tilled with IydI'dile, which consists of jiieria acid', /milted and poured into the shell, w,herc jit solidifies. It is. detonated by an exploder containing picric powder. The shell breaks into a number of pieces, with jagged edges, and the wounds re■sulting are more terrible than those from tho shrapnel bullets. The effect : 'of a 'high explosive shell is more local r -than is that of shrapnel the radius being i'only about 2o feet. Heavy artillery fire ./bigger shells than do field artillery, and at a longer range. The extreme range of British field artillery using percussion shell is 9000 yards, and \if heavy artillery 10,000 yarils.