ARTILLERY FIRE.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 945, 14 September 1901, Page 3

ARTILLERY FIRE.

Artillery lire against troops nnder cover produces comparatively little material eflect, but is very shaking to the nerves, and keeps the men exposed to it behind their cover, thus seriously interfering with their shooting. The deduction from this is that a cannonade, however lengthened,, which ceases and allows an interval before the infantry attack beginsjo little better than a waste of ammunition While it is going on the defenders remain under cover and suS< r comparatively little, nnd when the intermission of fire takeE place they have time to again occupy their firing positions and recover any nerve they may have lost during the bombardment> We saw this at Plevna. The Russians before their attacks bombarded the Turkish redoubts and trenches, but the Turks simply lay safe in their deep excavations. Then the Russians stopped their artillery before their infantry advanced, and the Turks came out of their holes and repulsed the attacks. So at Magersfontein. As lang as our artillery fire was going on during the previous day. the Boers lay hidden, to a large extent, probably quite behind the lint of kopjes, and had plenty of time during the night to occupy their fighting positions and recover any morale they might have lost the day before. -" World."