THE WARFARE OF THE FUTURE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXVI, Issue 71, 28 March 1892, Page 4

THE WARFARE OF THE FUTURE.

Some timo ago Dr Billroth, ol 'Vienna, demonstrated to his students that a fractured bono whicli ho held in his hand had been broken by a rifle shot. He afterwards producod a number of fractured bones he bad preserved from th© war of 1870, and added some remarks on the probable effects of the projectiles of tiie new Mannlicher rifle. He said that military medical practice had shown that wounds caused by cannon balls and shells were rare in comparison to wounds made by tho projectiles of; rifles. At the battles of: Weissenburg and Worth ho ho had had opportunities of confirming this assertion. Vory fow wounds wero inflicted by tho artillery ; scarcely any by the cavalry, which fights with sword and lance. At least 80 per cent of all the wounds were caused byiifies, about 15 per cent by the largo guns, and not quite 5 per cent by sword and lance. Dr Billroth was, of courso, speaking of. wounds received in open battle, not during a seige when cannons play a prominent part. Thero are thoso who say that tho soldiers struck by cannon balls or shells are either immediately dead or die shortly after falling. But lists were kept of tho wounds of those who were thrown into tho large graves on tho field of battle, and these also show that the number of dead killed by large projectiles ia comparatively slight. Military attontion must thereforo be called above all to tlie new projectile. It is Dr Billroth'*-] opinion that tho effeot of that now projectile, with its power of going a great distance, will be tremendous. Tho bullet which used to stick fast whon it struck a bono will now pass tlie bone, and perhaps perforate two or three bones, The new bullets have tho power of going a distanco of 1500 metres. The number of badly wounded will therofore be much more considerable than formerly, and even if tho wounds aro but in the flesh or skin deep, tlio army will bo^quickly reduced. The soldiers regard this kind of battle, in which thoy scarcely perceivo the enomy, and flre at what is moro the conception of an enemy than an enemy in flesh and blood, as a duel, and the moment they bleed they shall go to the bandaging place. The important fact is that a bullet will wound a number of soldiers standing behind each other—those standing at the back but slightly, but with tlie effect ail tho same of putting them out of action. The smokeless powder will allow of [better aim being taken, hi past times ten shots producod such clouds that all subsequent shots Jwero fired at random. Now that the projectile carries so far the ambulances will havo to bo removed farther from tho line of battle Supposing overy carrier has to mako 4.00 paces extra, if the difficulty of iraniiportmg a wounded man with all his baggage about 120 kilograms bo considered, it will bo soon that tho transport of largo masses of wounded becomes impossible with tho presont means disposed of. As tho troops move* rapidly about, tho ambulance niust bo changed also, for they cannot be established everywhere ; thoy must bo protected by a wood, by houses, barns, or a movement in the ground. Tho number of carriers must therefore bo increased very considerably. Dr Billroth, speaking of tho effects of smokeless powder on tho numbor oi ■wounded, reminded his heavers that the takiug of fortified points only becomes possiblo by immense sacrifice on tho part of military; it is here that personal courage comes to tho fore, an«i deeds of heroism aro porfrnaed. Thus when the Gtoisfeorg

was stormed in the battlo of WeißSGn- 1 berg, if the officers had aot begun fighting the soldiers would certainly not have dono bo. The firsfc who fell was tho colonol, after him the oaptain, after him the premier lieutenant, and at last a young second lieutenant took tho flag; and tho French defended tho hill in tlio same manner. Here a kind of furor 2 ] atrioticus is followed by tho richest harvest of terrible wounds. *' I remember," said Dr Billroth, " having seen a poor Paris lad, a second lieutenant of 18, wounded by fourteen shots. He only fell when a bullet shattered his leg. Until that moment ho held his flag and his sword in firm hands. In such cases as theso smokeless powder will liavo tho effect that tho men at tho guns will be killed more easily, whilst they used to bo protected by the smoke." Dr Billroth referred to another kind of fight, tho most horrible of all— what ho calls tho chase of man against man. Tho outposts, as they stand facing each other before hostilities begin, wait for the moment whon a helmet or a cap appears from , behind bush or wall ; staud on tho alert for the moment when they oan shoot each other. Good-natured persons aro turned into brutes by this kind of warfare, and tho blood curdles to hear them talk, Dr Billroth lias ' heard such an outpost exclaim, " Got ; him at last ! Why", he turned over ' three times like a hare ! " This kind of fighting, lie says, will also gain by ' smokeless powdor. Smokeless powder itself will therefore add to tho ' demand for larger means of transport of the wounded than wo at present L command. "Let us take Gravclotto and St. Privafc," ! continued Dr Billroth. Theso were i among tLo broadest fronts that ovor , laced ouch othor. Tho bottle began ut , 12, and was at au end afc 8 o'ciook. In . theso eight hours thoro woro 5000 doad , and 15.000 wounded. Experionco thon showed that of tho wounded two-thirds could bo counted as slightly wounded, ' and one-third as daugorously wounded ; ' and theso hud to bo kept in cure. Tho i slightly-wounded wero sont away with . uniulauce trains and by tho railway. Ifc , is one of tho boons oi civilisation that tho flyiug hospitals in war can be re. ' lioved oi' tho burden 4 ot tho slightly--1 wounded, who would tako all the room, ' and do not really require qbe aitoudauco > of the first- rato surgeons who avo in fcho l rear of tbo battlo. Now, lot rao suppose j that two carriers can walk fivo, six, or [ seven hundred paces and back with a ) litter tou times in thoso eight hours, it .. will bo scon that tho Gormaus' sido of L tho battle demanded 600 litters aud 1000 ■* carriers. But as the battlo was rici torious, and tho Germans had all fcho - badly wounded to attend to, there wero . 10,000 to carry oil', and thore should have _j thereforo beeu 1000 litters and 2000 curriers. Bub what I say is that tho wholo system of currying the wounded j! ou littera during tho bottle must be l abandoned, for it is altogether impraefciJ cable.