VALUE OF LIGHT GUNS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16050, 16 October 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

VALUE OF LIGHT GUNS.

RUSSIA'S HANDICAP. General Perrott. a strong advocate of light artillery and machine-guns, has just published the following remarks, considerations on the Russian artillery, and the British industrial effort in the production of munitions—■ One hears it said that the Russians are beaten because they have no heavy artillery. I I believe the reverse to be the case; it is more the want of light artillery which has been defective to them. At the beginning of the war the Russians possessed much heavy artillery, as many pieces, of as good a quality and as varied in type, as any other Power. The model of these guns was furnished by Cfeusot, where half of them were manufactured. and the other half by the Russian factory of Pontiloff, which fjrm was nearly secured by Krupp before the war. The Germans' and Anstrians* metallurgical industry is much better developed than that of Russia. The Austro-Germans have worked. The industrial power of England is perhaps equal to that of all the allies together. Last September I wrote that England being the richest financially and industrially, she should arm, not only 100,000 Britons a month, as she had promised, and had done, but also 100,000 Russians. An English Minister said three months ago that. although powerful by. reason of her metallurgical industry, England was not, in personnel or in material, as well in a position to manufacture guns as France. This may be so; Creusot, for example, had nearly everywhere, except in Chile, supplanted Krupp in the supply of fieldguns, but it would be inexact to think that England was entirely unprepared for the construction of guns of small calibre, as she manufactured them not only for her army, but also for her navy; now there exists on all the units of her fleet, and in large numbers, guns from the smallest to the highest calibre. One may, therefore, hope that England will rapidly bo manufacturing, not only a. large quantity of ammunition, but also field-guns, in large numbers. It is a sine qua non condition of definite victory. The Germans are convinced of it, and it is the reason of their intense efforts to deal A final blow to the Russian Army, in order that they may be able to return to France and obtain a decisive victory.