BIG GUNS.
One of the surprises of this war has been furnished by the big guns the Germans have been able to bring into use iv the field. So carefully had they been concealed that the opinion prevailed that they were Krupps' private property. Certain it is that this war has upset all preconceived ideas relating to field artillery. At the outset the Germans had a great superiority in tho matter of guns, but they no longer have it. The guns which the Allies have now been able to bring into play have destroyed that superiority. The fact is that since the war Britain has been building, not only more warships, but more guns—bigger guns than ever before. ''When once the melee has begun," said Napoleon, "the man who is clever enough to bring up an unexpected force of artillery, without the enemy knowing it, is sure to carry the day." That is why the Germans carried the day in the early stages of this war. In 1870 the French artillery was invariably defeated by that of tho Germans, who were then free to turn their attention to the hostile infantry. At Sedan the French army was enveloped by the fire of nearly 000 guns, which did their work so thoroughly that the Germans annihilated the Imperial army at the cost of only five per cent of casualties. In the reduction of Liege it was stated that the big siege guns used by the Germans had been lent by Austria, but there has been plenty of evidence since that the Germans possess plenty of these, great guns. Why they should have to borrow from Austria is a mystery. But these "guns of position," as they are called, cannot very well be moved about in the field; and, after all. the most useful weapon appears to be the French quickfirer, the 75 millimetre gun. The German "minewerfers" are certainly a novelty in field operations, which did not find their counterpart in the equipment of British artillery. However this may be, it is satisfactory to know that the Germans no longer have a superiority in the matter of guns.
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Bibliographic details
Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14200, 1 February 1915, Page 4
Word Count
357BIG GUNS. Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14200, 1 February 1915, Page 4
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