“ Men should be made to note the varying visibility of objects according to their background. They should be taught that the visibility of targets naturally tends to increase the effect of fire directed at them by facilitating discernment, judging distance, and aiming, while the vulnerability of targets is decreased in proportion as they are invisible or difficult to discern. Men must, therefore, be taught to note the effect of different backgrounds upon the visibility of fatigue-men in service uniforms. ”

“ In the sighting of rifles a mean graduation for each range has been adopted, and a high general standard of accuracy for all practical purposes is thus obtained. Each rifle is carefully tested before issue, but it must be understood that no two rifles behave in an exactly similar manner, and that even if compensation could be made for every error in the sighting of the rifle before issue, the wear of parts and the loosening or tightening of screws, etc., would bring about faults from time to time which would affect the shooting of each rifle differently. ”

“ Effect of Light.—In bad light, the foresight is less distinctly seen than in good light, and more of it is unconsciously taken into the line of sight. For practical purposes, the effect of light may be disregarded in firing at all ranges. ”

“ Rate of Firing.—Conditions for soldiers with more than one year of service should never permit of a slower rate than three rounds a minute for a series of shots, exclusive of time taken for signalling. In deliberate shooting, the best military shot is probably the man who, in skirmishing, first applies an effective shot to a target at unknown range. In rapid firing, the sighting to be used would very often be communicated to the soldier on service, and a high rate of fire, combined with reasonable accuracy, would be expected from him. ”

“ Men must be trained not to put their rifles to their shoulders until they understand the orders given and recognize the target indicated. This rule is essential to prevent useless waste of ammunition in war, and to serve as a check in peace training, as to whether orders are given or passed from man to man so that they are immediately understood and carried out by the men. It will enable fire-unit commanders to know when their orders are not heard or understood, and also enable company and platoon commanders to supervise the training of fire-unit commanders. ”

“ Each man will make the best use of ground and cover, primarily to increase fire effect, and secondarily for concealment and protection. He must remember that the most important requirement, when firing from behind cover, is the ability of a man to use his rifle to the best advantage, and that his eyes must be kept on the enemy between shots to avoid losing sight of targets. ”

“ The varying nature of the ground and its features, together with different conditions of light and atmosphere, affect general impressions of distance as measured by the eye by making objects look smaller or larger, and so making them seem nearer or further away from an observer than they actually are. ”

“ Shot Groups.—Owing to errors on the part of the firer, and also to imperfections in the rifle and ammunition, it is found that a series of shots, even when fired by an individual under perfect conditions at a large, stationary, distinct target at a known and close range, do not all strike the point aimed at, but they form a group of shot-marks about this point, the density of which varies mainly with the skill of the firer. ”

“ Visual training will include discernment of targets, study and description of ground, recognition of and aiming at targets described by word of mouth, judging distance by eye, and, when possible, observation of the results of fire. Visual training should at first be separated from training in judging distance, but as proficiency is attained both should be combined after men have been instructed in military vocabulary and study of ground, which lays the foundation of instruction in recognition of targets. ”

“ Unless service targets are closely watched while aiming, the firer will be apt to lose them altogether, or see them as a blurred image at the moment of firing, with consequent loss of fire effect. For this reason it is of great importance that recruits should, from the earliest stage of their training, be taught to aim at service targets with the eye focussed on the target, and not on the foresight. ”

“ Direction and Control of Fire.—Fire is said to be directed by the commander, who defines the objective against which it is to be used, and to be controlled by the fire-unit commanders, who give the necessary executive words of command. In attack occasions will frequently arise when fire-unit commanders must both direct and control the fire of their units, while at close ranges, or when men are widely extended, it may happen that the transmission of any fire-order is impossible, and that each individual man must control his own fire. ”

“ Even at close range, in the open, service targets consisting of troops are often impossible to discern with the naked eye when motionless if their background harmonizes with their uniform. At all ranges, except short distances within close range, troops in neutral-tinted uniform, adopting formations which allow full use to be made of ground and cover, are usually difficult to discern with the naked eye even when in motion. ”

“ It must be explained to the soldier that the further an object has to travel and the longer it is suspended in the air, the higher it must be thrown to counteract the force of gravity, because the greater the distance it travels and the longer it remains in the air the longer will the object be affected by the force of gravity. Consequently the longer the range the higher will the curve of the trajectory take the bullet in its flight, and the steeper will be the angle at which it will fall to the earth. ”

“ Faults of Aim.—Although instruction on the firing-point is an indispensable form of musketry instruction for young soldiers, if it leads to continual alterations of sighting to meet errors in shooting, the firer is confirmed in his errors, and his faults are only obscured. During the firing the instructor should watch the recruit, not the target, and should insist on being told the probable result of the shot before it is signalled. ”

“ Need of Theoretical Knowledge.—A knowledge of the theory of rifle fire is of great importance in enabling the best use to be made of the powerful and accurate weapon with which the soldier is armed. The next step in the soldier’s musketry training after he has been instructed in the construction, care, and cleaning of his rifle will therefore be devoted to teaching him the theory and application of rifle fire. ”

“ Artillery.—Artillery coming into action, limbering up, or in movement, is a vulnerable target against which rapid fire or even fire at long infantry ranges is justifiable. Infantry will experience difficulty in putting shielded artillery out of action by direct fire even at close infantry ranges, but it can prevent the artillery from moving and interfere with the service of the guns. Infantry can best obtain decisive effect against guns with shields by means of enfilade or oblique fire. ”

“ Many other object lessons can be devised on the Target with figures to illustrate the principles of fire control. For instance, against an enemy’s entrenchment or firing line under cover, fire at longer ranges will usually be deliberate, while against the dense line of an attack at close range or against very favourable or important targets, especially if they are fleeting, it will usually be delivered in rapid bursts and in as great a volume as possible. ”

“ When a shot is fired at a target placed on the same level as the firer, the forces 27 acting on the bullet cause it to travel in its greatest curve, and the greatest elevation for any given distance must therefore be given to the rifle. If a shot is fired perpendicularly upwards or downwards, no elevation is required, for the bullet will travel in an approximately straight line until its impetus is exhausted. Hence it follows that, when shooting up or down hill, less elevation is necessary than when the object is on the same level. ”

“ Finally, targets which consist of ground or its natural features are not easy to recognize unless the eye of the soldier is specially trained for this work, upon which fire effect in battle beyond close range will depend. The eyesight of the soldier must, therefore, be developed in special powers to enable him to discern and recognize the targets of the modern battlefield at all ranges before he is able to fire at them effectively. ”

“ Owing to the effect of German artillery fire, cover from view has become more important than field of fire. It is better to have a field of fire of 100 yards and to be invisible than to have one of 600 yards and be an easy target for artillery. Owing to the enemy’s artillery fire by day, digging is nearly always done at night, and this requires much practice. Some sort of rough cover from shrapnel and head cover is made if time allows, and also if it can be made without making the trench conspicuous. ”

“ Dexterity of loading and a habit of rapid alignment of the sights should be developed in preliminary training. In the range practices the opportunity is afforded to every man to ascertain his own best rate for combining accuracy in shooting with rapidity of fire so as to produce a high average of hits per minute, but there is no obligation to fire all the rounds allotted in any rapid practice. ”

“ Under service conditions it may be assumed that even if the range is measured with the range-finder, the probability of error in ranging and judging atmospheric influences, known as the error of the day, is such that, at distances beyond 1,000 yards, collective fire concentrated on any target with one sighting will probably be ineffective. ”

“ Observation of fire, when possible, is an effective means of ranging. If uncertainty exists as to elevation, it is better to underestimate than to overestimate the range. If it is necessary to fire at ranges beyond 1,000 yards, and observation is not possible, or the situation demands that some effect should be produced, quickly combined sights may be employed. ”

“ Faults due to Firing Position, Eyesight, etc.—Faults may sometimes be remedied at once by correcting the fire positions, by allowing time to elapse between the shots, or by snapping practice. Some men can aim quickly, but lose their power of seeing objects well defined if the eye is strained by dwelling on aim. Thus, the cause of the failure may sometimes be due to the firer’s effort to succeed. By dwelling too long on aim the muscles of the eye become tired, the vision becomes blurred, and the will-power is impaired. ”

“ It is therefore of the utmost importance that trained soldiers should develop by constant practice a habit of recognizing targets, judging their distance, adjusting their sights, and firing quickly but steadily without undue effort. It is advisable to test the ability of trained soldiers in the standard tests of preliminary training before they begin firing in range practices. Reconnaissance and ranging exercises will be a necessary preliminary to successful fire direction. ”

“ Field practice consists of firing at service targets at unknown ranges under conditions approximating as closely as possible to those of service. In field practice every care should be taken to develop further the skill already acquired in snapshooting and rapid firing in instructional practices. The nerve control gained in deliberate shooting should be supplemented by vigour and alertness, deftness in loading, the habit of correct action under distracting conditions, and skilful use of cover, based on the determination to make fire effective. ”

“ Owing to the difficulty of discerning service targets beyond close range with the naked eye, collective fire cannot be effective unless the objective is described by the fire-unit commander in such a way that every individual of his unit can immediately recognize the target or point of aim indicated, and unless men are also trained to recognize targets and to bring fire to bear upon them immediately they are indicated. ”

“ When the object is partly hidden in a fold of ground, or when it is of unknown size, distance from it may be estimated with the help of some object of known size, such as a natural feature of the ground or a human figure which may be near it. ”

“ Beyond close range in battle, accurate ranging, allowance for deflection due to wind, and observation of fire, which are all necessary for accurate individual firing, are beyond the powers of unassisted individuals, even when targets are easy to discern and recognize with the naked eye, which is not ordinarily the case. ”

“ Need of a Standard Vocabulary.—It is important that the military vocabulary in each unit of an army, and, if possible, in the whole army, should be uniform as to its various terms, especially in regard to the indication and description of targets. Both fire-unit commanders and men should therefore be thoroughly trained in applying a uniform military vocabulary correctly to various service targets, such as units of various arms in different formations and to the different natural and other features of ground and country. ”

“ Instruction on miniature ranges is in no sense a final training, but it is a useful and economical preparation for service shooting—especially useful where range accommodation is distant or altogether lacking. It should be commenced during the recruit’s training, when frequent visits should be made to the miniature range, and the lessons of aiming, pressing the trigger, declaring the point of aim on discharge, etc., should be illustrated practically by firing at elementary targets. ”

“ Casualty Competitions.—Falling or collapsible targets are of great value in all field practices, and may be used with advantage in casualty competitions designed to test the relative abilities of two firing lines, which simultaneously fire at separate sets of targets representing their opponents. Each man is represented by a target placed in front of the opposing firing-line, and becomes a casualty if that target falls. ”