Manumission

“ When a battery comes into camp it ‘parks’ all six guns at the appointed place, side by side in one mathematically straight line, and the accuracy of the alignment is, like ceremonial-drill with the Foot, a fair test of its attainments. ”

“ When the notches or sights, which are sometimes made upon the base-ring and swell of the muzzle in field guns, for aiming the piece are used, how is the error of direction remedied when the wheels are not on the same level? ”

“ Getting lost in the dark—falling into shell-holes—swooping down on rear-guards that generally proved to have machine guns with them— weary men on hungrier, wearier horses—the wonder is that a man rode back to tell of it at dawn. ”

“ In draft producing units, the personnel of machine gunners will always be maintained; a reserve of men thoroughly trained in mechanism, drill, etc., must be available to fill the gaps in the service section caused by drafting.
2. AMMUNITION.
300 rounds (Territorial Force Units, Mark VI., other Units, Mark VII.) will be fired in the General Machine Gun Course by each Officer, N.C.O. and man of the existing service section or on his appointment thereto, as soon as he is fit to fire. ”

“ Gunroom Evolutions and floggings became more frequent and severe. When the men went to physical drill after Divisions, and were commanded, in accordance with custom, to double round the batteries and quarter-deck, they ran, not eagerly and good-humouredly as when paying-off time is near, but at a Service double such as discipline demanded. And the speed and spirit of this morning procession is generally a good indication of the temper of a ship’s company. ”

“ Make clear to the men in the instruction work, particularly in the field training, not only the object sought but the why and wherefore. In maneuvers always explain the problem to them so far as is necessary to make them understand what the command is trying to do, where the enemy is supposed to be, and the rest. They will respond not only by taking more interest but by doing their part much better.
I have seen a flank patrol out at a maneuver the leader of which knew nothing of [Pg 18] the supposed situation and had been given no instructions, except to act as left flank patrol. ”

“ GENERAL PRINCIPLES “Each arm has its special characteristics and functions, and is dependent on the assistance of others; the full power of an army can be exerted only when all its parts act in close combination, and this is not possible unless the members of each arm understand the characteristics of the other arms.”
The above paragraph from Field Service Regulations, Part I., 1909, aptly illustrates a principle which should be impressed upon every serious machine-gun student, for the principles of machine-gun tactics are based upon those of the arm with which they are co-operating. ”

“ Gunnery, sir, is a science—we have our own disparts and our lines of sight—our windage, and our parabolas, and projectile forces—and our point blank, and our reduction of powder upon a graduated scale. Now, sir, there's no excuse for a gunner not being a navigator ”

“ You will stand back to back with your guns not displayed, but in your clothes. At my word you will start walking in the opposite directions until my command 'Turn!' and at this command you will wheel, draw your guns, and fire until one man falls—or both! ”

“ Officers were looking in vain for their servants—servants [Pg 20] running in pursuit of their masters—baggage waggons were loading—bât horses preparing—trains of artillery harnessing.—And amidst the clanking of horses' hoofs, the rolling of heavy carriages, the clang of arms, the sounding of bugles, and the neighing of chargers, we distinctly heard, from time to time, the loud, deep-toned word of command, while the incessant din of hammers nailing "gave dreadful note of preparation." ”

“ The gunnery specialist, for example, may move and let off guns, but he may not say where they are to be let off—some one a little ignorant of range and trajectory does that; the engineer may move the ship and fire the battery, but only with some man, who does not perfectly understand, shouting instructions down a tube at him. ”

“ The whole thing has moved with the smoothness and precision and effortless ease of a properly adjusted, well-oiled machine—which, after all, is just what the regiment is. The pace is apparently leisurely, or even lazy, but it eats up the miles amazingly, and it can be kept up with the shortest of halts from dawn to dusk. ”

“ Later, when he has mastered the rudiments of mechanical flight, he goes into the advanced training, the training in his fighting plane, where he requires equipment more nearly of the type used at the front. ”

“ When a battery arrives in camp, quarters, or cantonments, each non-commissioned officer will immediately examine every part of the carriages of his sub-division, especially the wheels, to the greasing of which he will attend. ”

“ Equipments in Use.—Practically all nations have abandoned the simple wheeled carriage for machine-guns, or rather have adopted the tripod or table mounting, reserving the wheeled vehicle for the mere transport of the equipment. ”

“ Flanking maneuvers and retrograde movements, both sometimes profitably employed to decoy the enemy, may frequently be utilized to gain advantageous relative position. The proper objective of each is the maintenance of a favorable situation, or the alteration of an unfavorable one, either locally or with reference to the larger phases of operations, through measures involving [61] apportionment of fighting strength, or obtaining advantages of position, or retaining or gaining freedom of action. ”

“ In our own service, the machine gun is as yet a new and untried weapon, and I therefore believe the general principles governing the present operation and tactical use on the great battlefield of Europe, as briefly presented herein, will be of interest to all officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of our army, navy and marine corps. ”

“ As, for example, a pull upon the right arm may signify to face to the right, and a pull upon the left arm to face to the left; a pull upon the skirt of the coat, to halt; a gentle push on the back, to advance in ordinary time; a slap on the back, to advance in double quick time, etc., etc.
These signals, having been previously well understood and practiced, may be given by the commander to the man next to him, and from him communicated in rapid succession throughout the command. ”

“ When any manœuvre is to be performed, such as running the gun forward, a handle is touched, the cylinder-valves open a passage to the water, and, the enormous resistance being removed, the engine rattles with energy, and the gun moves forward as by magic. ”

“ In the cases where the infantry of the advanced guard forms the main guard, the battery of machine guns should march with the foremost body of troops and should never march in rear, where they are useless, and where, if on a road, they can only be moved up with difficulty. ”

“ A conductor shall be appointed to each brigade, who shall have under his immediate care and direction a traveling forge and five or six armourers, an ammunition wagon, and a wagon with an arm-chest for each battalion, each chest to hold twenty-five arms, to receive the arms and accoutrements wanting repair, or of the men sick or absent; and when the arms delivered in by a battalion shall exceed the above number, the surplus shall be sent to the commissary of military stores. ”

“ The motor-ambulances move here, there and everywhere over the clayey fields, where the wheels of the ammunition wagons have drawn mighty furrows, like those that peaceful toil once made here. One hardly sees the faces of these men. ”

“ This education included a knowledge of the ordinary routine of loading and firing, the ability to estimate distances with tolerable accuracy, cut fuses, take any part in the dismounting and mounting of the piece and carriage, the transfer of limber-chests, the mounting of a spare wheel or insertion of a spare pole, the slinging of the gun under the limber in case a piece-wheel should be disabled: even all the parts of the harness must be known by cannoneer as [183] well as driver, so that by the time a man had graduated from this school he was possessed of quite a liberal military education. ”

“ And if the head of the weapon has passed to the opposite side, and it is found impossible to extract it by the way in which it entered, having divided the parts opposite we extract it through them, either drawing it out in the manner mentioned, or we make a hole with the weapon itself, pushing it either by the shaft, or, if it has come away, by an impellent instrument, taking care not to divide a nerve, vein, artery, or any important part, for it would be disgraceful if, in extracting the weapon, we should do more mischief than the weapon itself had done. ”

“ All these engaging and endearing accomplishments are mechanical, and to be acquired by care and observation, as easily as turning, or any mechanical trade. A common country fellow, taken from the plow, and enlisted in an old corps, soon lays aside his shambling gait, his slouching air, his clumsy and awkward motions: and acquires the martial air, the regular motions, and whole exercise of the corps, and particularly of his right and left hand man. ”

“ These primitive weapons were each managed by two men, one being the carrier of the ordnance, the other the gunner; for whilst one holds the tube on his shoulder the other takes aim, turns away his head, applies his match, and is pleased with the sound. ”

“ The exercise of the great guns has, till the late war, been very complicated, and abounding with superfluities, in our navy, as well as all others. The following method was then successfully introduced by an officer of distinguished abilities.
“Upon beat to arms [23] (every body having immediately repaired to their quarters) the midshipman commanding a number of guns, is to see that they are not without every necessary article, as (at every gun) a spunge, powder-horn, with its priming wires, and a sufficient quantity of powder, crow, hand-spike, bed, quoin, train-tackle, &c. ”

“ Above all, crews must train together, be accustomed to work under their officer, each with his special work as brakeman, gearsman, driver or gunner, but each still part of an organic whole. They must also attain to a certain physical level, must undergo some visual training, and must know how to fire a revolver. ”

“ The marksman has complete controul over the elevating and pointing of the gun, and can guide it to the object during the operation of running out, a most important acquisition to the science of gunnery ”

“ The Mode Of Action.—The machine gun acting only by its fire can prepare an attack or repulse an offensive movement, but it does not conquer ground. The latter role is almost exclusively that of infantry which is fitted for crossing all obstacles. When it will suffice to act by fire, employ the machine gun in preference to infantry, preserving the latter for the combined action of movement and fire. ”

“ A battery marching by itself should always have an advanced guard. In a narrow road it should be considerably in front, to stop all carriages which might cause obstruction. In a hilly road, it should reconnoitre the top of every hill, and see that it is all clear before the guns come up.
5. Parties should always be sent out on each flank.
6. When an accident happens to a carriage, either on the march, or manœuvring, those in its rear should pass it on the most convenient flank, and fill up its interval. ”

“ It admitted, too, of such facility of maneuvering, it could be thrown about like a rope, and by simply facing to the right or left, and double-quicking in the same direction, every man could be quickly concentrated at any point where it was desirable to mass them. ”

“ In short, we found ourselves all drawn into the operations of a vast, cumbrous, slow-moving machine, with a great many more cogs than drivers, through which no regiment or any other body could pass rapidly. ”

“ Occasionally a giant spring of a charger would rear the firm and sturdy figure of a soldier suddenly head and shoulders above his comrades. Over the noise of the scudding hoofs could be heard the creaking of leather trappings, the jingle and clank of steel, and the tense, low-toned commands or appeals of the men to their horses ”

“ When the water is deep, and the current strong, great attention must be paid in fording. The person conducting the column over a direct ford, should keep his eye steadily on an object on the opposite bank, which points out where the ford is: he must never look at the stream, which would deceive him, and would appear to carry him down, and he would endeavour to keep too high up the stream, and miss the ford.
3. All those in the rear should keep their eyes on those in front; every individual should wade rather against the stream, in order to resist its power. ”

“ It is my duty to submit to your Excellency that the ships which join the fleet from day to day are incompletely manned, especially in regard to their petty officers; and — which is of more consequence — are without trained gunners, who are now, more than ever, necessary, on account of the greater number of rifled guns, which require long arid careful drill. ”

“ HERMAN KRAUSE, MAJOR, SIGNAL CORPS.
“What’s the idea ordering some guy to ‘Death in Line of Duty’?” he asked Long John.
“Huh? Oh, they always do that when some bird gets bumped,” answered the tall man. “You’re in Section 13, same as me. We go to rotary motors in the morning, and then machine gun.”
“What do you mean, rotary motors?” inquired Tommy. ”

“ At the command load each front-rank man or skirmisher faces half right and carries the right foot to the right, about one foot, to such position as will insure the greatest firmness and steadiness of the body; raises or lowers the piece and drops it into the left hand at the balance, left thumb extended along the stock, muzzle at the height of the breast. ”