794
The Field Artillery Journal July-August 1926. Als voorplaat heeft dit
by™"oid ^anT'"3 6 Va" de bekende en goed gevoe'de teekening: „Good
De colonel C.D. Herron geeft een zeer lezenswaardig overzicht over The
war department General Staff." „me
Reeds het eerste begin trekt de aandacht; het luidt:
„Next to yelling „Kill the umpire", perhaps the most popular American
„sport is decrying our rulers, be they civil or military. The day when it was
„perfectly apparent to me that there ought to be a bounty on Colonels is
„wellwithin my recollectionRecently the General Staff has been bitterly
„attacked. That is has come through the attack with prestige undimmed and
„usefulness undimished is no wise due to any aid that it has received from
„the Line of the Army.
cïiff ^aS .,sein?ed me *b's practical abandonment of the General-
„btatt to its fate can only be due to a lack of comprehension of the fact that
m?mper® areour own people and that only through them are we
„effectively heard m the councils that decide our destinies. Of course staffs
„like umpires, neither talk nor strike back and will always be popular targets'
„or abuse, but that is not so serious as non-support in crises
LgePs schr'iver een overzicht van de ongewenschte toestanden
voor 1903, in welk jaar door toedoen van Elihu Root de „General Staff" werd
ingesteld. Het stelsel wordt gehuldigd, dat de stafofficieren, na 4 jaar als zoo
danig werkzaam te zijn geweest, weer naar hun wapen of dienst terugkeeren
Het opstel bevat veel interessants en vermeldt met groote openhartigheid
meerdere waarheden.
Een op humoristische wijze ingeleid opstel, getiteld: „Recollections of
camouf age bepleit het eenvoudig houden der aan te wenden middelen tot
camoutleeren. De schrijver wijst er op, dat camoufleeren hoofdzakelijk geschiedt
tegen waarneming uit de lucht en dat dus rekening gehouden moet worden
met hetgeen de Iuchtcamera ziet. In verband hiermede zegt schrijver:
>>It: wiH render the understanding clearer if the photographic tone values of
„the following things are remembered Roads, paths and flash marks appear
„light gray, the more worn, the nearer white. Roads and wagon tracks made
"'u ?Pi far'i aPPear as a series of black lines outlined in white. Water in
„shell-holes and the tops of extremely high objects are white. Water in large
„bodies, ponds, lakes, are deep black, there being no reflection. Tall grasses
„wheatfields, etc., are nearer black. Woods appear dappled, white, gray, and
„black, and are further determined by an outline shadow. Trenches, ditches
„and holes are black. Houses, barracks and piles of material appear outlined by
„their shadow. Hills, contours, etc., are plainly shown by graduated lights and
„shadows. The method by which camouflage is made to reproduce exactly
„the tone of the ground it covers, is known as „thinning out",
en geeft vervolgens enkele goede wenken.
Captain Downing heeft enkele ervaringen opgedaan met de 155 m M. hou
witser tijdens den oorlog. Voor wat de tractie betreft, nemen wij het volgen
de over:
„The all-night marches, during many of which a cold rain fell, were very
„hard on the horses."
„The supply system fell down on the march. The horses received but a
„part of their ration, whereas the work was so severe that they should have
„received all the oats they could eat.
„The system of hauling the guns off the roads into the woods before
„daylight was very hard on the horses. The ground was often wet, the guns
„would get stuck and the resulting draft was very severe.
„The horses had no protection from the weather on the marches. After
„being in draft all night, they stood in the woods all day. On cold, rainy
„days, this as bad. There was considerable mange among the animals".
Behoorlijk marcheeren was ten slotte onmogelijk.
