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Show 1UmiIERY VALUE HEATJN Will European Annies Recognize Value of Artillery Over Infantry, In-fantry, in Fighting. INCREASE IN HEAVIES Both Germany and Entente Nations Change Attitude Toward To-ward Big Gun V aref are. FRENCH FRONT, Oct. 30. (Correspondence (Cor-respondence of the Associated Press.) The entente armies have not been alone in recognizing the greater value of artillery as compared with infantry in the method of warfare in operation on all the European fronts since the cessation of the war of movement at the end of 1914. A glance at the strength of the German Ger-man field artillery branch at the opening open-ing of hostilities shows that it then consisted of 642 batteries. At present it is composed of 2.000 batteries at least. As the batteries now contain only four pieces instead of six as at tho beginning of the war, the calculation calcula-tion of the power of the artillery in the field must be based on the number of guns rather than that of batteries. Whereas in 1914 the German army possessed only 3,852 field guns it now disposes of 8,000 if the minimum figure fig-ure of 2,000 batteries with which it was furnished at the end of 1916 is taken as the basis of calculation. These field artillery batteries arc divided di-vided into two kinds those armed with the 77-centimeter cannon (tho 3-inch) 3-inch) and those armed with light 4-inch 4-inch field howitzers. The German 3-inch 3-inch cannon has been much improved and its range greatly increased since 1914. As to tne lierman neavy artiuery, the increase in the number of pieces has been even greater in proportion than that of the field artillery. In peace time the German empire had organized twenty-four regiments of heavy artillery. Each regiment was composed of two battalions of four batteries, and each battery was armed with four guns, thus totalling 76S heavy guns. Heavy Artillery Formations As soon as the army had been mobilized mobi-lized in 1914, tho German military authorities au-thorities established new heavy artillery artil-lery formations. Soon each artillery regiment of tho regular army had attached at-tached to it a reserve regiment consisting con-sisting of four batteries of skilled gunners, gun-ners, also a battalion of four batteries of landwehr, or second reservists, and, finally, a batallion of four batteries formed from among the third reservists reserv-ists or landsturm. When the arsenals arsen-als and shell factories later had reached a higher level of production of guns and ammunition furthor batteries were formed from among the men of the Ersatz reserve. Since tho first year of the war large numbers of the recruits of tho youngor classes which have been called out for service have been sent to tho artillery branch. By the end of 191G tho number of heavy batteries had been multiplied more than five times and in tho courso of 1917 further additions have been made to the total. Of the German big guns, 25 per cent are long rango cannon and the remaining remain-ing 75 per cent howitzers. The most numoroun of their long rango gun-are gun-are 4-Inch, 4-inch, 5-luch and G-inch; but they possess also batteries of 8.7-inch, 8.7-inch, 9.7-Inch, 11-lnch and 15-Inch long range guns, although these are very few In number. Their howitzers are for tho most part of 6-inch caliber; but besides these they have in line batteries bat-teries of 11-inch, 12-inch and 17-Inch howitzers. Germany had not developed any liking lik-ing for mountain guns before this war, but she has been forced to change her views by the developments of the fighting, in tho Vosges for Instance, and now has twenty batterie3 of mountain moun-tain guns, six pieces of 3-inch caliber cali-ber rapid fire to a batlerv, and also has formed several batteries of 4-inch mountain howitzers. Tronch artillery as well has been a development of this war, and the German Ger-man army is now well provided with weapons of various kinds for use in the advanced lines. Its tronch mortars range in caliber from 3 inches to 10 inches. Finally, the small trench cannon can-non of l'-inch, 2-inch and 2-inch caliber havo become very numerous in all sectors of the line. Tho personnel of the gunnery branch of the Germany army has become be-come nearly as great in numbers as that of the infantry. |