- When infantry threatens artillery, the latter should continue its fire to the last moment, being careful not to commence firing too soon. The cannoneers can always be sheltered from an infantry attack if the battery is properly supported. This is a case for the co-operation of the three arms; for, if the enemy's infantry is thrown into confusion by the artillery, a combined attack upon it by cavalry and infantry will cause its destruction.
- The proportions of artillery have varied in different wars. Napoleon conquered Italy in 1800 with forty or fifty pieces,—whilst in 1812 he invaded Russia with one thousand pieces thoroughly equipped, and failed. These facts show that any fixed rule on the subject is inadmissible. Usually three pieces to a thousand combatants are allowed; but this allowance will depend on circumstances.
The relative proportions of heavy and light artillery vary also between wide limits. It is a great mistake to have too much heavy artillery, whose mobility must be much less than that of the lighter calibers. A remarkable proof of the great importance of having a strong artillery-armament was given by Napoleon after the battle of Eylau. The great havoc occasioned among his troops by the numerous guns of the Russians opened his eyes to the necessity of increasing his own. With wonderful vigor, he set all the Prussian arsenals to work, those along the Rhine, and even at Metz, to increase the number of his pieces, and to cast new ones in order to enable him to use the munitions previously captured. In three months he doubled the matériel and personnel of his artillery, at a distance of one thousand miles from his own frontiers,—a feat without a parallel in the annals of war.
- One of the surest means of using the artillery to the best advantage is to place in command of it a general who is at once a good strategist and tactician. This chief should be authorized