SHIELDS IN WAR.—A DELUSION.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Your correspondent, "A. M. A.," suggests in the Spectator of December 30th that our men should carry tempered steel shields, G ft. by 3 ft., in action. Has he any idea what the weight of such shields would be, bearing in mind that they must be three-eighths of an inch thick to keep out small-bore bullets ? and does he suppose that the men could be got to carry them ? A more practical suggestion was made some years ago that each man should carry an entrenching spade of steel, the blade of which should unslip from the helve and, having a triangular aperture in it to fire through, could be stuck upright in the ground and used as a shield, the soldier lying down to fire behind it. But this, too, was rejected after trial. As regards artillerymen, shields are easily carried on the guns, and the late Colonel C. B. Bracken- bury, R.A., who had seen much of war, was a persistent advocate for their use. The French are fitting some of their field-guns with these. The best shields for infantry in action are (I) good shooting,—shoot your enemy first, then he cannot shoot you ; (2) rapidity of movement,—the carrying of heavy shields would defeat this, not to mention the visibility of the target afforded to artillery fire of a long line, however extended ; and (3) expertness in skirmishing and the art of taking cover, where our recent losses in action have been great, and have been due to our being surprised when in close formation. With proper handling, according to modern tactical ideas, the loss has not been out of proportion to the numbers attacking, and of course the attackers must, from the nature of things, lose more than the defenders.—I am, Sir, &c.,
A LIEUTENANT-COLONEL OF INFANTRY.
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