thoroughness far greater than that of any other nation, have made them a separate arm of their service, under trained and permanent gunners, and they evidently consider that only specialists can attain the necessary efficiency.
However this may be, it is certain that the officer, whether commanding a section or the batteries of a Division, must be a specialist and a highly trained one.
An officer commanding a company of Russian machine guns in the Russo-Japanese War, writing his experiences to the Nouskin Invalid, says:
"I have spent three years in studying machine guns, and consider myself proficient in their use, but I have always been convinced that the requisite skill and knowledge cannot be acquired in a short time."
The commanding officer who at present looks upon his machine guns in much the same light as he regards any other portion of his first-line transport—a necessary encumbrance taking away an officer and several men from their proper duties, and a source of anxiety when the regiment goes into action—would regard them with very different feelings if assured of their efficiency and relieved of the responsibility for their tactics and safety. That this is possible without altering the present organisation has been shown; that it is absolutely essential for their efficient use in war it is hoped to demonstrate
