Lord Wolseley, speaking on Wednesday at the annual prize distribution
of a Volunteer regiment (2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers), laid great stress upon the importance of good shooting. The fire of our soldiers in the recent Frontier War in India had been very good, and all the officers who had been at Omdurman agreed that our long-range rifle fire there had been exceptionally accurate. "If I were to describe the effect," said Lord Wolseley, " of the volley-firing, I would say that from the moment the enemy's line, an immense line filled with the most determined soldiers, came within the zone of fire of 2,000 yards, up to the time when they ceased to advance, because they were knocked down and killed by hundreds and thousands—our line virtually and literally pumped lead upon them. The fire was so heavy that no one could live under it." That is quite true ; disciplined volleys are a tremendous weapon both of offence and defence ; but in- dividual marksmanship is also of great importance, as doubt- less Lord Wolseley would be the first to admit. Nothing so much depresses an enemy awaiting an attack in partial shelter as the knowledge that the instant a man exposes him- self he will get a bullet crashing through his brain.
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