unctando restituit rem."

[4] The term "field gun" was limited to the 18-pounder until the _Boer
War_, when heavy guns were used as mobile artillery. In the Great War,
mechanical transport brought into the field of battle guns of the
largest calibre. Quick-firing field guns were first used by the
Abyssinians against the Italians at the Battle of Adowa (February 29,
1896).

[5] Reconnoitring balloons were first used by the Army of the Potomac
at the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 12, 1862). Aeroplanes were
used in warfare for the first time in 1911, during the Italo-Turkish
campaign in Tripoli, North Africa.

[6] Heavily armoured cars, known as "Tanks," were introduced during the
First Battle of the Somme, September 15, 1916.

{24}

THE BATTLE

"Theoretically, a well conducted battle is a decisive attack
successfully carried out."--MARSHAL FOCH.

"The Art of War, in order to arrive at its aim (which is to impose its
will upon the enemy), knows but one means, the destruction of the
adversary's organised forces. So we arrive at the battle, the only
argument of war, the only proper end that may be given to strategical
operations, and we begin by establishing the fact that to accomplish
the aim of war the battle cannot be purely defensive. The results of a
defensive battle are exclusively negative; it may check the enemy in
his march; it may prevent him from achieving his immediate aim; but it
never leads to his destruction, and so is powerless to achieve the
wished-for victory. Therefore, every defensive battle must terminate
with an offensive action or there will be no result" (Marshal Foch).

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BATTLE.--No two battles are precisely similar,
but there are certain characteristics common to every battle.

In the first place, the issue is almost always uncertain, for events
which no human sagacity could provide against may occur to defeat the
wisest plans. The best chances, therefore, are on the side of the
commander who is provided with sufficient means to achieve his object,
who forms his plans with the greatest sagacity, and executes them with
the greatest ability. Decisive success has followed the combinations
of great commanders, and in the long run victory pays homage to
knowledge of the principles which underlie the art of war. {25}

In the second place, the human factor always plays its part in battle.
Troops lacking in discipline are liable to panic in face of a s