[79] The scandal caused in 1898 by appointing incompetent civilians to the Quartermaster’s Department and the ensuing difficulties with commissariat, etc., have been the subject of much discussion.
[80] Our War Department has asked for only about five guns to every thousand men, but has not yet been able to have this quota finished. European practice has been to increase the number of guns to the thousand rifles and sabers steadily. Before the war it was at least five. It has been enormously increased as a result of the experience gained during the recent fighting, in which it was established that infantry or cavalry without absolutely dominating gun protection were hopelessly weak.
[81] These movements of advance bodies and patrols have been carefully worked out as a campaign problem. The lines of advance mentioned are those that present themselves to military observers as the ones most likely to be selected by an invading army moving toward Boston from a base on Narragansett Bay or Buzzards Bay.
[82] So laid down as the most likely movement to be made by invading armies with heavy cavalry supports.
[83] The elementary tactics for the procedure of every army that has to hold any extended territory.
[84] Worked out from a consensus of opinions and plans by tactical experts both here and abroad.
[85] “When the defenses outside the Continental United States are provided for, there will remain for home gun defenses 176 officers and 7,543 enlisted men, which is about one-third of one relief.”—Page 15, Report, Chief of Coast Artillery, U. S. A., for year ended June 30, 1914.
[86] “The searchlight project is approximately 50 per cent. completed.... The fire-control system may be said to be approximately 60 per cent. completed.... Installation of power generating and distributing equipment is 25 per cent. completed.... Submarine mine structures are 83 per cent. completed.”—Report, Chief of Coast Artillery, U. S. A., for year ended June 30, 1914.
[87] Regular manning detail for Boston defenses, twelve companies of Coast Artillery. These have seven systems of defense to maintain. The companies are not enlisted to their full strength. Even if they were, there would be less than two hundred men to each defense. This is not sufficient for any sustained action at the big guns alone. A sufficiently energetic enemy, even if he might not damage the works, could wear out the men by incessant attack for a few days and nights. There certainly would not be men enough to provide for outlying defense against landing parties.
[88] These are all vitally necessary parts of the defense of the Boston harbor forts. They are only a small part of what would have to be done in case of naval attack. The data used here are not theoretical. They have been developed by actual test.