WITH THE GUNS

F.O.O. (Forward Observation Officer) is the pseudonym of Capt C.J.C Street OBE, MC, of the Royal Garrison Artillery special reserve. He does not say which battery he belongs to but as the book was published in 1916 and censorship being very strict, this is hardly surprising. But he does let slip it was a siege battery, equipped with howitzers and that would suggest 6-inch, the most common, though there were, of course, heavier pieces. The main event of this book is the battle of Loos and he gives a very good blow-by-blow account of the four-day preliminary bombardment followed by the day of the assault and the aftermath But he also gives clear picture, sometimes amusing, of artillery warfare, its evolution, employment, problems, the working of the guns, artillery observation, changing gun positions and the problem of communications (telephone lines) between F.O.O. and the guns. It tells something of the spirit of the men who served the guns and the officers who commanded them. An interesting and informative book.