Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 267, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 November 1915 — No "Smoke of Battle” Now. [ARTICLE]

No "Smoke of Battle” Now.

One of the marked features of the European conflict that distinguish it from the wars of the past is the absence of smoke on the firing line. Owing to the use of smokeless powder, no smoke is made when a rifle is discharged, while the heaviest artillery throws off nothing more than a thin mist that is invisible a hundred yards away and disappears within a few seconds after a gun is fired. Only when shrapnel or a shell explodes in the enemy’s line is there anything visible in the way of smoke, the whole purpose being to conceal the position of the guns throwing the projectiles while making the points where the projectiles explode clearly visible. The expression, "the smoke of battle,” so faithfully descriptive of the wars of the past, has little meaning when applied to a modern war. —Popular Me-, chanlcs Magazine.