of the sick and wounded therein
contained.

I cannot close this chapter without recognition of the immensity of the
task which has fallen on the Royal Army Medical Corps in the treatment
of the sick and wounded during the course of the campaign and full
appreciation of the manner in which that task has been met. The strain
thrown upon this department of the service, originally organised for the
needs of an army less than half the magnitude of that eventually taking
the field, was incalculably great, and the medical profession may well
be proud of the efforts made by its military representatives to do the
best possible work under the circumstances.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] 3,328 men of the IX. Brigade present are not included, as they never
came into action.

[2] The high mortality was due to deaths amongst the officers of the
Naval Brigade.

[3] To obtain this total the numbers of killed, wounded, and missing,
after the three earlier battles, have been massed, and added to the
total number of men known to have taken part in the battle of
Magersfontein. The inaccuracy dependent on the fact that some of the men
reported as wounded or missing in the earlier battles had already
returned to their regiments, and are included in the total of 11,447,
must be disregarded.

[4] Numbers quoted from Fischer, _Handbuch der Kriegschirurgie_, vol. i.
p. 22, 1882.

CHAPTER II

MODERN MILITARY RIFLES AND THEIR PROJECTILES IN RELATION TO INJURIES
PRODUCED BY THEM ON THE HUMAN BODY

Before proceeding to the actual description of the wounds inflicted by
modern military rifles, it is necessary to prefix a few remarks on the
mechanism and mode of production of these injuries.

Recent tendency in the construction of military rifles has been in the
direction of reduction of bore, and a corresponding one in the calibre
of the bullet, the resulting loss of weight in the latter as an element
in striking power being compensated for by the attainment of an
augmentation of velocity in the flight of the projectile, and a
comparatively flat trajectory.

Changes in this direction have endowed the weapons with increase both in
range and accuracy of fire; while the greater rapidity with which
magazine rifles can be discharged and, in consequence of reduction in
weight, the greater number of cartridges which can be carried by each
man, also form important factors in the possible deadliness of warfare
at the present day. None the less the e