accuracy of British soldiers there was increased rifle training for both the cavalry and infantry who were trained to fire fifteen aimed shots in a minute, known as the ‘mad minute’. 189 In 1903, 300 rounds of ammunition were also allocated to each man for practice each year, although this did fall to 250 rounds per man in 1906 as surplus from the Boer War was running out; this was still far greater than of those on the continent. 190 The Artillery suffered from a lack of experience of modern warfare in the beginning with artillery primarily being used in support of the infantry, requiring being positioned in the open and firing directly at the enemy in order to supress them. 191 This taught the artillery of the need to conceal their positions in order to try to avoid Boer artillery and rifle fire. Another lesson was the need for the coordination of artillery fire and infantry, where after failures such as the battle of Magersfontein the artillery had done nothing to weaken the Boer position, leaving the infantry pinned down by Boer marksmanship. 192 As a result of these failures, the artillery adapted their tactics and instead adopted that of a creeping barrage. This meant artillery would continue to fire until the last possible moment when the infantry would be almost on the enemy position, giving the defenders no time to prepare a robust defence. This was used with considerable success at the battle of Tugela. 193 This however was difficult 189 Spencer Jones, From Boer War To World War . (Norman: Univ of Oklahoma Press, 2013). P.268 190 Spencer Jones. "The Influence Of The Boer War (1899 – 1902) On The Tactical Development Of The Regular British Army 1902 – 1914". (University of Wolverhampton, 2009).P.79 191 Denis Judd and Keith Terrance Surridge. The Boer War . (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) P.64 192 Michael Carver. The National Army Museum Book Of The Boer War . (London: Pan Books in association with the National Army Museum, 2000) P.34 193 Denis Judd and Keith Terrance Surridge. P.170
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