of boards, placed at intervals, it will tumble in the second board, or if not there, then certainly in the third board. Projectiles which ricochet on the ground before penetrating a human body change their form more or less, according to the character of the ground on which they ricochet. As the jacket is frequently torn, thus exposing the leaden kernel, wounds may be produced which will equal those made by explosive bullets.
The striking energy of the projectile is sufficient to perforate two men at 1200 m. From experiments made with the Lebel rifle on corpses, it appeared that the projectile passed clear through 5 bodies at 100 m., through 4 bodies at 400 m. (even when large bones were struck) and through 2 bodies at 1200 m.
In the Russo-Japanese war wounds were distributed as follows, on a basis of 100 hits: lower limbs, 39.5; upper limbs, 25.4; abdominal region, 16.5; chest, 15.5; spinal column, 15, and head, 11. Flesh wounds are generally slight. This is due to the fact that the hole made by the bullet is small, that the exterior flow of blood is insignificant, and that the wound rarely becomes infected. Projectiles remain in the body now much more rarely than in the past.
The central portion of marrow bones is frequently splintered by projectiles, while thicker flat bones (shoulder blades) are cleanly perforated.
Unless a tumbling bullet or a splinter of a bone penetrates the lungs, chest wounds appear in much more favorable forms than in past wars.[1]
According to observations made in the Russo-Japanese war, wounds in joints healed without suppuration, the joint
- ↑ "A soldier of the 3rd East Siberian Regiment, who had been shot in the chest, for instance, subsequently walked to the nearest railway station, a distance of over 20 km., and felt fairly well except for a slight difficulty in breathing. A lance corporal of the 36th East Siberian Rifle Regiment, having received a similar wound, began his journey to the nearest railway station on a two-wheeled cart. The motion of the cart nauseated him to such an extent, however, that he preferred to complete the journey on foot, a distance of 30 km." Dr. Seldowitschi in Wratsch.
