Shell fragment (shrapnel) which is 1.25" high and arch shaped. It is believed to be from the Boer War. The Second Boer War saw attempted application of bombardment as an alternative to the use of ground forces. In most battles fought during the conflict this was proved not to be possible. There was competition from the other side’s ability to undertake evasive measures. The opponent was able to use cover to protect himself and hide his position. Nonetheless, the tactic of the creeping barrage, used at the relief of Ladysmith, has been described as “revolutionary”. The Anglo-Boer War was the first to make use of automatic light artillery. The "Pom-Pom" was a converted Maxim machine gun used widely by the Boers. It fired a 1-pound, percussion-fused shell. This weapon was the precursor to the tracked 20mm "Tank killers" of the Second World War, and its main use was against enemy emplacements and fortifications, as well as for use against locomotives and armoured carriages. Boer artillery was composed largely of guns imported from the massive arms factories of Krupp and Creusot. The Pom-Pom has already been mentioned above; for heavier shelling, the Boers relied on 75mm field guns. These outranged the British Armstrong guns by a significant margin; indeed, initially, the effect of Boer artillery under the direction of the Staatsartillerie, seems to have been most impressive. Smurthwaite quotes from the diary of Brevet-Lieutenant Colonel SH Rawlinson as follows: "…6.15 a.m. the 4.7 Naval gun began firing at Long Tom who was battering us a good deal. The Naval 12 pounders also opened fire but they could not get the right range and dropped very short indeed sometimes… the enemy 6" gun shot beautifully. Put two shells right alongside the 4.7 gun and one of these landing a foot to the right of the right gun support took off poor Egerton's leg at the knee, smashing also his other foot…" The Boers also had several massive 115mm Creusot field guns which fired 88-pound high explosive shells. Aptly named "Long Toms", these weapons have passed into the realms of popular myth, ranking with the "Big Berthas" of the Great War. What is certain, though, is that with an effective range of over 11,000 yards, these huge guns could out-range any field artillery the British possessed. Unfortunately, these guns became bogged down at the various siege points of the war, and from then on the growing strength of the British artillery meant that it was British guns, not Boer, that held sway on the battlefield. At the battle for Wynne Hill in February 1900, the Boer defenders could only muster eight guns, against which the British deployed fifty. Additionally, the British were often able to float observation balloons with which artillery fire could be directed; this was a luxury not available to the Boer gunners. Thus, as the British armies grew in strength, and engagements began to be fought more on a squad level, the use of artillery by the Boers was to come almost to a complete halt.