Talk:under the gun
Note[edit]
The expression "under the guns" has a different meaning in military parlance. Soldiers are under the guns when they are so close to the enemy's artillery pieces that they are no longer within the field of fire of those pieces. (In other words, the barrels of the cannons cannot be depressed enough to allow the enemy to aim at targets at very short ranges). For some kinds of artillery the minimum distance of delivery can be hundreds of metres. The concept of going under the guns was of particular importance to charging cavalry. It could be said that once they were under the guns they were no longer under the gun. Because few sensible people nowadays tilt against cannons on horseback, the term "under the guns" may be growing obsolescent. [moved from entry]
- There is a sense for this in entry now. DCDuring TALK 11:05, 30 October 2009 (UTC)