The conduct of fire :
fire for effect
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Fire for
effect (стрелба на поражение
– tir d’efficacité). Fire
for effect is the fire delivered after the fire has been
adjusted in order to produce effect upon the target. Great importance is attached to open effective fire at the enemy in the
shortest time after coming into action, in order to make his return fire
ineffective. When the range is found, the accurate fire proceeds with until
the target is completely destroyed. Depending
upon the nature of the target and upon the accuracy with which the adjustment
has been secured, the fire for effect can be of two general kinds : – Fire at single range (стрелба
съ един
мерник, tir sur hausse unique) : it is employed when
an accurate adjustment has been occurred. It is adapted to the attack
of all stationary targets upon which an exact adjustment has
been secured, or for the attack of moving targets as they reach a
position upon which the fire has been previously registered. It is
regarded as accurate
and economic since, if the fire is properly adjusted, it can produce the
necessary effect with the minimum expenditure of ammunition. The switch to
fire at single range takes place at in the middle of the low bracket. At this
elevation, a group of one battery series is fired
with rounds set for low bursts to finally check the location of the
trajectories relative to the target and to manage the fuze
if this has not already been done. Switch to good heights is
done according to the observations of the group and to the type of the
target. When the observation of the bursts and of the fall of the bullets is
good, the battery can switch directly to fire for effect, without firing the
group of rounds set for low bursts. – Fire on an area, or
searching fire, i.e. at successive ranges (стрелба
по площад
or стрелба
съ разни
мерници, tir par salves ou rafales échelonnées) : it is appropriate when it is impossible to secure
exact adjustment upon the target. In that, case it is preferable to enclose
the target within the smallest limits that can be determined with surety and
reasonable promptness and then to search the area thus enclosed by fire at
successive ranges. Percussion fire is used only when
the bracket cannot be narrowed below 100 m, and there is an inanimate target
that must be destroyed at any cost. In this case, guns open a storm of fire
every 25 m, with two or more shells per gun fired at each sight.
Throughout the fire, the shots at each range are carefully
observed, and as soon as it is seen which of the various ranges is the
most favourable, or else between which sights the target falls, the battery
immediately switches to fire at single range. The
methods of fire usually employ to produce
effect upon a target were : – Single-shot fire by order (огън
по команда) : at an order or at a sign of the battery commander, the
guns fire at the same elevation, beginning from the right (with smoking
powder from leeward) in succession by gun, by platoon or by battery. It is used as percussion fire against inanimate targets, in
order to harass the enemy, when it does not offer a god target. – Slow fire at a set speed (редък огън,
с определена
скорост –
salvo) : at an order of the senior platoon commander, each gun fires 1 to 3
rounds per minute, according with the indication of the commander of the
battery, in succession beginning
from the right. If the firing speed is not set, the guns fire a round every
15 seconds. It is used in order to harass the enemy. – Storm of fire (ураганен огън – rafales) : it consists of a fixed number of rounds (usually 4) of
rapid fire from each gun at the same elevation. Every gun fires as soon as it
is ready, without waiting its turn. When it is necessary to fire more than 4 rounds,
they are divided into two or more series, separated
by a short pause. It is used to overwhelm a target
rapidly or abruptly and to fire against a train. – Progressive fire (прогресивен
огън – tir
progressif), is done only with shrapnel with time fuze and can be : 1)
at
will (прогресивен
произволен)
: it begins after a 2)
at
an order (прогресивен
по команда)
: it is carried out in the same way, but waiting the order of the battery
commander. It can be used at any range, but at great
ranges, the difference between the elevations is of – Sweeping fire (огън
съ косене
– tir fauchant) : it is used to shell a target of considerable breadth,
i.e. more than 25- – Fire to break up (огън съ
обсейване
– double fauchage) : it is
used up to A well-trained four guns battery, without prejudice to execution and
laying, should be able to fire rapidly at the rate of one round per second
(about 50-60 rounds per minute). However, the rapidity of fire should never
be at the expense of good laying of the gun. With time firing for effect at
high targets, the lateral never requires the same accuracy as adjusting and
firing at shielded artillery or with firing. Artillery must absolutely avoid to fire at a range
which may be dangerous to its own troops. To check
whether it is possible to fire over our own troops, the gun is laid at the
target with the appropriate bar sight and, without moving it, the graduated
ruler is placed at the distance to the troops, increased by 800 m : if the graduated
ruler passes over the heads of the troops, fire is allowed. Usually with time shrapnel, the guns must not fire when
its troops are less than Distribution
of fire. As
a rule, the fire of the battery is distributed over
the entire front of the target from the very beginning of the shooting, but
if the target is not clearly visible, or it is placed obliquely to the
battery, the distribution must be decided only after the target has been
bracketed. A battery can beat
effectively a front of Fire in depth is distributed only when the target is deeper than If
the target to be attacked has a continuous front,
the guns at the end are directed Fire at different targets.
The Directive lists the different targets that the
artillery may meet with on the battlefield (troops, field fortifications,
houses, villages…), explaining how fire at them. Fire at moving targets. As a
rule, moving targets are shot with direct fire. If
the target is moving quickly, like
cavalry or field artillery, progressive fire is adopted,
starting at the low limit of the If the target is moving slowly, like infantry, machine guns or mountain artillery, two
different methods can be adopted: 1) the guns shoot at the 200 m bracket,
firing in succession or by progressive fire at an order; 2) they shoot with
slow fire in the direction of the movement until the target enters the
shelled area, and, when the rounds fall close to or on the target, they
switch to a storm of fire of two rounds, one at the same elevation, the other
with a difference of 100 m. If the target stops or lays
down, the space between the ranges is shelled with a
storm of fire as if on a static target. It is also possible to register the
fire upon one or two points of the battlefield and as soon as the enemy
reaches it, the artillery fires a storm of fire of two rounds. If
the target is mowing sideways, the guns aim as against a static target, moving the
fire towards the side of the movement according with its gait
: at walk 5 millièmes, at trot 10 millièmes, at gallop 15 millièmes.
If
the target is moving jerkily the
200 m bracket is chosen, and when the target is seen
moving within the limit of the bracket, the guns shell it with progressive
fire at an order or with fire by series. Against
a train, the adjustment is done with percussion fire, aiming at an object quite in
front of the train and firing a group of shots (two battery salvos) at the
middle of the Night fire. At night artillery can fire only at wide targets, when their
position are exactly fixed and the range roughly known. Since it is impossible adjust the fire, in daylight auxiliary aiming
points should be placed on the battlefield and firing data fixed, and by
night the guns are laid with the goniometer and the level. It
is also advisably to mark the points that the enemy may occupy. To observe the movements of hostile troops, the batteries send
ahead some scouts, provided of maps and accurate sketches of the country and
linked by telephone or by signals. As soon as the enemy is located,
the whole area is shelled in deep with progressive
fire. Against illuminated targets the adjustment is
possible with the help of lateral observatories. Ammunition is placed near the guns, which are equipped with two
lanterns, one for the fuze-setter, the other for
the goniometer and the level. When a battery is overtaken
by the night in position, it must keep their guns ready to fire at a given
place, mainly at close range. The gunners pass the night near their guns, and
one of them stands on duty. Moving
artillery by night requires special preparations. If a battery has to
approach the enemy lines under the cover of the darkness, the day before the
ground must be accurately reconnoitred, the
emplacements and their approaches chosen and marked, the firing data fixed.
To make easier the night movement, every gun of the battery sends a scout,
who acquaints himself or herself with the selected place. To shorten the way,
by day the batteries approaches their firing positions out of the sight of
the enemy, remaining in awaiting position until the nightfall. The
emplacements must be occupied keeping the order and maintaining complete
silence. If
the position has to be not only occupied, but also chosen by night, the place
must be first examined on the map, then sought on the ground, reconnoitred as
far as the darkness allowed it, marked and finally the guns are guided to occupy their places. Switch of fire. The
entire battery shifts fire to a new target not only when the old one is hit or destroyed, but also whenever a new target
appears nearby, or presents a greater danger to our troops than the old one.
When a new adjustment or even controlling the distance with a few shots is
required to fire at a new target, one gun is appointed
to do this, and the other guns open a storm of fire of several rounds at old
target and then start to fire at the new target. If the front of the new
target, which must be immediately destroyed, does not require the entire
artillery to be engaged, only a part of it fire at this target, while the
rest continue firing at the old target. When
a new target appears at approximately the same distance as the old one, and
the area around the target is well observed, the distance is controlled with
one battery series and then the guns switch to fire for effect by series, until
the bursts are visible also on the opposite side of the target. If the
distance is quite large and the difference cannot be
estimated, or the area around the target cannot be observed, a new
adjustment is required. The
direction lists some signs of a good fire, emphasizing that fire must be
observed all the time to judge whether the target has been hit, especially
whit animate targets that can move without being noticed at any moment. Cease fire. In order to spare ammunition
and keep them for the crucial moment of the battle, the fire must be
interrupted when the goal is achieved, the effect is insignificant, aiming
and sighting are impossible by mist and darkness, or ammunition is lacking.
In any case, the artillery must not leave its emplacements without an order.
If the battery is heavily shelled by the enemy, it
can suspend its fire to hide the gunners, especially if the guns has no
shields, but, as soon as the shelling ended, it must open again its fire. Firing practice. This part
of the text is essentially the same as the corresponding part of the Direction for firing
published in 1902, the small differences mainly
concern the firing procedures of the new quick firing guns. In particular,
the directive introduces the competition shooting to encourage in the aimers
the skill of aiming accurately, quickly and uniformly. Here I list only the
most important innovations. The
sequence of the training fire for
the officers was changes as follows : 1)
Percussion adjustment on inanimate target on flat
terrain, without determining the deviation; 2)
Percussion adjustment on a target in a sloping,
clearly observed area, with the determination of deviation; 3)
Adjustment with time fire in order to fire at one
range at an animate target in the open; 4)
Adjustment with time fire on an animate target in
masked position, informing the firer where it was; 5)
Adjustment with time fire on a target in masked
position revealed by the flashes of its fire; 6)
Organizing the fire and making the adjustment from a
masked position on a shielded battery in the open; 7)
Organizing the fire and making the adjustment from a
covered position. The
release of the ammunition for the
instruction of the artillery units changes as follows :
The types of fire to be carried out by field
or howitzer batteries remain unchanged, while for the mountain batteries the
fire with a little charge at targets in covered position is eliminated. Fire
at the smoke is replaced by fire at targets in
masked position identified by flashes or instructions. |
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