Direction for firing in fortress-siege
artillery
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After
having been in force for three years in a provisional version and another two
years in the definitive version, the first Bulgarian Rules for firing in fortress-siege artillery were replaced in
1902 by a new Наставление за стрелба въ крепостно-обсадната артилерия (Direction for firing in
fortress-siege artillery) that was mainly a work of maj. Ivan Vatev, the head
of the technical section of the Artillery Inspection. Beside
some minor corrections and additions, the new text included three new
chapters : “Adjustment and fire with shell measuring the deflection of the
projectiles”, “Shell and time fire at range less than The
direction includes three sections and two appendices : I.
General information : 1. Reconnaissance, 2. Distance
and targets, 3. Observation, 4. Kinds of fire, 5. Laying, 6. Battery
preparation of fire, 7. Determination of the firing data, 8. Rate of fire, 9.
Battery fire direction. II.
Firing rules : 1. Adjustment and fire with
percussion shell at great range; 2. Adjustment with percussion shell and fire
with time shrapnel, 3. Adjustment and fire with time shrapnel, 4. Adjustment
in direction, 5. Distribution of fire; 6. Transport of fire, 7. Adjustment and
fire with shell measuring the deflection of the projectiles, 8. Adjustment
and fire with time shrapnel measuring the burst of the shrapnel, 9.
Adjustment and fire in particular instances, 10. Fire with quick-firing guns,
11. Fire with a group of batteries. III.
Firing practice : 1. Aim and purpose of the
instruction by means of the firing practice, 2. preliminary fire, 3. training
fire, 4. fighting fire, 5. fire with a group of batteries. App.
I : Firing plans. App.
II : Instruction to record the result of fires and other practical
information. Generalities.
The task of the fortress-siege artillery is to develop an effective
fire from positions adequately and beforehand occupied prevailing over the
enemy with its firepower. The direction stresses that the success of the
shooting and the outcome of the fight result mainly from the skilful
direction of the fire by the battery commanders and from the cooperation of
his assistants, the section commanders and the gun NCOs. Since
the directive cannot foresee all the problems that fortress-siege artillery may
encounter in practice, the shooter must adapt the rules of the directive
according with the combat conditions and the time available, in order to
fully achieve its objective as quickly as possible. Reconnaissance. A
detailed reconnaissance of the target is regarded as a necessary condition
for an easy and fast adjustment, so it must be done whenever there was enough
time. Reconnaissance must search and locate the target, to precisely
determine its characteristics, its dimensions and its distance from the
battery. It must concern also the ground around the target in relation to its
influence on the observation of the hits and on the effectiveness of the
fire, the presence of artificial or natural defences and their position with
respect to the target and, if necessary, for the choice of auxiliary aiming
points. The distance can be measured previously, calculated immediately
before firing with the help of the rangefinder, determined on the map, or
even appreciated by eye. Reconnaissance
must be carried out or led by the officers in charge of fire direction,
possibly from high places or, if the target is covered, from the side, using
binoculars. In the latter case, to adjust the fire it is necessary to find
auxiliary points that must be close to the target and clearly visible. On
defence, until the arrival of the enemy, all the area that he could occupy must
be explored and studied, making special marks on the ground to calculate the
distance and facilitate observation of the fire. During
the reconnaissance, the battery commander evaluates which place allowed the
best observation and direction of the battery’s fire, and establishes whether
it is possible to send auxiliary observers. In any case, until the opening of
fire, he must determine 1) which elevation and deflection to give to the gun,
2) whether to direct the fire with the bar sight or the quadrant, 3) on which
point of the target to make the adjustment. Distance and target. The
directive emphasizes that knowing the distance to the target made easier the
adjustment and the passage to the fire for effect, specifying that it could
be determined 1) by eye, 2) by measurements, 3) by maps, 4) by sound, 5) with
the help of the rangefinder. The
battery commander must know the characteristics of the targets in order to be
able to destroy them as quickly as possible, and identify the most important
point of the target in order to direct the fire at it. In
relation to the position of the target,
the directive requires the employ : a)
against vertical open targets : horizontal fire with
full charge, to provide the greatest energy to the shells; b)
against vertical targets under cover : jumping fire
with a charge selected in such a way that the trajectory passed over the
obstacle and the target, and the projectile had a sufficient final horizontal
velocity; c)
against horizontal targets : plunging fire with a
charge proportional to the solidity of the target. In
relation to the nature of the target,
the directive requires to select the projectile as follows : a)
against permanent concrete or armored fortifications
: high explosive shell (melinite, ecrasite, liddite…); b)
against old stone buildings : common shell with a
black powder explosive charge; c)
against earthworks: torpedo shell in order to
produce deep holes, but also common shell; d)
against artillery crews and infantrymen behind
parapets : shrapnel; e)
against troops in open field : at the limits of the
range high explosive or common shell, at great and medium ranges shrapnel, at
close range, case shot or shrapnel with the fuze set at zero range. Observation. The
purpose of the observation is to determine the point where the projectiles
land in length and sideways with respect to the target and to the line on
which the adjustment is made. As
a rule, the battery commander himself observe the firing during the
adjustment, standing in a place from which he can be heard by the battery. In
addition, each battery has some observers who support or replace him during
the observation. If necessary, they observe the terrain in front of and
around the target, informing the battery about unexpectedly appearing targets
or about any changes of the target itself. To speed up the adjustment, it is
enough for the battery commander to quickly get an idea of the
fire based on the general observation of a few shots or salvos and resolutely
make the corrections required. The
means of observation can be
binoculars, telescope, alidades, various tools to measure angles, the direction
drawn along the area with stakes, with sabres or with natural or artificial
points. The
connection with the battery is made
by voice, telephone, optical signals or even by cyclists and orderly. The
observation of the fall and the burst of the shell is communicated with the
following terms: short, long, on target, high, normal, low, impact (hit),
right, left, off target, exact (for the direction), not visible, doubtful,
missed. For the lateral falls, it is also necessary to report the approximate
distance in meters of the deflection. The
objects of the observation are : 1)
the deviation in the distance (whether the point of
fall is behind or in front of the target line), 2)
the lateral deviation (whether the point of fall is on
the firing line, right or left), 3)
the burst of the shrapnel (whether it is behind or
in front of the target), 4)
the effect that shell cause on the target. The
smoke from the burst of the shell equipped
with a percussion fuze is regarded as the safest means of observation. The
direction and the force of the wind has a great influence on observation : if
the direction is perpendicular to that of the shot, the observation was
easier, but if it blows obliquely it is difficult to judge, after the smoke
has appeared, whether the burst occurrs behind or in front of the target. If
the wind blows against the direction of fire, the smoke is blown in front, so
it is easy to consider long falls for long and vice versa. By
night, the observation is almost
impossible, unless the enemy is illuminated, as in a camp. Kinds of fire. The
directive distinguishes three basic
kinds of fire, as in the Rules
published in 1897 : horizontal fire
(прицелна
стрелба), jumping fire
(прехвърлена
стрелба) and plunging fire
(надвесна
стрелба). In
addition, the directive list the following kinds of fire : a)
in relation with the target : dismantling fire (демонтирна
стрелба) aimed at annihilating the
enemy artillery, and destruction
fire (демолирна
стрелба) aimed at destroying a
building; b)
in relation with the direction : frontal fire
(фронтална
стрелба) when the direction of the
fire is perpendicular to the front of the target, enfilade fire (анфиладна
стрелба) when the target is shelled
by the flank, and oblique fire
(коса
стрелба), when the direction of the
fire is oblique to the target; c)
in relation with the visibility of target : straight fire
(права стрелба)
when the target is visible from the aimer, and covered fire
(закрита
стрелба) when the target is not
visible. Laying. The direct laying is made with the bar sight, but is accurate only
against moving targets or target that can move at ranges from 4000 m upwards;
against non-moving targets such as batteries, infantry behind fortifications
and trenches, the bar sight can be used only if a precise adjustment is not
necessary. When it is required, as usually happens with the targets of the
fortress-siege artillery, the first elevation and the first direction are
given with the bar sight, the subsequent elevations with the quadrant, and
the subsequent directions with auxiliary points (graduated ruler, aiming
marker...). As soon as possible, all the guns must be aimed at the same
target, taking into account the difference between the guns. The battery
commander must choose the target and calculate the correction. The
indirect laying is made when the target
is not visible through the notch of the sight and the tip of the front sight,
but from a point standing higher in front of the target or behind it. In this
case, the first direction is given by hanging lines (crossing the plane of
the direction), and the elevation with the quadrant. Depending on how the
target is viewed, the lines are drawn differently, with the help of the plumb
line, the aiming markets, and the rangefinder. The de departure angle is
given with quadrant or at first with the quadrant and then with the bar sight,
the angle of elevation is taken directly from the firing
table, while the angle of sight must be calculated in different ways
depending on whether or not the target can be seen from the gun.
Battery preparation of fire.
The directive stresses that it is essential to open fire immediately, to make
the adjustments with the greatest speed and that the materials are well
conserved, the breakdowns immediately repaired and the men who left the ranks
replaced. The
correct direction of fire requires that : a)
the battery
commander 1) knows the sector he has to fire at, 2) choose the kind of
projectile, the weight of the charge and the type of fuze, 3) controls the
preparation of the charges, the distribution of the shells, the condition of
guns, platforms, shelters, the supply of ammunition, the wounded, and the
spare parts; b)
the platoon
commanders, the gun commanders
and the battery aimers are informed
about 1) the target they has to fire at and the aim they has to pursue; the
deployment of the target, the topographical features of the land it faces, 3)
the order given by their heads at any level; c)
the battery
has indications to quickly concentrate or distribute the fire according with
the circumstances and receives a specific table of the targets at which it may
fire. Determination of the firing data.
Knowing the distance at which the round is fired, the property of the target
and the type of fire, the firing data – sight height, quadrant angle, deflection,
combustion of the fuze – can be easily determined with the help of the firing
tables. As for the powder charge, with horizontal fire the
battery must take the full charge indicated by the tables, with jumping fire
it determines the charge that will give the slowest trajectory, overcoming
the cover, with plunging fire the charge depends by the angle of descend. In
any case, all the firing data necessary are indicated in the firing plan,
prepared before the beginning of the combat. Rate of fire. The directive
emphasizes that great part of the success of the artillery fire depends on
its speed, specifying that in combat whoever carries out the adjustment first
usually prevails. The
directive considers the following methods of firing: a)
fire
by gun (огън по оръдейно)
with consecutive and continuous loading is considered normal in most
war situations as it simplifies the direction of the fire and the service to
the gun; b)
rapid
fire (беглия
огън) allows greater speed and cand be used when the
battery commander does not have the opportunity to direct the fire himself, such
as during an assault, and is necessary to increase the rate of fire, but it is
possible only if the war situation and the moral and physical strength of the
crew allow them to load the guns fire calmly and diligently; c)
accelerated
fire (бързия
огън) is used when a great rapidity was still
required, but the fire should remain under the direction of the platoon
commander; d)
fire
by salvos
(залповия
огън) by platoons or by battery allows a great
rapidity of fire and is employed a) to facilitate the adjustment in case of
unfavourable observations; b) to distinguish our shots from those of other
batteries; c) to increase the psychological effect on the enemy; d) to
surprise the enemy with unexpected fire. It gives to the battery commander
the possibility of maintaining a disciplined fire, its limit are the pauses
that occurred between the salvos, from which the enemy can take advantage. Direction of the battery fire.
The directive states that preventive dispositions are more appropriate than
the commands themselves to direct the action of the battery in fortress-siege
warfare; therefore, it is advisable to compile detailed firing plans,
according to the attached models. The
battery commander must occupy a
position where he can easily observe the fire and direct the action of the
guns. Before the beginning of the fire, he gives to the platoon commanders,
the guns commander and the battery aimers all the indications about the target,
the methods of fire, the projectiles, the charges, the fuzes and so on. Then
he orders to open fire, indicating which gun or flank has to shoot first.
When he considers it appropriate to entrust the fire to the platoon
commanders, he gives the corresponding orders, fixing the interval between
the shots and the maximum daily consumption of ammunition. The
platoon commanders repeates the
battery commander’s orders or directs the fire personally, reducing the rate
of fire when the smoke interferes with the observation. In addition, they
control that the servants correctly carry out the service at the gun and that
the established corrections are made with precision. |
