The employment of the field artillery in
combat
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In 1915 the Artillery Inspection published a new Наставление за употреблението
на полската
артилерия
въ боя
(Direction for the employment of the field artillery in combat), which
replaced the Instructions
introduced ten years before and stood in force even after the end of the
World War. The text, written by the head of the Line-economic section of the
Artillery Inspection, col. Vladimir Vazov, helped
by the head of the newly established Artillery School, lt.col.
Angel Angelov, reflected the lesson learned of the
Balkan Wars, especially the experience of the siege of Odrin,
when the Bulgarian artillery was employed en masse, concentrating its fire to
clear the way for the attack of the infantry. In fact, the direction
emphasized the importance of the concentration of fire, the constant
coordination with the infantry and the employment of the whole artillery –
heavy and light – as a single body. The
Direction included two sections : I.
Actions of artillery in combat : characteristics of modern field guns,
tactical rules for field artillery, employment of the artillery, artillery in
offensive and defensive combat, duty of the different commanders, liaison
between commanders and between artillery and infantry. II.
Artillery service in combat : approach to the
battlefield, choice and reconnaissance of positions, occupation and change of
positions, direction of fire, peculiarities of the action of different types
of artillery, night combat, consumption and replenishment of ammunition and
losses. Characteristics of the modern field artillery. The modern field artillery includes the light field
artillery (light field and horse guns, mountain guns, field and mountain
howitzers) and the heavy field artillery (heavy field guns, heavy field
howitzers). Light
field guns can destroy uncovered animated targets even at
great distances. With shrapnel, they can destroy to some extent also men
hidden behind the gun shields or in the folds of the terrain. With high explosive
shells, they can destroy enemy artillery, all ordinary walls and weak
buildings, hitting the men hidden behind them. On flat and slightly
mountainous terrain, they are the most manoeuvrability kind of artillery. Mountain
guns fire the same shells and at nearly the same range
as field guns, but have smaller muzzle and final velocities, more curved
trajectories and a smaller effective area. They can destroy uncovered animate
targets, even although not at long ranges, but are more effective against the
gun crews, infantry and cavalry under cover. They are designed
to ensure maximum manoeuvrability in mountainous terrain. Light field howitzers have the same
ballistic characteristics of the mountain guns, but their projectiles are
more powerful. They can be employed for hitting
animated targets under cover, with both shrapnel and H.E. shells, for
destroying the enemy artillery and the more solid buildings with H.E. shells
or mine shells, and for shelling fortified or armoured strongpoints with mine
shells. Heavy field guns have the same ballistic characteristics
of the light field guns, but their shells are more powerful and their range
is longer. They can be employed to force the enemy
to deploy from afar, to cover the deployment of our light artillery in an
open area, or to shell the enemy’s artillery and strongpoints from a distant
flank position. Heavy field howitzers can demolish
strong armoured fortification and weak casemates with their powerful mine
shells. They can be employed to destroy enemy artillery,
earth embankments and weak concrete covers. With shrapnel
they can also shell the inside of closed fortification or the folds of the
ground. The Direction
emphasizes that modern field artillery can dominate the battlefield with its
fire up to a distance of 7 km, so that large masses of troops could not stand
or move in the open and in the folds of the terrain without risking huge
losses. Positioned in a place unknown to the enemy, field artillery can
suddenly open fire with such speed that the troops under its fire do not have
time to cover themselves or adopt a less vulnerable formation. The adjustment mechanisms and sights of modern field
artillery allow firing from covered positions, and the shields protect the
crew from shrapnel, rifle and machine gun bullets even in close combat. The
most dangerous enemies of modern artillery are H.E. and mine shells: against
them, the artillery always and everywhere must use earthen shelters (gun or
infantry trenches). Basic tactical rules for field artillery.
The Direction states that
the recently introduced improvements, both in the material and in the
organization and composition of the artillery, allow establishing clear and
defined tactical rules, achieved through scientific research and supported by
the experience of the recent wars. Artillery
must occupy mainly covered firing positions, be ready to open fire quickly,
open fire gradually according with the needs of the battle, fire usually at
covered targets, and try to prevail over the enemy through the concentration
of its fire. Oblique fire is regarded the most effective, and it must be
carried out mainly by heavy field guns occupying well-covered positions to
surprise the enemy with their sudden fire. The rate of fire strictly depends
on the importance of the target. To
determine the number of batteries that must open fire at a given time, we
must consider: 1) the number of batteries at our disposal, 2) the enemy
batteries that opened fire, 3) the width of the infantry target, assigning a
battery a front no wider than 200/400 m, 4) the time of the battle and the
value of the target at that time. Basic rules for the employment of artillery. In combat, artillery must be employed en masse, in this way it can be directed by a single commander and all
or most of the guns can be concentrated on the key points of the enemy
position, even they are not grouped in a single place. In combat artillery can be in awaiting position
(в очаквателно
положение),
or in position (на позиция);
in this case it can be in action (в действие)
or in observation position (в наблюдателно
положение).
Artillery can occupy covered, masked or open position, but in any case, it
must immediately entrench itself in depth. At the beginning of the combat, when the situation
is not yet clarified, part of the artillery remains in awaiting position, the
rest takes preferably closed positions, opening its fire only when the need
for it is felt, and only with the required number of guns. By attacking an
enemy position, occupied and strengthened in advance, the sector of the
artillery units is determined even before the approach of our troops; the
batteries do not occupy their positions, but are
distributed among the various attacking columns. Columns travelling
through a mountainous ground must receive less artillery, no more than the
column can deploy in case of encountering the enemy. The rest of the
artillery follows in a separate echelon, together with the column moving
along the best route. Thanks to their rate of fire and great firepower, modern
field artillery is able to hit its targets in a relatively short time.
Therefore, especially in defence, opening fire at long distances should be avoided, except with broad and deep targets, but
only when the bursts are easily observable. Light field and mountain guns are
effective at a distance of no more than 4000 m, but against enemy artillery,
heavy fortified positions and populated areas, artillery can keep its moral
and material effect even at greater distances, bombarding its targets with
the concentrated fire from guns of various types and calibres. Thanks to its shields, modern artillery in position,
even if not entrenched, cannot be damaged by
infantry bullets and is able to repel infantry and cavalry attacks even at
close range. In route formation infantry fire may cause large losses of men
and horses, so when advancing, artillery must not enter the sphere of
infantry fire, which extends up to 2000 m from the enemy lines. However, at
the decisive moment of the combat, some batteries can get closer to destroy
solid buildings or to strengthen with their presence the shaken morale of the
infantry. At the beginning
of the battle, the artillery tries to attract the enemy fire, in order to
facilitate the rapid approach of the infantry to the attack points,
then with a powerful concentrated fire it weaken and reduces to silence the
most important artillery groups of the enemy. In the meanwhile, some
detached batteries or divisions can achieve other temporary goals, in support
of their infantry. The whole artillery or at least the most
part of the batteries must be placed under the
command of the high-ranker artillery officer, to whom is committed the care
and the responsibility of assisting the infantry in all cases, with all
powers and means. The light field artillery form several artillery
groups depending on the points to be conquered. The heavy artillery, that has
a powerful material and moral effect that can break the enemy will, is placed against the most important of these points and
fire together with the light artillery, both under the direction of the Army
artillery head. Since the number of shells carried by the heavy artillery is
limited, it is necessary to use them – especially those of the heavy
howitzers – rationally and only against key targets. The commanders of the units to which the artillery is assigned are also responsible for its safety. During
the march, the artillery divisions move in succession, one after the other,
an infantry company being interposed between them,
to protect the division moving behind. When artillery moves separately from
the general column, a special cover force is appointed. In bivouacs or
quarters, artillery is placed it between the
infantry units. During the battle, special infantry protection,
consisting of no more than one battalion per Infantry Division, is assigned only to the batteries whose flanks are
exposed, the others being protected by the order of battle itself. Both in
attack and in defence, infantry must always stay at less than 500-600 paces
before its artillery. In the event of a defeat, infantry units and machine
guns placed near the artillery had the duty of fighting to the last man in
order to prevent at any price the enemy to capture of the guns. |