Duties of the different commanders concerning artillery
Commander of the Army	Head of the Artillery
He direct the artillery through the head of the Army artillery.	He makes every effort to be able to fully and functionally employ all the artillery means to achieve the aims of the combat.
He pays attention to the opinions and the operative plans of the head of the artillery.	He stays with the Army commander during the march near the enemy and the reconnaissance, to be elucidated by him.
He keep the head of the artillery constantly informed of his own intents and the situation of the enemy.	After having being informed of the intents of the Army commander, he directs the action of the artillery, staying at its post and being constantly connected with him by telephone and orderlies.
He clearly fixes where the main attack must be launched and, after having consulted with the head of artillery, chose the area where the artillery must be deployed.	Inside the area chosen for the deployment of the artillery, he assigns the positions of the different units and the different kind of artillery (field, mountain, heavy).
After having been informed by the head of the artillery that the batteries are ready, he gives the order to open fire or delegates him to do it.	He fixes the objectives that the various artillery commanders under his command must achieve and explains the plan of action of the artillery.
He gives the order to move some batteries, if the head of artillery has not done it by himself.	He follows the progress of the combat and decides about the most advantageous employment of the various batteries.
If necessary he chooses a special cover force to defend the artillery position.	He takes care of the direct defence of the artillery position, giving the appropriate orders to the commander of the cover force.
He informs the head of the artillery about the moment when infantry must launch an attack, to obtain the fire support from artillery.	During the combat he gives to the various artillery groups his orders about : – the conduct of the fire, – the concentrate the fire of some divisions or batteries on a given point, – what batteries must destroy the obstacles, that blocked the advance of the infantry; – what batteries must occupy another position to perform a given task, – the choice of the accompanying batteries.
The duties listed in the table applies to the head of a force of every size – Army, Infantry Division and Detachment – and to the corresponding commander of the artillery.
The artillery brigade commander – is directly subordinate to the commander of the Infantry Division, to which he is assigned, – defines the areas of operation and observation of the regiments and specifies their tasks, – when ordered to mass the artillery, he indicates the positions and tasks of every regiment and division and directs the fire of the artillery mass.
The artillery regiment commander – is directly subordinate to the commander of the artillery brigade, whose orders he transmits to the regiment, – determines the areas of action and observation for every artillery divisions and establishes which batteries will go into action, assigning them the targets, – when the regiment does not operate as a single unit, directs the more important part of it, not omitting to observe the action of the other batteries.
The artillery division commander – distributes the targets between the batteries and during the battle directs their fire, – if the division operates autonomously, establishes which batteries will go into action, – if the division is to be moved to a new forward position, orders the senior battery commander to lead the division, and goes to the chosen position to conduct reconnaissance until the batteries arrive, – if the division must retreat, he assigns an officer to carry out reconnaissance and moves together with the last battery of the division, – takes control of the fire in place of the battery commander, if, based on undoubted data, he finds inaccuracies in the direction of fire or errors in the adjustment.
The battery commander
a) with the battery in firing position	– studies the area of action of the battery – determines the initial firing data, indicates the target and, if required, also the sight, – chooses the type of projectile to use, – directs the adjustment and the fire for effect, – checks that the platoon commanders determined the correct deflection, – if required, makes the correction to shift the fire on the whole front of the target, – observes the entire shooting and makes the appropriate corrections.
b) with the battery in observation position	– examines the field of action of his artillery division and of his battery; – determines the initial firing data concerning the points where the target may appear, – observes the adjustment and the fire for effect of the batteries already in action, having everything ready to concentrate his fire as well. – examines the probable positions and, if possible, the area to shell
c) With the battery in awaiting position	– examines the probable positions and determines the data for firing at some points; – observes the progress of the combat, drawing conclusions about the orders he may receive and the moment in which he will have to take action on his own initiative.
The artillery division is the tactical unit in artillery and a rule it is indivisible. Exceptionally, if it is necessary to divide it by batteries or detach some sections or also single guns, they must be deployed so that at any rate the division commander can concentrate the fire of many guns on a one point. The battery is the fighting unit in artillery. Exceptionally, it can be divided, if a secondary task can be performed only by a little fraction of artillery.