Peculiarities of the action of different types of artillery
Mountain artillery
Task	– it operates in the mountains and on rough and difficult terrain; – in field battle, it acts in closer contact with the infantry and, when necessary, accompany it during the attack and occupation of the enemy position.
Movement	usually it moves in pack formation, but, if the road is good and not too steep, it can also be towed.
Position	– in the mountains the most careful reconnaissance of the roads and approaches to the position is essential, as well as ensuring the exit from it; – in reconnaissance it is important to occupy the peaks and in general the points with good visibility, using observers and auxiliary scouts more frequently than in field combat; – hen deploying the units it is necessary to take into account that significant dead spaces and unfired sections may occur and that in the mountains changing position takes a long time; – in the mountains, the most convenient connection is optical signaling with a heliograph or flags.
Combat	– at the start of the battle, it initially directs fire at the infantry, rather than at the enemy artillery; – to shell all the sectors accessible to the enemy infantry it must employ single batteries, platoons and even separate guns; – since in the mountains supply is difficult, the ammunition reserves are placed close to combat units and park batteries (platoons) close to the battle line; – when field artillery is employed in the mountains, it adopts the rules of mountain artillery.
Heavy field artillery
Task	– thanks to the power of its fire it demolish temporary and permanent fortifications; – thanks to the long range of its field in field battle it can force the enemy to deploy further away and cover the deployment of our light artillery in an open area.
Movement	– if the target is known in advance as a strongpoint, the place of the heavy field artillery during the march is determined so that it is directed towards the positions it must occupy in a timely manner; – otherwise it moves to the rear of the column and, during the battle, it is sent by the best route where its support is necessary or useful; – the artillery commander with the help of the pioneers must take timely measures to repair the roads through which the heavy field artillery reaches its positions.
Reconnaissance	– the heavy field artillery usually gets as close to the enemy as the terrain and roads allow for the covert occupation of the position, but it can also act well from long distances; – action against temporary and permanent fortifications is preceded by a careful reconnaissance of the targets to be fired on, the positions to be occupied and the roads leading to them; – reconnaissance is carried out covertly, using large-scale plans aircrafts;
Position	– the grouped deployment of the heavy field artillery facilitates both the execution of the assigned tasks and the transmission of orders and fire control, – the position must be occupied without attracting the enemy’s attention and if it is controlled by enemy fire, the batteries occupy them at night; – the position is immediately organized through field works (earthworks, entrenchment, platforms and canopies for the howitzers) with the help of some of the personnel of the park platoons, the infantry and if necessary also the pioneers.
Offensive combat	– if possible, fire is opened simultaneously by all artillery, directing howitzers fire against the most important and strong targets; – from the beginning the heavy field artillery tries to gain superiority over the enemy heavy artillery, but if its position is not known, the field artillery shells the area where the enemy batteries are believed to be positioned by firing shrapnel; – thanks to their long range, heavy field guns are also used for oblique fire, while howitzers usually fire from the front; – having achieved supremacy, the field artillery keeps the enemy artillery under control, while the heavy field batteries bombard the attack point, to destroy the artificial obstacles that provide cover for the defenders, their machine guns and their ammunition; – ammunition must not be wasted in shelling poorly occupied field fortifications, but must be used when the advance of our infantry forces the enemy to occupy his fortified line; – when the enemy begins to appear, the heavy field artillery increases its fire, also directing it against the rear trenches, especially at the most important point of the attack; – if the attack is successful, it pursues the enemy up to the greatest distances, directing fire against the points where the retreating troops are forced to regroup (bridges, gorges) and, if necessary, moving the position forward;
Defensive combat	– heavy field artillery, in conjunction with field artillery, fights mainly against enemy artillery, avoiding firing at small and very distant targets; – the artillery position must be fortified with earthworks and magazines for the storage of sufficient ammunition near the batteries; – at first all the batteries fire on the visible targets of the enemy positions, then the heavy field artillery shells the enemy batteries, whose action is more effective, leaving the field artillery to fire on the infantry, joining it only when the enemy moves for the main attack; – in the event of a retreat, the heavy field artillery commander sends an officer to reconnoiter a new position and sends back first the reserve and park platoons, then the batteries.
Horse artillery
Task	– it supports the independent actions of the large horse units; – it supports the cavalry in occupying or forcing passages, etc.; – it takes part in the actions of the cavalry when operating in general battles together with the other branches of the army.
Characteristics	– great mobility, agility and flexibility in movement, skill and high rate of fire are required; – its mobility allows us to deceive the enemy about our forces and, quickly changing their position, to act successively from various points of the battlefield; – as a general rule, batteries in the horse artillery division move and act together.
Movement	– the cover of the cavalry protects the artillery as it moves into position and in the event of an attack; – on the march and approaching the enemy, the commander of the horse artillery unit stays with the head of the cavalry, who tells him which positions to occupy, but during the battle, he cannot rely on orders arriving timely and in most cases is forced to act alone.
Position	– the artillery reconnaissance must be completed in the shortest possible time, because the horse artillery must open fire promptly; – the position must permit the opening of fire from an effective distance as soon as possible and in such a way that he does not limit or hinder the actions of his cavalry for as long as possible; – it is convenient to place batteries on high points, on the flank or on a rise in front of the flank of the advancing cavalry, in order to cover its flanks and be able to fire as long as possible; – the limbers are close to the guns, the battery reserves in a safe place and away from the position.
Combat	– its main target is the enemy cavalry, if it is impossible, it can fire at the artillery and machine guns; – at first it directs the fire at the head of the cavalry columns, then at the front of the masses to prevent their deployment, and finally on the enemy front lines already deployed, but when the front lines clash, fire is moved to the rear; – if the first line of our cavalry retreats, artillery must develop the maximum power of its fire to relieve it from enemy fire, exceptionally, batteries may move back to cover the retreating cavalry with fire; – if the enemy cavalry retreats, the artillery stops firing and advances at a forced gallop to continue the pursuit with fire; – field or mountain artillery divisions or batteries, assigned to cavalry for combat, remain with its units at all times, following the horse artillery rules.