Drill regulations for quick-firing field
artillery
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Firing instruction. The text
lists the different orders that the gun commander gives to the gunners to
open fire. Direct
fire from open position to an uncovered target : – with time shell : 1) at that line of troops (battery…), 2) elevation x, 3) corrector x; – with percussion shell : 1) at that battery (post, trench…), 2) percussion fire (with H.E. shell), 3) elevation x. When
the commander wants to consider the derivation, the influence of the wind or
the inclination of the axle, after the elevation he adds right (left) x. If such deflection is not ordered, the clinometer
was set at plate 10, drum x. Fire
from masked or covered position : – with time shell : 1) aim at that target, 2) plate x, drum x, 3) level
up (below) x, 4) elevation x, 5) corrector x; – with percussion shell : 1) aim
at that target, 2) plate x,
drum x, 3) level up (below) x,
4) percussion fire (with H.E. shell),
5) elevation x. If
the angle of sight lacks, the commander orders :
level null. To change the level, he
orders level up (down) x. To increase the elevation of ½ mil,
the correction can be made on the elevation, but
only on the level, the commander orders elevation
x ½, increase! As
soon as the gun is aimed according the commander’s order, the aimer says ready! and
the commander for the first shot!
At that order, the breech-blocker, the loader and the commander go back
outside the wheels, and the aimer grasps the firing handle with the right
hand to transmit the fire, and with the left hand,
he leans on the shield case. Then, to open fire, the commander orders first (second) shot! and the aimer draws the handle
vigorously downward to trip the trigger arm and releases it. After the shot,
the breech-blocker opens the breech to eject the cartridge case and holds it
open until reloading, while the aimer lay the gun. To
change the target, the commander orders the new target and the new firing
data, then the aimer orders : move the gun. The gunners moves the gun accordingly
: the aimer and the left shell-handler shifting the left wheel, the
breech-blocker and the right shell-handler the right wheel, the fuze-cutter and the loader the traversing lever. To
repel an attack at close range (by infantry – 400 m, by cavalry – 700 m), the
commander orders : 1) at the file (cavalry…), 2) elevation
x, corrector x, 3) rapid! Fire stops as soon as the
threat ceases. Only
in exceptional case (e.g. if the battery is surprised when it is assuming the
route formation), when commander believes that time firing delays opening
fire, he orders percussion fire : 1) at the cavalry (file…), 2) percussion fire (with H.E.shell),
elevation null, 3) aim at the ground, rapid! Methods of fire. The text lists the orders
that follow the firing data to obtain the different kinds of fire (e.g. at that line (battery…), elevation 20, corrector 45, sweeping!) : – fire by order : the aimer fires
only when he hears the number of his gun: first,
second…; – slow
fire at a set speed : the commander orders slow fire one (two…) at a time per minute, the aimer fires when
he receive the order; – storm
of fire : the commander orders one
(two…) at a time, rapid!, the aimer fires the number of rounds
established in advance without receiving another order; – fire
to break up : a)
for a front 30-60 m length, the commander orders by four, sweeping!, the aimer fires
three rounds, shifting after each round by 4 turns of the hand-wheel left; b)
for a front 30-60 m length, the commander orders by eight, sweeping!, the aimer fires
three rounds, shifting after each round by 8 turns of the hand-wheel; c)
for a front 70-150 m length, the commander orders at that line, to break up!, the aimer
fires five rounds, shifting after each round by 8 turns of the hand-wheel; – progressive
fire : the commander orders progressive!,
the aimer fires eight rounds, increasing the range of 100m every two rounds,
the elevation are ordered by the gun commander before every couple of rounds; – progressive sweeping fire : the commander
orders by four (eight), progressive,
sweeping!, the aimer fires twelve rounds of sweeping fire, increasing the
range of 100m every three rounds, (one round at initial position, two rounds
left, one round at initial position, two rounds right, and so on); – progressive
fire at an order : the gun commander orders 50 (100), at an order, progressive!, but the gun, charged and
aimed at a range increased by 50 m or 100 m, fires only when the aimer
receives the order fire! Suspending and ceasing
the fire. Suspending the fire, at the order free the gunners can leave their
places, without moving away from the guns. Resuming the fire, at the order stand, they occupy again their places. If the gun
is subjected to a severe enemy fire, the gun
commander orders took cover, and
he, the aimer, the breech-blocker and the loader take cover behind the gun
shield, the fuze-setter and the shell-handlers behind
the caisson. Ceasing
the fire, at the order halt, the
gun is arranged for the route : a)
the aimer puts the level at null, covering its bulb,
puts the carriage in the middle of the axle, makes the butler bear on its
bed, locks the elevating wheel, and covers the left seat; b)
the breech-blocker closes the breech, puts the
safety-piece in route position, covers the right seat and hangs the lower
part of the shield; c)
the loader puts the traversing lever in route
position; d)
the fuze-cutter sets the fuze-setter for percussion fire and the corrector at 50,
and puts them in the caisson; e)
the
shell-handlers puts the projectiles in the caisson. Firing with reduced
personnel. If
the number of the gunners is reduced by casualties in
action, it is advisable to share the remaining ones between the guns,
in order to have at least four gunners for every piece. If necessary, the
battery can keep firing with only three guns. The missing men are replaced as
follows : a)
the platoon commander is temporarily replaced by a
gun commander, and the latter by the aimer, who continues to perform his own
duties; b)
with five gunners remaining, if the aimer or the fuze-cutter are missing, the gun commander names the most
suitable of the remaining gunners to replace them, and the right shell-handler
takes his post; c)
with four gunners, the aimer opens and closes the
breech-block; d)
with three gunners, the fuze-cutter
loads the gun; e)
with only two gunners, all the duties are performed
by the aimer and the fuze-cutter; f)
as
a rule the gun commander takes the place of one of missing men when there are
only three gunners. The defilade. As for the emplacement the
position is regarded as : – open,
when the guns are visible from the target and they can aim at it with direct
laying; – masked,
when the guns are concealed from the enemy sight by folds of the ground or by
some ground features, like bushes, hedges, fields; – covered, when
even the flash of the firing gun cannot be seen from the enemy. Even if at that time the prevailing opinion
is that artillery must fire from masked or covered positions and only
exceptionally from open positions, the Regulations
emphasizes that the guns must be placed where they can perform the task
assigned and achieve their goals. Therefore, the defilade is the result of
the tactical tasks and of the shape of the place, and the artillery
must not hesitate to occupy even open positions, if necessary. However, since firing from masked and
covered positions is not easy and requires experience and knowledge (e.g.
measure of the angle of site), artillery must be
appropriately trained in peace in order to make the most of indirect laying. To fire behind a cover or a mask it is
necessary : 1.
to verify whether the
trajectory can clear the cover; 2.
to determine what is the
smallest elevation at which it is possible to fire; 3.
to
ascertain the angle of site (i.e. the difference in level between guns and
target). Therefore the text presents some different methods to
fulfil these requirements, both practically and theoretically. If possible,
the battery commander directs the fire by person from his observation post,
but, if the distance is too great, he transmits his orders by signal and
telephone. The degree of concealment (defilade) varies as follows : – dismounted
defilade (дефилиране
на човешки
ръст – défilement
de l’homme à pied) : the guns are placed where a
dismounted man can just see the enemy position over the mask : the battery is prepared for firing easily and
quickly; there is no danger that the trajectory hits the mask, except when it
fires at a very short range; the dead space is small. But the battery can be destroyed by enemy
shrapnel fire and the guns cannot be brought into or out of the position out
of the enemy sight, except when they are run up by hand; – mounted defilade (дефилиране
на конник
– défilement de l’homme à
cheval) : the guns are placed where a mounted man can just see the enemy
position over the mask : it allows to occupy a
position covertly and to leave it unlimbered and limbered, preserving
complete freedom of manoeuvre; it allows to aim
quickly when the battery commander is mounted, but has the disadvantage that
the dead space is much greater; – flash
defilade (дефилиране
на блясъци
– défilement des lueurs)
: the guns are placed about 4- |
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If the mask is high |
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The major objection against firing from a
covered position was that it caused a dead space in front of the covering
crest, the extent of which depended on the degree of defilade assumed. The
higher is the cover, the greater is the extent of the dead space. However, it
can be reduced by occupying the front slope of a
second crest, instead of placing the guns directly behind the cover. At any
rate the battery commander, making his preliminary reconnaissance, must
accurately determinate the minimum range at which he will probably be called
to fire and estimate the extent of the corresponding dead space, in order to
take the most convenient firing position, selecting the degree of defilade to
correspond to the this condition. |
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