Drill regulations for quick-firing field
artillery
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Fire direction. For the
firing battery, the duties of the different commanders were as follows : – the
battery commander directed both the adjustment and the fire
for effect, taking care of technical features of the conduct of fire (range,
height of burst of the shrapnel, and, if the platoon commanders had not a god
view of the target, the direction) – he should occupy a place where he could
direct the fire and observe the results of firing in the best way; –
the platoon commander 1) controlled that the orders
of the battery commander were executed properly and the action of his guns was conducted
accurately, 2) verified the firing data for his guns and, if he could see the
target, calculated the correction in deflection, 3) during verified whether
the shell went over the cover and calculated the lower elevation for firing
from the position occupied by the gun, 4) firing in peacetime, verified that
the direction of the guns did not constitute a danger to the observers and
the guards; –
the gun commander controlled 1) that everything took
place properly (loading of the guns, set of the fuzes, firing, supplying of
ammunitions…), verifying that the clinometer, the level and the bar sight
were set accurately, without slowing down the work of the gunners; 2) checked
whether the tube returned in the correct position after firing and eventually
ordered the aimer and the breech-blocker to push it by hands; 3) with
progressive fire ordered the successive elevations. Conduct
of fire.
The text listed the orders that the battery commander gave to prepare the
data for firing from open, masked and covered positions or from an
observation post, and to direct the adjustment and the fire for effect
according with the Direction
for firing in field and mountain quick-firing artillery,
adding many examples of firing against different targets. Disposition
of the artillery in park.
In park the guns were hung to the limber, with the pole forward, the support
of the limber lowered, the crossbeam put in the pedestal. The ammunition
wagon was placed 15 paces behind the gun, with the pole pointed towards the
muzzle of the gun. The gunner, led by the aimer, took their usual places
around the gun and the ammunition wagon. In
bivouac the battery was ordinarily arranged in three rows : 1)
the
fighting unit with the gun before its ammunition wagon, the first supply
echelon and the battery reserve with the ammunition wagons paired back to
back, and the field forge and the car with the entrenching tools in the last
column – if the battery had a spare carriage, it was placed on the left
flank; 2)
the
gunners, the drivers and the horses of the reserve in two lines; 3)
the
transport train with the field kitchen, the food supply cart, six forage
carts, and the officers’ baggage car in a single line. |
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Ammunition
supply.
Timely replenishment of ammunition was of the utmost importance and every artillery
commander was on duty bound constantly to regulate it : 1)
the
battery commander should know how many shells were available at the battery
and where were located the battery reserve, the park artillery company; 2)
the
platoon commanders took care of the timely replenishment of the caissons
assigned to their guns; 3)
the
commander of the first supply echelon took care of the timely replacement of
his empty ammunition wagons with the ammunition wagons of the battery
reserve; 4)
the
commander of the battery reserve arranged the means to promptly replace the
empty ammunition wagons of the first supply echelon and of the battery
reserve with shells from the park artillery company; 5)
the
feldwebel, the gunners and all the battery crews charged with the duty of
supplying ammunition should look after to prevent the lacking of shells. Every battery carried
332 rounds and another 100 rounds were carried by the park artillery company.
Three wagons, one of supply echelon and two of the battery reserve, carried
H.E. shells, the remainders shrapnel. The ammunition of the caisson that
accompanied the gun sections was used first. When only a quarter were of the
projectiles was available, the section commander stopped the fire and sent
all the gunners, except the aimer, to the shrapnel-carrying wagon of the
first supply echelon. Every gunner took one or two rounds and transferred
them to the caisson of his gun, aided by the gunners of the supply echelon.
The commanders watched that everything took place quickly. Then the empty caisson
returned to the battery reserve, where it was refilled by the wagon limbers.
The gun limbers were regarded as the last resort and should never be emptied,
unless in exceptional cases. At any rate, they should
be refilled as soon as possible. When two caissons of the battery reserve
were empty, they were sent with a NCO to the park artillery company to be
filled. Then they returned as soon as possible to the battery reserve, and
their arrival was at once communicated to the head of the supply echelon and
by him to the battery commander. The replenishment of ammunition should be
carried only out of sight of the enemy, to prevent him to discover the
approaches to the artillery position. If this was impossible, the ammunition
should be carried by hands or by horses. Communications. Sure and definite
means of communications should be established between the artillery
commander, the observation stations, the artillery batteries and the friend troops
deployed nearby. The communications could be maintained by orderlies, signals
or telephone. For this purpose, every battery had three orderlies and nine
signallers, who could work also as telephonists. By orderlies communications were
maintained sending a courier every time the situation required it or
arranging a chain of couriers. The chain was composed by some stations, with
one or two men each, who should stay out of the enemy sight. Orders and
information were transmitted from one station to another by flags or signals.
By signals orders and information were
transmitted by flags in daylight and by lanterns at night, using the Morse
code. Flag signalling was introduced in field artillery by these Regulations for the first time,
previously they were employed only by fortress artillery. Usually two
signalling station were placed, the transmitting one near the post of the
commander, the receiving one near the battery. They should be reciprocally
visible to the naked eye or, exceptionally, with the aid of binoculars, and
should stay always out of the enemy sights. If necessary an intermediate
station might be placed, when the distance was great. Every station had at
least two men, one to read the message, the other to transmit it. The flag
was Telephone was regarded as the
most satisfactory means for transmitting orders and information, but it was
not sure enough to replace signals and orderlies, since telephone wires could
be easily cut by enemy fire. Therefore visual signals should be always maintained
in addition, to be employed when the telephone service was interrupted. Every
battery was equipped with 4 field telephones with batteries and As a rule the battery
commander was connected by telephone and by signals with 1) his battery, 2)
the observation station, 3) the head of the artillery division; 4) the rear
of the battery, 5) the friend infantry unit deployed in front of his sector,
6) the flanking troops. |
