The status of the head of the artillery in 1878

On 9 November 1878 the Russian Imperial Commissar prince Dondukov-Korsakov approved the “Temporary status of the artillery department of the Bulgarian Territorial Army”, which accurately fixed the rights and duties of the head of the Bulgarian artillery. He was the head of all the units, establishments and institutions of the artillery of the Bulgarian Territorial Army and was directly subordinated to the Imperial Commissar. His staff was composed by 2 senior adjutants, 1 lithographer, 2 soldiers assigned to the transports, 3 batmen as orderlies and 4 orderlies. At that time the headquarters of the Bulgarian artillery was in Ruse, but in 1883 it was moved to Sofia.

Personnel and instruction of the troops. The head of the artillery should take care of the recruiting of officers and warrant officers for the staff of the training units and the artillery institutions according with the tasks assigned by the Imperial Commissar. He elaborated the programs of study for the schools of the artillery department, appointed the teachers, choosing them from the artillery officers or inviting other persons for teaching, took care of the supply of manuals for the instructions of the troops and watched that the course of study was conducted properly and successfully. He should pay special attention to the training of the gunners, elaborating the program of the occupations of the batteries during the training sessions or elsewhere, fixing the number and the kinds of shells to be employed, asking the approbation of the Imperial Commissar for their release, and observed their execution. When the training activities were made among with the other branches of the Army, he elaborated the program of the artillery occupations in agreement with the head of the troops, in order to keep time for combined drills.

Economic matters. The head of artillery should take care of the correct economic management of the units, establishments and institutions of artillery, verifying the correct expenditure of the released sum and materials, the allowances of the lower ranks, the care of the horses, the proper maintenance of the weapons and the equipment of artillery. He verified that the arms and the ammunition were delivered by the artillery depots to the army and back. By order of the Imperial Commissar, he placed orders with the suppliers and the private firms for arms, machinery, tools and every kind of materials. By periodical inspections, he controlled the proper maintenance of the weapons assigned to the artillery units or stored in the depots, the parks and all the artillery establishments, and took care that the existing stocks of ammunitions were enough to satisfy the needs of the army both in peace and in wartime.

Technical matters. The head of the artillery should take care of the organization of the technical institutions and establishments charged with the replacement and the repair of the wrong parts of the artillery equipment, replenishing them with skilled workmen, machinery, tools and all the material required for their work. He controlled that all their mechanical components were in working order and that the sums and materials for their activity and their maintenance were used properly. He examined, approved or submitted to the Imperial Commissar the plans and the cost estimates for every work assigned to the technical institutions and establishments of the artillery department. He checked the quality of what they had manufactured and took the measures necessary to improve their production. He should submit all the reports concerning the expenditure of the sums released to the artillery department to the Imperial Commissar for his approbation.