Drill regulations for quick-firing field
artillery
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The tactics of
the field artillery was dealt in the manual Устав за
строевата служба
в полската
скорострелна
артилерия (Field
service regulations for quick-firing field artillery) published in 1906 and
finally adopted with modifications and
additions in 1908. It was an adaptation of the French Règlement de manovre de l’artillerie de campagne published on 8
June 1903, but with the introduction of some interesting alterations. It was divided
into two parts: I. Firing
instructions and employment of the artillery in the field. II. Honours,
parades, inspections, manoeuvres. The tasks of the
section commanders, being very complex, were detailed in a specific appendix,
attached to the text of the Regulations. Composition and subdivision of the units The 75mm Q.F.
battery was organized as follows : -
fighting unit : 4 guns with 4 ammunition wagons
subdivided into two sections, 2 ammunition wagons (1 with H.E. shells) as
first supply echelon, 92 men and 83 horses; -
battery reserve : 6 ammunition wagons, field
forge, a cart carrying entrenching tools, reserve troops, reserve horses,
hors rang troops, 92 men and 72 horses; -
transport train : 1 field kitchen, 1 food
supply cart, 6 forage carts, 1 officers’ baggage cart, 26 men and 22 horses. The fighting
unit carried 740 rounds, the battery reserve 588. Since 9 ammunition wagons
carried shrapnel, and 3 H.E. shells, every gun had 332 rounds at its
disposal. The 87mm and
75mm not Q.F. battery was organized as follows : -
fighting unit : 6 guns with 3 ammunition wagons
subdivided into three sections; -
battery reserve : 3 ammunition wagons, field
forge, reserve troops, reserve horses, hors rang troops; -
transport train : 1 field kitchen, 1 food
supply cart, 4 (3) forage carts, 1 officers’ baggage cart. The guns and
the ammunition wagons were drawn by six horses, the forage carts by four, all
remaining by two. Every battery
had one cart carrying 6 Linnemann spades, 6 picks, 2 axes and 8 little
hatchets. In order to provide communication between the units every battery
had 4 field telephones with The batteries
were grouped by three in artillery division (or detachment – отделение, like the
German Army Abteilung). The division general staff was composed the head of
the division (later designed division commander), an officer as scout,
another officer as adjutant, a trumpeter and a N.C.O. as orderly. Every
artillery division was organized as follows : -
fighting unit : the division command and the
fighting units of the three batteries; -
battery reserve : the battery reserves and 1
spare carriage; -
transport train : the transport train of the
three batteries and the transport carts of the division. The gun A quick firing
artillery piece (оръдие,
pièce) consisted of a gun (оръдие,
arrière-train de canon) and its ammunition wagon (ракла, arrière-train de caisson)
with its crew and horses and was commanded by a non commissioned officer, the
gun commander (командир
на оръдието, chief de
pièce), and was attended by six gunners
(прислужници,
servants): |
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- two
shell-handlers (подавач,
pourvoyeur),
kneeling on the ground, each behind one of the armoires of the caisson, placed
the shells in the fuze-setter; - the fuze-cutter
(поставач, déboucheur), placed
behind the caisson, set the fuze and gave the cartridges to the loader; - the loader (пълнач,
chargeur) put the cartridge into the chamber; - the firer
(затворач, tireur) gave
the sight, opened and closed the breech-block and fired; - the aimer (мерач, pointeur)
gave the angle of sight and the deflection, pointed and aimed the gun. |
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In battle formation
(боен строй) the gun
was unlimbered, with the spade sunk into the ground and the ammunition wagon
tilted on its left on the same line. To fire the
gun commander ordered: “Fire at that target, plateau x, drum x, level x, sight x, corrector x !” Guns and
ammunitions wagon could be limbered and unlimbered only if they were in
double column, when they were one after the other, it was not allowed.
Limbering and unlimbering were carried out always at walk, but the limbers
were usually conducted to the guns and caissons at trot, unless a different
gait was ordered. |
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In route formation
(строй за движение)
the gun and the ammunition wagon were limbered and moved in gun column
(оръдейна
колона), with the ammunition wagon behind
the gun, 3 paces away; or in double column
(вдвоено
оръдие),
with the ammunition wagon alongside the gun, 4 paces away on the left. When
they were withdrawing, they swapped their places, the ammunition wagon going
before or on the right of the gun, keeping the same distances. A gun team
moving in column had a length of 47 paces and a front of 3 paces, in double
column a length of 25 paces and a front of 7 paces. The gun squad
was composed by 14 men: - the gun commander
and the ammunition wagon commander on riding horses, - six drivers
(three for each team) mounted on the left horses, - six gunners
(right to left) : ·
on the gun limber – aimer, loader, firer ·
on the caisson limber – left shell-handler, fuze
setter, right shell-handler. When the
gunners were not on the limbers, they walked in a line behind the gun and the
ammunition wagon respectively. |
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There was
three different gaits for field artillery: - at walk: - at trot: - at gallop : - if necessary,
with fair ground even During continuous movements the rate of march
changed, alternating walk and trot. Marching alone the field artillery
usually moved |
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The battery In route formation the battery could
move : - in column
(колона), with the pieces at a distance
of 3 paces in column or in double column, according with the conditions of
the road and the war-demands; the battery reserve with the ammunition wagons
always in column, at a distance of 20 paces from the last wagon of the
fighting unit; the transport train, if not detached, at a distance of 20
paces from the last cart of the reserve. A battery moving in column had a length of 402 paces
and a front of 3 paces, in double column a length of 292 paces and a front of
7 paces. - in open
formation (разгънат
строй) with the pieces in column or paired at
fixed interval; the
ammunition wagons of the 1st Echelon at 3 paces behind the first and the fourth gun; the battery
reserve with the ammunition wagons in open formation, at a distance of 20
paces from the fighting unit; the hors rang and reserve troops with reserve
horses following at a distance of 10 paces from the last cart; the transport
train, if not detached, at a distance of 10 paces from the reserve. The interval between the gun could be : great – 40
paces, middle – 20 paces, small – 10 paces, arbitrary – the number of paces
ordered by the battery commander. At trot the hors rang and reserve troops
were carried by the ammunition wagons or formed an independent detachment and
were left behind. The
fighting unit of a battery in open formation moving in column had a length of
70 paces, in double column of 50 paces, the front was 120, 60 or 30 paces,
depending on the interval chosen. In order to
make the battery more agile, mobile and flexible, the battery reserve could
be detached and move also far from its fighting unit, up to 500 – |
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In battle formation the guns unlimbered were deployed side by side at great intervals of 40 paces (as a rule, but exceptionally at 20 or even at 10 paces). The ammunition wagon tilted with the armoured doors
opened was put alongside the gun. The
extension of the whole firing line was around 120 paces. The ammunition wagons of the 1st Echelon were
positioned unlimbered at 20 paces
behind the first and the fourth gun of the firing line. The ammunition wagon
carrying the observation ladder could be placed near the observatory of
the battery commander. |
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The limbers of the fighting unit were placed in
shelters up to 300 paces away from the battery. With opportune shelters they
could be placed even near the front, but if there was no shelters they were
placed 300 paces behind and 50 paces on the side of the battery, side by side
on two line. The battery reserve was placed covered from the enemy sight and
fire, at a distance of 500- |
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The artillery
division The headquarters of the artillery
division were composed by the commander, 1 scout officer, 1 adjutant officer,
1 trumpeter and 1 orderly NCO. In addition every battery detached an orderly from
the fighting unit and another from the battery reserve for the
communications, and some NCOs and scouts for the reconnaissance. In route formation the artillery
division could move : - in open
formation (разгънат
строй) with the batteries in open formation abreast in one line, the
intervals between them were 10 paces greater than the gun’s; the
battery reserves, if not detached, in open formation, at a distance of 30
paces from the fighting unit; this formation was used to advance and retire
from an open place under the enemy fire, in inspections and reviews; - in column of
batteries (батарейна
колона), with batteries in open
formation, in succession at a distance of 30 paces; the reserve like the fighting
unit, 30 paces behind it; at great intervals it was used to approach a place
near the enemy, but out of its fire, at little intervals it was used to
deploy the artillery in mixed formation with other troops; - in guns column
(оръдейна
колона) or marching column
(походна
колона), with batteries in column of
guns, in succession at a distance of 30 paces; the reserve like the fighting
unit, 30 paces behind it; the transport train, if not detached, at a distance
of 30 paces from the reserve; this was the common marching formation, but it
could be also used to come into position in broken
ground under the enemy fire; - in line of
guns columns (линйя
оръдейни
колони), with batteries in column by
guns, in succession at a distance of 170, 90 or 50 paces, the number of paces
increasing or decreasing according to the place; the reserve like the
fighting unit, 30 paces behind it; it was the common manoeuvring formation:
at great intervals it was used to advance in enemy’s beaten zone depending on the site,
allowing the quick deploy of the troops and their retreat with little losses;
at lesser intervals this formation was used to manoeuvre in broken ground under the enemy fire. The battery
reserves usually travelled joined together, under the command of an appointed
senior NCO, and were attached to the respective battery only exceptionally,
when the division commander ordered it. When the
artillery division travelled independently, the transport train was always
detached, except in column of route, and followed under the command of an
appointed senior NCO, moving according with the orders of the division
commander. In battle formation the batteries were
deployed in fighting formation, along one line or by levels, with the
limbers, the battery reserves and the transport trains placed like in battery
battle formation. The deployment by levels allows a greater freedom of
action, hampered the enemy adjustment and diminished the effect of its fire. Signals. At the beginning of the march every battery and
every reserve sent an orderly to the division commander. Similarly the
division commander sent an officer or a good NCO to the head of the artillery
of the Infantry Division. In action every battery connected with the division
commander even by telephone. The artillery heads was connected with the
reserve, the park company, the covering infantry and the infantry fighting
troops. With infantry the communications were mainly visual. Command. On march the division
commander conducted and directed the division through signals or by means of
adjutants, orderlies and trumpeters. In battle he set the targets, according
with the instructions of the head of the artillery, gave to the battery
commanders all the data about their targets and fixed when each of them had
to open fire. The battery commanders could change the target only on his
order, except when they had to repulse an unexpected enemy attack or the
communication with the command was cut off. The division commander did not
interfere with the adjustment fire, except when some inaccuracies in the fire
direction or errors were noticed during the adjustment. |
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