Gun battery

“ It will seem ludicrous to put our guns into pits again—the guns that we have seen bounding over rough ground behind the straining teams. To be cooped up in a brick O.P. staring at a strip of desolation will be odious after our bivouacs under the stars and our dashes into action under a blazing sun. Worst of all, perhaps, is the thought that the battery will be split up again into ‘gun line’ and ‘wagon line,’ with three miles or more separating its two halves, instead of its being, as it has been all these weeks, one complete cohesive unit. ”

“ BATTERY, in military affairs, implies any place where cannon or mortars are mounted, either to attack the forces of the enemy, or to batter a fortification: hence batteries have various names, agreeably to the purposes they are designed for.
Gun-Battery, is a defence made of earth faced with green sods or fascines, and sometimes made of gabions filled with earth: it consists of a breast-work parapet, or epaulement, of 18 or 20 feet thick at top, and of 22 or 24 at the foundation; of a ditch 12 feet broad at the bottom, and 18 at the top, and 7 feet deep. They must be 71⁄2 feet high. ”

“ Batteries on a Coast—generally consist of only an epaulment, without much attention being paid to the ditch: they are, however, sometimes made with embrazures, like a common gun battery; but the guns are more generally mounted on traversing platforms, and fire over the epaulment. When this is the case, the guns can seldom be placed nearer than 31⁄2 fathoms from each other. The generality of military writers prefer low situations for coast batteries ”

“ Lumsden gave him time to get up to the rifle battery, and then came his command: "Cannoneers to your posts!" Each gunner was told where to aim, and the estimated distance. Then: "Load! Battery ready! Fire!" Those Yankees opened on our four-gun battery, with twenty-four guns and the dirt was soon flying over and around us. We fired rapidly and so did the rifle battery, but directly a shell came through number 3 embrasure, killed Gurley, standing erect with thumb on vent, plunged into caisson just behind and exploded all three chests thereon. ”

“ It is not merely in cavalry tactics that the question of “section or battery” arises. It deeply affects the machine-gun tactics in the battle of all arms, and it is therefore decided in each service by the use to which the guns are intended to be put. One powerful current of opinion is in favour of employing them as a mobile reserve of fire. This opinion was responsible for the creation of the German machine-gun batteries or “detachments” ”

“ The number of guns in a battery varies in different countries between four and eight; by far the most usual number is six. With the introduction of the quick-firing gun, the tendency towards small batteries (of four guns) has become very pronounced, the ruling motives being (a) better control of fire in action, and (b) more horses available to draw the increased number of ammunition wagons required. “Mixed” batteries of guns and howitzers were formerly employed on occasion, and were supposed to be adapted to every kind of work. ”

“ The battery took up a position in our former front line facing Bourlon Wood, with the ruined village of Mouevres immediately ahead, while the forward section was placed in part of the Hindenburg line itself, south-east of Pronville. Wire cutting was undertaken and carried out by all field batteries, and the heavies pounded enemy emplacements and communication trenches in the rear.
Bombing by aircraft became intensive on both sides, and the enemy adopted new tactics by coming over after dark, and, waiting for the gun flashes, proceeded to drop bombs on the batteries. ”

“ As often as every other day the battery was called out for parade, and was taken through the different portions of the city. On Sunday we were marched down to the levee, where we went through an inspection, and afterwards were drilled for an hour or two, just to remind the evil-disposed citizens that there was a six-gun battery still in their city, that would make short work with any mob who attempted any violence. ”

“ Glancing Batteries are such whose shot strike the object at an angle of about 20°, after which the ball glances from the object, and recoils to some adjacent parts.
when several guns fire on the same object at the same time. When 10 guns are fired at once, their effect will be much greater than when fired separately.
Sunk Batteries are those whose platforms are sunk beneath the level of the field; the ground serving for the parapet; and in it the embrasures are made. This often happens in mortar, but seldom in gun-batteries. Battery sometimes signifies the guns themselves placed in a battery. ”

“ Each battery commander will tell you that a British plane has flown very low, as a test, without being able to locate his battery. If it is located, there is more work due in "make-up" to complete the disguise. Competition among batteries is as keen as among battleships of our North Atlantic fleet.
Situation favoured this battery, which was Canadian. It was as nicely at home as a first-class Adirondack camp. At any rate, no other battery had a dug-out for a litter of eight pups, with clean straw for their bed, right between two gun-emplacements. ”

“ Their job is to keep a close watch on hostile trenches, watching for any unusual movement or for the appearance of new constructive works, such as machine gun emplacements or new saps. The O.P. has numerous wires leading into it, and these come from all the batteries in immediate support of that part of the line, which are jointly responsible for its defence. Our own signallers had been out early, and a wire had already been carefully laid and labelled from our gun position to the O.P., so we were now ready to register our howitzers on some definite object behind the enemy lines. ”

“ As a rule, however, batteries for field guns will during the siege be constructed in the same way as are those for siege guns and howitzers.
45. Batteries for Siege Guns and Howitzers.—These may be screened or exposed, sunken, or elevated. As a rule each battery has a magazine on each flank. The amount of powder necessary to serve two guns for 24 hours (150 to 200 rounds per gun = 2500 to 6000 lbs.) is as much as it is advisable to have in one magazine, in order to limit so far as possible the disastrous effects of an explosion. ”

“ The 42-mm. gun is a very accurate weapon, and it is a pity that the effect of its high-explosive shell is so slight as to render it good only for dismounting the enemy’s pieces. The gun is sufficiently mobile to be capable of quick and sudden concentration on any fully exposed hostile battery, a contingency which would, however, rarely occur, as nowadays all batteries are carefully hidden from the enemy’s view. Pieces, however, of this type are incapable of coping with heavy guns, and one would not advocate having many of them in a fortress. ”

“ The older method of placing the wagon at some distance behind the gun is still occasionally used, especially in the case of unshielded equipments. No horses are allowed, in any case, to be actually with the line of guns. According to the British Field Artillery Training of 1906, a battery in action would be thus distributed: first, the “fighting battery” consisting of the six guns, each with its wagon alongside, and the limbers of the two flank guns ”

“ At one o'clock it became clear that our infantry could not hope to do more than consolidate upon their first objective. There was no prospect of the batteries moving forward, and at 1.30 the colonel told me to send out this message to all batteries—
"Gun limbers and firing battery waggons need not be kept within 2000 yards of gun positions any longer to-day." ”

“ By these delicate instruments we could locate the exact position of an unseen enemy battery. Following that location, the battery would immediately be visited with a concentrated downpour of hot steel intended to wipe it out of existence. The enemy did as much for us, so that in the artillery, when the men were not actually manning the guns in action, they were digging gun pits for reserve positions which they could occupy if the enemy happened to get the proper range of the old positions. In this casual counter battery work our artillery adopted a system by which many lives were saved. ”

“ Here is a British battery which has made two mistakes—it is not sufficiently concealed, the battery commander is perched up on an observation limber, and the guns are not far enough back behind the crest. (The Germans always "search" for some 300 yards behind crests of hills.) The B.C. is quickly spotted by an aeroplane observer and a perfect hell of fire is switched on by the enemy. In a moment telephone wires are cut, communications are broken, and within five minutes the gun detachments are wiped out.
The effect of a shell from the enemy heavier guns is overwhelming. ”

“ The machine guns must not be re-horsed until after the battery has limbered up and moved off, as they are then most vulnerable. They should endeavour to come into action before the battery unlimbers—though this will seldom be possible with horse artillery. ”

“ As a result we left the A. A. batteries where they were; but at other points we prepared so-called gun platforms, which were improvised wooden platforms, so that in case of attack from any enemy we could set up the A. A. guns in order to use them most effectively. In the same way...
DR. SIEMERS: This is only a question then of platforms for an A. A. battery, only the foundations for a defense?
RAEDER: Yes, only foundations.
DR. SIEMERS: Then comes Number 6: “Laying gun platforms in the Kiel area.” ”

“ A break in the wire is discovered and speedily mended, the next attempt is successful, and the battery is called to action.
During registration the wire often breaks, and serious delays occur, but, at length, the last gun is duly pronounced O.K. by the officer. Just in the nick of time, too! for the enemy commences a sharp retaliation on the portion of the trench occupied by the little party. Refuge is sought in an old enemy shaft close by, and there it awaits the time for the “show” to commence. ”

“ These ships probably suggested the very much larger ones, Victoria and Sans Pareil, each of which, on a displacement of 10,470 tons only, carried a couple of 111-ton guns of 16·25-inch bore in a single turret—that is to say, as their main armament. They had also a 10-inch gun aft, and a dozen 6-inch breech-loading guns. These formed what is called her "secondary battery". The provision of such batteries marks a step in the evolution of war-ship construction which is very noteworthy. The bigger and bigger guns carried by battleships necessitated stronger and stronger armour. ”

“ A half-sunken battery has its interior space, or terreplein, sunk some inches below the natural surface, and its parapet is composed of the earth thus obtained, and of that taken from a narrow ditch in front.
A sunken battery has the whole of the earth taken from the interior space to form the parapet; and it must therefore be lowered from 2 feet to 3 feet 6 inches, according to the height of the gun carriages to be used.
The half-sunken battery is constructed the quickest, as the diggers can work both in front and rear, at the same time. ”

“ It may be necessary to call in the gun doctor. His "how" has been in service a long time, but is not yet showing the signs of general debility of the eight-inch battery near by. They have fired three times their allowance and are still good for sundry purposes in the gunner-general's play of red and black pins on his map. The life of guns has surpassed all expectations; but the smaller calibers forward and the soixante-quinze must not suffer from general debility when they lay on a curtain of fire to cover a charge. ”

“ Work had been dropped, after a couple of days, on the position begun by Battery B some distance in front of the one we occupied. Gun drill and instruction in various phases of the battery’s work was the sole occupation of the men. Only once did the battery fire. At 1:30 a. m., June 5, the gun crews were hurriedly aroused, and fired for about an hour, in response to a heavy enemy barrage, to which all guns in the sector replied. ”

“ If to the above proportion of materials, &c. for a battery of two guns, [Pg 52] there be added for each additional gun, 30 fascines of 9 feet, and 10 of 18 feet, with 12 workmen, the quantity may easily be found for a battery of any number of pieces.
The workmen are generally thus disposed; one half the men of the line in the ditch at 3 feet asunder, who throw the earth upon the berm; one fourth upon the berm at 6 feet asunder, to throw the earth upon the epaulment, and the other quarter on the epaulment, to level the earth, and beat it down. ”

“ Day after day a continuous stream of men and batteries passed us calling to us 'Come on, get into the swim with us.'"
While here the battery had an opportunity to compete with one of the regulars in target practise. "Several Confederate steamers, the Merrimac among them, came out of Norfolk and lay in line off Sewall's Point. The battery was ordered to Hampton Creek with a battery of the regular army on the left. About 4 P. M. the Merrimac moved a little nearer and fired at the Union steamer Naugatuck, but burst a gun and fell back disabled. ”

“ These batteries drew not only the artillery file of the enemy, but they furnished a point for the concentrated fire of all the infantry in front. To be in supporting position was to receive all the bullets that were aimed at the battery, and which, of course, usually vexed the rear. The shells intended for the battery in your front have a habit always of flying too high or bursting just high enough in air to make it pleasant for the troops who are held in comparative inactivity. ”