Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of"

35. Field artillery in _defence_, which would presumably be inferior to

669 words  |  Chapter 184

that of the attack, must, of course, act according to circumstances. We are here concerned not with the absolute strength or weakness of the passive defensive, which is a matter of tactics (q.v.), but with the tactical procedure of artillery, which, relatively to other methods, is held to offer the best chance of success, so far as success is attainable. On the defensive in a prepared position, which in European warfare at any rate will be an unusually favourable case for the defender--the guns have two functions, that of engaging and holding the hostile artillery, and that of meeting the infantry assault. The dilemma is this, that on the one hand a position in rear of the line of battle, with modern improvements in communicating and indirect laying apparatus, is well suited for engaging the hostile guns, but not for meeting the assault; and on the other, guns on the forward slope of the defender's ridge or hill can fire direct, but are quickly located and overwhelmed, for they can hardly remain silent while their own infantry bears the fire of the assailant's shrapnel. Thus the defender's guns would, as a rule, have to be divided. One portion would seek to fight from rearward concealed positions, and use every device to delay the victory of the enemy's guns and the development of the battle until it is too late in the day for a serious infantry attack. Further, the enemy's mistakes and the "fortune of war" may give opportunities of inflicting severe losses; such opportunities have always occurred and will do so again. In the possible (though very far from probable) case of the defender not merely baffling, but crushing his opponent in the artillery duel, he may, if he so desires, himself assume the role of assailant, and at any rate he places a veto on the enemy's attack. The portion told off to meet the infantry assault would be entrenched on the forward slope and would take no part in the artillery duel. Very exceptionally, this advanced artillery might fire upon favourable targets, but its paramount duty is to remain intact for the decisive moment. Here again the defender is confronted with grave difficulties. It is true that his advanced batteries may be of the greatest possible assistance at the crisis of the infantry assault, yet even so the covering fire of the hostile guns, as soon as the hostile infantry had found them their target, may be absolutely overwhelming; moreover, once the fight has begun, the guns cannot be withdrawn, nor can their positions easily be modified to meet unexpected developments. The proportion of the whole artillery force which should be committed to the forward position is disputed. Colonel Bethell (_Journal Royal Artillery_, vol. xxxiii. p. 67) holds that all the mountain guns, and two-thirds of the field guns, should be in the forward, all the howitzers and heavy guns and one-third of the field guns in the retired position. But in view of the facts that if once the advanced guns are submerged in the tide of the enemy's assault, they will be irrecoverable, and that a modern Q.F. gun, with plenty of ammunition at hand, may use "rapid fire" freely, artillery opinion, as a whole, is in favour of having fewer guns and an abnormal ammunition supply in the forward entrenchments, and the bulk of the artillery (with the ammunition columns at hand) in rear. But the purely passive defensive is usually but a preliminary to an active counter-stroke. This counter-attack would naturally be supported to the utmost by the offensive tactics of the artillery, which might thus at the end of a battle achieve far greater results than it could have done at the beginning of the day. In _pursuit_, it is universally agreed that the action of the artillery may be bold to the verge of rashness. The employment of field artillery in _advanced_ and _rear guard actions_ varies almost indefinitely according to circumstances; with _outposts_, guns would only be employed exceptionally.

Chapters

1. Chapter 1 2. 1. _Stone Age._--One of the chief problems which have perplexed 3. 2. _Bronze Age._--It is impossible to assign any date as the beginning 4. 3. _Early Greek Weapons._--The character of the weapons used by the 5. 4. _Greek, Historical._--The equipment does not differ generically from 6. 5. _Roman._--The equipment of the Roman soldier, like the organization 7. 6. _English from the Norman Conquest._--It is unnecessary here to trace 8. 7. _Fire-arms._ (For the development of cannon, see ARTILLERY and 9. 1. _Early Armies._--It is only with the evolution of the specially 10. 2. _Persia._--Drawn from a hardy and nomadic race, the armies of Persia 11. 3. _Greece._--The Homeric armies were tribal levies of foot, armed with 12. 4. _Sparta._--So much is common to the various states. In Sparta the 13. 5. _Greek Mercenaries._--The military system of the 4th century was not 14. 6. _Epaminondas._--Not many years after this, Spartan oppression roused 15. 7. _Alexander._--The reforms of Alexander's father, Philip of Macedon, 16. 8. _Carthage._--The military systems of the Jews present few features of 17. 9. _Roman Army under the Republic._--The earliest organization of the 18. 10. _Characteristics of the Roman Army._--Such in outline was the Roman 19. 11. _Roman Empire._--The essential weaknesses of militia forces and the 20. 12. _The "Dark Ages."_--In western Europe all traces of Roman military 21. 13. _The Byzantines_ (cf. article ROMAN EMPIRE, LATER).--While the west 22. 14. _Feudalism._--From the military point of view the change under 23. 15. _Medieval Mercenaries._--It was natural, therefore, that a sovereign 24. 16. _Infantry in Feudal Times._--These mercenary foot soldiers came as a 25. 17. _The Crusades._--It is an undoubted fact that the long wars of the 26. 18. _The Period of Transition_ (1290-1490).--Besides the infantry 27. 19. _The Condottieri._--The immediate result of this confused period of 28. 20. _The Swiss._--The best description of a typical European army at the 29. 21. _The Landsknechts._--The modern army owes far more of its 30. 22. _The Spanish Army._--The tendencies towards professional soldiering 31. 23. _The Sixteenth Century._--The battle of St Quentin (1557) is usually 32. 24. _Dutch System._--The most interesting feature of the Dutch system, 33. 25. _The Thirty Years' War._--Hitherto all armies had been raised or 34. 26. _The Swedish Army._--The Swedish army was raised by a carefully 35. 27. _The English Civil War_ (see GREAT REBELLION).--The armies on either 36. 28. _Standing Armies._--Nine years after Nordlingen, the old Spanish 37. 29. _Character of the Standing Armies._--A peculiar character was from 38. 30. _Organization in the 18th Century._--All armies were now almost 39. 31. _Frederick the Great._--The military career of Frederick the Great 40. 32. _The French Revolution._--Very different were the armies of the 41. 33. _The Conscription._--In 1793, at a moment when the danger to France 42. 34. _Napoleon._--Revolutionary government, however, gave way in a few 43. 35. _The Grande Armee._--In 1805-1806, when the older spirit of the 44. 36. _The Wars of Liberation._--The Prussian defeat at Jena was followed 45. 37. _European Armies 1815-1870._--The events of the period 1815-1859 46. 38. _Modern Developments._--Since 1870, then, with the single exception 47. 39. The main principles of all military organization as developed in 48. 40. _Compulsory Service._--Universal liability to service (_allgemeine 49. 41. _Conscription_ in the proper sense, i.e. selection by lot of a 50. 42. _Voluntary Service._--Existing voluntary armies have usually 51. 43. The militia idea (see MILITIA) has been applied most completely in 52. 44. _Arms of the Service._--Organization into "arms" is produced by the 53. 45. _Command._--The first essential of a good organization is to ensure 54. 46. A _brigade_ is the command of a brigadier or major-general, or of a 55. 47. A _division_ is an organization containing troops of all arms. Since 56. 48. _Army Corps._--The "corps" of the 18th century was simply a large 57. 49. _Constitution of the Army Corps._--In 1870-71 the III. German army 58. 50. _Army._--The term "army" is applied, in war time, to any command of 59. 51. _Chief Command._--The leading of the "group of armies" referred to 60. 52. The _Chief of the General Staff_ is, as his title implies, the chief 61. 53. _First and Second Lines._--The organization into arms and units is 62. 54. _War Reserves._--In war, the reserves increase the field armies to 63. 55. The military characteristics of the various types of regular troops 64. 56. The transfer of troops from the state of peace to that of war is 65. 57. _Territorial System._--The feudal system was of course a territorial 66. 58. _Army Administration._--The existing systems of command and 67. 59. _Branches of Administration._--In these circumstances the only 68. 60. Prior to the Norman Conquest the armed force of England was 69. 61. It is difficult to summarize the history of the army between the 70. 62. The first years of the Great Rebellion (q.v.) showed primarily the 71. 63. James II., an experienced soldier and sailor, was more obstinate 72. 64. Under William the army was considerably augmented. The old regiments 73. 65. Before passing to the great French Revolutionary wars, from which a 74. 66. The first efforts of the army in the long war with France did not 75. 67. The period which elapsed between Waterloo and the Crimean War is 76. 68. The Indian Mutiny of 1857, followed by the transference of the 77. 69. The period of reform commences therefore with 1870, and is connected 78. 70. Historically, the Indian army grew up in three distinct divisions, 79. 71. _Madras._--The first armed force in the Madras presidency was the 80. 72. _Bombay._--The island of Bombay formed part of the marriage 81. 73. _Consolidation of the Army._--In 1796 a general reorganization 82. 74. _The Army before the Mutiny._--The officering and recruiting of 83. 75. _The Reorganization._--By the autumn of 1858 the mutiny was 84. 76. _The Modern Army._--The college at Addiscombe was closed in 1860, 85. 77. In the earliest European settlements in Canada, the necessity of 86. 78. The _Landsknecht_ infantry constituted the mainstay of the imperial 87. 79. The Austrians, during the short peace which preceded the war of 88. 80. The Austrian system has conserved much of the peculiar tone of the 89. 81. The French army (see for further details FRANCE: _Law and 90. 82. The artillery had been an industrial concern rather than an arm of 91. 83. The last half of the 17th century is a brilliant period in the 92. 84. If Louis was the creator of the royal army, Carnot was so of the 93. 85. One of the first acts of the Restoration was to abolish the 94. 86. At the outbreak of the Franco-German War (q.v.) the French field 95. 87. The German army, strictly speaking, dates only from 1871, or at 96. 88. The bitter humiliation and suffering endured under the French yoke 97. 89. The _Saxon Army_ formerly played a prominent part in all the wars of 98. 90. The _Bavarian Army_ has perhaps the most continuous record of good 99. 91. _Wurttemberg_ furnishes one army corps (XIII.; headquarters, 100. 92. The old _Hanoverian Army_ disappeared, of course, with the 101. 93. The old conscription law of the kingdom of Sardinia is the basis of 102. 94. The history of the Russian army begins with the abolition of the 103. 95. The feudal sovereignties of medieval Spain differed but little, in 104. 96. With the Italian wars of the early 16th century came the 105. 97. The military history of Spain from 1650 to 1700 is full of 106. 98. The writers who have left the most complete and trustworthy 107. 99. The regular army of the United States has always been small. From 108. 100. _Dutch and Belgian Armies._--The military power of the "United 109. 101. _Swiss Army._--The inhabitants of Switzerland were always a hardy 110. 102. The _Swedish Army_ can look back with pride to the days of 111. 103. The existing Army of _Portugal_ dates from the Peninsular War, 112. 104. The _Rumanian, Bulgarian_ and _Servian_ armies are the youngest 113. 1804. Arnault died at Goderville on the 16th of September 1834. 114. 1848. In 1861 he became a member of the Lower Austrian diet and in 1869 115. 1785. After being educated at a convent school in Fritzlar, she lived 116. 1822. When it is said that he was the son of the famous Dr Arnold of 117. 1827. In June 1828 he received priest's orders; in April end November of 118. 4. Spike of fruits. Showing in succession (from below) female flowers, 119. 3000. It lies in a pleasant undulating country at an elevation of 900 120. introduction of European spirits and methods of manufacture is gradually 121. 500. This was soon transferred to Cambrai, but brought back to its 122. 1. Warrants are ordinarily granted by justices of the peace on 123. 2. The officers who may arrest without warrant are,--justices of the 124. 3. A private person is bound to arrest for a felony committed in his 125. 4. The arrest by hue and cry is where officers and private persons are 126. 1826. They are under the direction of maritime prefects, who, by a 127. 1. Daughter of Lysimachus, king of Thrace, first wife of Ptolemy II. 128. 2. Daughter of Ptolemy I. Soter and Berenice. Born about 316 B.C., she 129. 3. Daughter of Ptolemy III. Euergetes, sister and wife of Ptolemy IV. 130. 4. Youngest daughter of Ptolemy XIII. Auletes, and sister of the famous 131. 819. The streets of the town were widened and improved in 1869. 132. 1. Brother of Darius I., and, according to Herodotus, the trusted 133. 2. Vizier of Xerxes (Ctesias, _Pers_. 20), whom he murdered in 465 B.C. 134. 3. A satrap of Bactria, who revolted against Artaxerxes I., but was 135. 4. ARTABANUS I., successor of his nephew Phraates II. about 127 B.C., 136. 5. ARTABANUS II. c. A.D. 10-40, son of an Arsacid princess (Tac. _Ann_. 137. 18. 9). In A.D. 35 he tried anew to conquer Armenia, and to establish 138. 6. ARTABANUS III. reigned a short time in A.D. 80 (on a coin of this 139. 7. ARTABANUS IV., the last Parthian king, younger son of Vologaeses IV., 140. 1. ARTAXERXES I., surnamed _Macrocheir, Longimanus_, "Longhand," because 141. 2. ARTAXERXES II., surnamed _Mnemon_, the eldest son of Darius II., whom 142. 3. ARTAXERXES III. is the title adopted by Ochus, the son of Artaxerxes 143. 1876. Since 1905 the Art Collections Fund, a society of private 144. part ii. of Lankester's _Treatise on Zoology_). 145. 5. Lankester, "Observations and Reflections on the Appendages and 146. 1622. Of the numerous later editions, the best is that of Achille le 147. 1. _Early Artillery._--Mechanical appliances for throwing projectiles 148. 2. _The Beginnings of Field Artillery._--It is clear, from such evidence 149. 3. _The 16th Century._--In the Italian wars waged by Charles VIII., 150. 4. _The Thirty Years' War._--Such, in its broadest outlines, is the 151. 5. _Personnel and Classification._--More than 300 years after the first 152. 6. _The English Civil War._--Even in the English Civil War (Great 153. 7. _Artillery Progress, 1660-1740._--Cromwell's practice of relegating 154. 8. _Artillery in the Wars of Frederick the Great._--By the time of 155. 9. _Gribeauval's Reforms._--At the commencement of the 18th century, 156. 10. _British Artillery, 1793-1815._--Meanwhile the numbers of the 157. 11. _French Revolutionary Wars._--During the long wars of the French 158. 12. _Napoleon's Artillery Tactics._--During the war the French artillery 159. 13. _Artillery, 1815-1865._--Henceforward, therefore, the history of 160. 14. _The Franco-German War, 1870-71._--In the next great war, that of 161. 15. _Results of the War._--The tactical lessons of the war, so far as 162. 16. _Quick-firing Field Guns._--In 1891, a work by General Wille of the 163. 17. _Time Shrapnel._--The power of modern artillery owes even more to 164. 18. _Heavy Field, Siege and Garrison Artillery._--Amongst other results 165. 19. _Field Artillery Organization._--A _battery_ of field artillery 166. introduction of the quick-firing gun, the tendency towards small 167. 20. _Ammunition._--The vehicles of a battery include (besides guns and 168. 21. _Interior Economy._--The organization and interior economy of a 169. 22. _Special Natures of Field Artillery._--_Horse Artillery_ differs 170. 23. _Heavy Ordnance._--_Heavy Field Artillery_, officially defined as 171. 24. _Higher Organization of Artillery._--The higher units, in almost 172. 25. _Grouping of the Artillery._--The "corps artillery" (formerly the 173. 26. _General Characteristics of Field Artillery Action._--The duty of 174. 27. _Occupation of a Position._--This depends primarily upon 175. introduction of the shield. A great advantage of retired positions is 176. introduction of the shield. The disadvantage of extra weight and 177. 28. _Laying._--"Elevation" may be defined as the vertical inclination of 178. 29. _Ranging_[4] (except on the French system alluded to below) is, 179. 30. An example of the ordinary method of ranging, adapted from _Field 180. 31. _Observation of Fire_, on the accuracy of which depends the success 181. 32. _Fire._--Field Artillery ranges are classed in the British service 182. 33. _Projectiles Employed._--"Time shrapnel," say the German Field 183. 34. _Tactics of Field Artillery._--On the march, the position and 184. 35. Field artillery in _defence_, which would presumably be inferior to 185. 36. _Marches._--The importance of having the artillery well up at the 186. 37. _Power and Mobility._--It will have been made clear that every gun 187. 38. _Concentration and Dispersion._--The use of their artillery made by 188. 39. _Horse Artillery_ is to be regarded as field artillery of great 189. 40. _Field Howitzers_ are somewhat less mobile than field guns; they 190. 41. _Heavy Field Artillery_, alternatively called _Artillery of 191. 1. As regards the teeth, we have the passage of a simply tubercular, or 192. 2. As regards the limbs. Reduction of the ulna from a complete and 193. 3. Change of form of the odontoid process of the second or axis 194. 4. Development of horns or antlers on the frontal bones, and gradual 195. 5. By inference only, increasing complication of stomach with ruminating 196. 1907. In every direction there has been a tendency to increase prices 197. 1884. The Artists' Society, formed in 1830, has for its object the

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