Читать книгу Organization: How Armies are Formed for War - Hubert Foster - Страница 23

The Tactical Unit of Artillery is the Battery, of 4, 6, or 8 guns, with 1 to 3 Ammunition Wagons to each gun. Field guns and wagons have six-horse teams; Heavy Artillery has eight-horse teams.

In France, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States all Batteries are of 4 guns.

In other armies all Field and Horse Artillery Batteries are of 6 guns, except in Austria, where Horse Artillery has 4-gun Batteries, and in Russia, where Field Batteries have 8 guns.

Heavy Batteries have generally 4 guns, owing to the number of wagons required to carry a sufficient amount of their heavy ammunition.

Mountain Batteries have 4 guns, except in Russia, where they have 8.

The Battery in all armies has a strength of from 130 to 200 men and horses. It is divided into Sections of 2 guns with their wagons, commanded by a Lieutenant, and these into Sub-Sections under a Sergeant. The Battery Commander is a Captain, except in the Russian Service, where he is a Lieutenant-Colonel, and in the British Service, where he is a Major, with a Captain as Second-in-Command to take charge of the Ammunition Supply in action. To assist the Battery Commander in action, he has a Staff comprising trumpeters, rangetakers, observers, signallers, mounted orderlies, scouts, and horse-holders. There is also a small Administrative Staff, including artificers for repair of harness and carriages.