The Field Artillery Journal Volume 10 (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Preparation and Conduct of Fire BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL O. L. SPAULDING, FIELD ARTILLERY [editor's Note.?In an editorial in the November-December, 1919, issue of the Journal we said: " The subject of' Map Firing/ go called, witt be discussed more in detail in our next issue" The following article has been prepared with this in view.'] Before entering upon a discussion of this subject, it will be well to reach an understanding as to point of view. We entered the recent war with a fairly well settled and very correct theory of warfare. But it was only fairly well settled; it had become a part of the mental habit of some, but not of all, our officers. Hence it was not able to stand against serious shocks. These shocks it received, both from within and without. First, the defensive strength of the doctrine was weakened by the enormous expansion of our armies, far beyond their elastic limit. Next, we came suddenly into contact with a doctrine of war distinctly different from ours, striking us from two different angles, and each attack supported by all the prestige of long experience in war on a large scale. Both the French and British had gone to war with a doctrine very much like ours. Both had been compelled by circumstances to accept modifications, the processes being somewhat different but the results not dissimilar. Operations had come to a standstill on the western front, in the fall of 1914, and both sides had had to resort to the expedient of digging in and holding on. This in itself was nothing new or abnormal; but the difficulties multiplied. There was not strength enough anywhere to break the deadlock?on the part of the Allies?because Great Britain could not put forth her full strength for a long time?on the part of the Germans, because they were fight...