GENERAL DUTIES OF ARTILLERY COMMANDERS.
THE CHIEF OF ARTILLERY.
The chief of artillery to the general commanding issues the orders for the distribution and concentration of fire, according to the phases of the battle and the plans of the general. As a rule, the method of carrying out these orders, the projectile used, the rapidity and order of fire, will be left to the commanders of groups of batteries.
THE CHIEF OF CORPS ARTILLERY.
The officer commanding the corps artillery designates the target for each of his battalions, and controls the fire of the corps artillery in accordance with the instructions he receives.
THE BATTALION COMMANDER.
Fire Control.—The commander of an artillery battalion prescribes the method to be used for finding the range, designates the target for each battery, and prescribes the projectile to be used, the rate and order of fire, and the concentration or distribution of fire on the targets in range. His orders and directions that cannot be given by voice or trumpet are conveyed by his staff or non-commissioned staff.
THE BATTERY COMMANDER.
Regulation of Fire.—This includes control over all the details of the service of the guns, the corrections in observation, deflection, the length of fuze, and the concentration and distribution of fire within the limits of a designated target that are necessary in order to obtain the most effective fire upon it.
The captain regulates the fire of his battery, and, if acting independently, he also controls it. He remains mounted or dismounted at pleasure, and places himself, as a rule, near one of the flanks and sufficiently close to the battery that his orders may be readily understood. The corrections for lateral deviations are generally intrusted to the chiefs of platoons.