Tactics and duties for trench fighting

by Georges Etienne Bertrand; Oscar N. Solbert

(c) Communication of Orders:—It is necessary that the orders received by the infantry commander be communicated in whole or in part to the artillery commander, and vice versa. For instance, if the chief of area receives orders to send out a fighting patrol or a raid, this information is sent to the artillery commander, who, in turn, sends back his plan of action. Similarly, when the artillery commander expects to carry out special fires not called for by the infantry, such as destructive shelling, harassing fires, etc., he should first notify his infantry chief of area.

Similarly, any useful information picked up, either by the infantry or artillery, must be communicated to the other. The daily report of the chief of sector and the observation report of the Intelligence Officer are sent direct to the commander of the artillery support. Valuable information obtained at the artillery observation posts is sent to the infantry.

(d) Means of Communication:—The principal of the organization of the different means of communication is such as to assure the best liaison between the two arms. Telephone lines, searchlight signals, runners, etc., are established directly between a unit of infantry and its artillery support. This is to avoid loss of time and useless interruption between leaders.

(e) Detachments for Liaison and Observation:—For more efficient liaison between the artillery and the infantry, usually a certain number of artillerymen are sent from the group of the artillery Support to the infantry in their area. Usually a special detachment of artillerymen is sent. This detachment is made up of one officer, chief of the detachment, who is sent to the chief of sector, one N. C. O. to each chief of a center of resistance, the rest as telephone operators and artillery orderlies. This disposition of artillerymen in the infantry area is obligatory for an attack, but it is so practical that it is now employed in the sector organization.

The task of these artillery officers or N. C. O. is:—

(1) To control all means of communication with the batteries of the artillery support.

(2) To transmit to the artillery the different calls for fire, and in technical terms to give the proper data for the laying of the pieces on the target, and the kind of fire required.

Use of Artillery Support. Different kinds of fire are executed by the artillery support. The most important is the barrage.

Barrage. Purpose:—The purpose of a barrage is to stop a hostile attack before it can get started, or to hinder enemies’ reinforcements or reserve troops from coming forward.