Maurice, about 1600, did away with the great variety of guns which existed, and retained four different calibres only, so as to facilitate the supply of shot. Gustavus, a little later, introduced lighter guns, and cartridges for the powder, which till then had been carried loose in barrels. But his main innovation was the allotment of two light guns to each Infantry Battalion, for action in the intervals between Regiments, an organization retained in most armies till the end of the eighteenth century. These “Battalion guns” were drawn by one or two horses, or by men when under fire, and were often served by the Infantry they were attached to. He used the heavier guns in masses on the wings and in the centre; but no Battery organization came in till late in the eighteenth century. In France, under Louis XIV., the step was taken of creating a Regiment of Artillery, formed of Gunners and Artificers, the Drivers being still hired. This idea was partially copied in England, where the Artillery was organized into a Military Corps in 1716. Other armies formed Companies of Artillery, but had no Regimental organization till much later.
Shells were first used in the field about 1700, they fired from what were called Hautbitzers, now Howitzers, a Czech word taken from Zisca’s organization of the Hussite hosts in Bohemia long before. Grapeshot was also invented; but solid shot was the projectile of Artillery down to the introduction of General Shrapnel’s shell in the British Artillery about 1810, followed much later by the universal adoption of shell fire for field guns. Another invention, Congreve’s rocket, was partially adopted in the English service before the battle of Waterloo.
In the middle of the eighteenth century Frederick the Great made considerable progress in Artillery organization, although the material was unchanged. He increased the number of guns till he had 5 or 6 to every 1,000 Infantry, which is to-day the proportion thought desirable. In 1759 he formed a light Battery with gunners mounted, so as to keep up with Cavalry. This Horse Artillery was eventually adopted by the Austrians in 1783, and by the French and British in the Revolutionary Wars. Frederick abolished Battalion Guns, and grouped them in permanent Batteries, the germ of modern Field Batteries, although drivers were not mounted, or made into soldiers, till near the end of the century. The heavier guns were still dragged by horses in single file, led by civilian drivers on foot, and were called “Guns of position.” They were generally formed in four masses—centre, wings, and reserve. After the Seven Years’ War these guns were everywhere formed into Batteries of uniform calibre, which in France were called Divisions, and manned by one Company of the Artillery Regiment. The teams began to be harnessed in pairs, with the drivers mounted on the near horse. The modern battery system was thus introduced, and may be said to have been adopted in every army towards the end of the eighteenth century, when battalion guns were abolished. Batteries began to be brigaded by threes or fours during the early part of the nineteenth century.
In England and France, about 1800, a corps of drivers for Artillery was formed, in which for the first time drivers had uniform and discipline; but these corps were abolished after 1820, and the drivers became an integral part of the Artillery.
In Austria and Prussia, Batteries were allotted to Infantry Brigades, a system which was kept up in Prussia till after Waterloo, and in Austria till after the war of 1866. In France, during the Revolutionary Wars, the Batteries were allotted to Divisions, in the way which still holds. There was always, in addition, a mass of guns styled the Reserve Artillery, which we find during the Napoleonic Wars, and down to the campaign of 1870. By that time it had been converted in the Prussian Army into Corps Artillery, an arrangement which all other armies have since copied. About 1900, however, the Corps Artillery was abolished in Germany, and its batteries distributed to the Divisions.
The Evolution of the Engineers
The name and calling of the Engineer is traceable through English history in the existence of the King’s Engynour, as mentioned at the commencement of this chapter. He had charge of what we now call Engineer Works, as well as of the Artillery. Both these Services were, up to the Stuart times, mainly connected with fortresses and sieges; but the first and the third King Edwards had with their field armies a corps of Military Artificers, and Henry VIII. formed a body of Pioneers for work in the field. These were artisans, either specially recruited, or taken from the ranks of the Infantry, as Pioneers still are. The body was commanded by a Captain of Pioneers, who was practically an Engineer Officer. He and his men formed part of the field force, and were Field Engineers.
From this time onwards, the Pioneers are identified with the field operations of an army, while individual Engineer Officers were attached to the Staff. The latter were formed into the Corps of Royal Engineers in 1772. This system, which differentiated between Pioneer men commanded by Engineer Officers, and individual Engineer Officers on the Staff, is exactly that which still exists in the German Army.
A Corps of Military Artificers was formed in 1770, and became the Corps of Sappers and Miners in 1780. It was constantly used in the field, especially in the sieges in the Peninsula and in the Crimea, after which it became merged with the Engineer Officers into the Corps of Royal Engineers.