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WHAT IS THE BEST TACTICAL ORGANISATION AND 
SYSTEM OF TRAINING MASSED BATTERIES OF HORSE AND 
FIELD ARTILLERY? 
BY 
MAJOR A. M. MURRAY, R.A. 
“ EAPIDXTE ! PROMPTITUDE ! AUDACE !” 
SILVER MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY, 1894. 
PART I. 
Introductory. 
“Artillery fire must be concentrated and directed by one will.” 1 2 
The subject chosen for this year’s Essay is the natural sequel to tbat Th ®^®® tion 
which was selected two years ago. 3 In 1892 the organisation, training, discusSm. 
and system of command of the single battery was considered in appli¬ 
cation to the necessity for securing Fire Discipline within its ranks. 
The inquiry is now extended to the case of massed batteries. The 
battery of six guns is the fire unit of Horse and Field Artillery. What 
are the best means of utilising the fire units in order to develop their 
full fighting power when acting together and in combination with the 
other Arms of the Service ? How should batteries be tactically col¬ 
lected and organised in the field, what should be the system of command, 
and how should this be exercised through the various grades of 
responsibility from the superior Artillery Commander down to the 
battery leader ? These are the questions which have been proposed 
for the present discussion. 
While the title of the Essay opens up a wide range for thought, its wide 
it presupposes no established agreement in regard to any tactical range * 
organisation or system of training above the battery. Writers are 
consequently free to examine the question apart from existing methods 
and with perfect latitude as regards any action hitherto taken or here¬ 
after contemplated. Such examination must necessarily take close 
account of tactical systems at present in force both at home and abroad, 
Report on the Manoeuvres in Hampshire, 1891, by Lieut.-General Sir Evelyn Wood, V.C., 
G.C.B., G.C.M.G. 1 . J 
2 “ Eire Discipline; its necessity in a battery of Horse and Field Artillery, and the best means 
ot securing it.” 
7- VOL, XXI, 
