502 
THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE 5* B.L. HOWITZER. 
teries are not to be pitted against Field Artillery, it is clear that they 
are not required at the commencement of an action. The special 
purposes for which they can be usefully employed are not likely to be 
clearly indicated until the later periods of the action, and it is not there¬ 
fore until then that these batteries should be employed. But just as 
the principles of employment do not call for early action so conditions 
of expediency prohibit it; for their comparative want of mobility shown 
by the great weight behind the teams (as compared with Field Artillery) 
prevent Howitzer Batteries from being moved as rapidly as Field Bat¬ 
teries, or from getting over the same amount of ground in equal times, 
while the comparatively small number of rounds carried and the diffi¬ 
culty of supplying large quantities of this heavy ammunition prevent 
any continuous or extensive use of these batteries. 
The useful employment of Howitzer Batteries being thus by their 
nature restricted, I think it will be clear that their requisites for tactical 
employment are, ability to march and the power of moving (compara- 
tively)rapidly for short distances when required to come into action. 
These batteries do not possess great mobility, and manoeuvre is not 
required from them for they are not asked to come into action against 
the enemy’s artillery, and in line with their own, to advance under fire, 
and support the infantry attack, or to join in the pursuit, and it seems 
to me, theiefore, that the limited amount of movement which is required 
is not such as necessarily calls for Field Artillery training and handling, 
nor more than could be efficiently performed by the Siege Artillery. 
The present position of Howitzer Batteries in the British Army is 
with the Corps Artillery, in this capacity they are going to South Africa, 
and in this category they must remain as long as they are furnished by 
the Field Artillery, as there is no other division of the Field Artillery 
into which they can well be put. But it is clear that they are not in¬ 
tended to perform the role which is usually assigned to the Corps Ar¬ 
tillery, and therefore their inclusion in it is somewhat misleading. The 
value that is to be attached to a name will appear when we reflect as 
Prince Hohenlohe has pointed out* that as soon as the “ Reserve Artill¬ 
ery ” was abolished, and changed into “Corps Artillery ” its proper tacti¬ 
cal employment was at once recognized, and it is not, therefore, un¬ 
reasonable to expect that until we find a suitable designation for the 
Howitzer Batteries employed with a field Army we run some risk of 
their proper tactical employment being misunderstood. If the course 
that has been advocated in this paper were adopted and the Field 
Howitzer Batteries handed over entirely to the Siege Artillery they can 
suitably be called the “ Light Siege Train Unit.” This designation 
will not only truly represent their organisation, for the Light Siege Train 
Battery, and the Field Howitzer Battery are identical in their equip¬ 
ment, 'personnel , etc., but it will more clearly indicate their proper tacti¬ 
cal employment, for the work they are asked to do is peculiar, and is 
rather Siege work than Field work, and at any rate it will remove any 
confusion of ideas either as to their employment or proper position in 
* “ Letters on Artillery " ; by Prince Kraft zu Hohenlohe Ingelfingen, p. 141. Translated by Col¬ 
onel N. L. Walford, R.A. and published by the R.A. Institution, 1887. 
