322 
ROLE OF HORSE ARTILLERY, 
Advanced 
and rear 
guards. 
In the at¬ 
tack of a 
position. 
is used for the purpose of striking a decisive blow. It is the only 
artillery force which is perfectly free to act wherever its services may be 
required. The divisional artillery is charged with the duty of 
supporting its division; the horse artillery batteries of the cavalry 
brigades must follow the movements of the cavalry. The corps artillery 
is hampered by no such conditions. Wherever opportunities occur 
for bringing about great results by means of artillery fire, there is the 
place for the corps artillery. It may even be detached from its own, to 
the aid of another corps. In the war of 1870-71, the German leaders, 
following the old French maxim of marching towards the sound of 
guns, used to despatch their corps artillery to take part in battles 
where the co-operation of the main body of the corps was impossible. 
It is plain that, the sphere of action of the corps artillery being so wide, 
it must possess considerably greater mobility than is sufficient for the 
divisional artillery. For this reason the greater part of the corps 
artillery consists of horse artillery batteries, the proportion in this 
country being three horse artillery batteries to two 16-pounder batteries. 
The employment of the corps artillery may be considered under the 
following heads:— 
(a) Advanced and rear guards. 
(b) In the attack of a position. 
( c ) In the defence of a position. 
(a) The employment of the artillery of the advanced and rear guards 
has been so exhaustively treated of in the Institution Prize Essay for 
1874, that it would be mere repetition to enter into it here. It will be 
well just to notice that horse artillery is peculiarly suited for these duties, 
owing to its mobility and to the comparatively large number of rounds 
of ammunition which it can dispose of. * 
(h) In the attack of a position .—Closely connected with the employ¬ 
ment of the corps artillery on the offensive are two important questions, 
which may be conveniently considered here. The first is, Is it 
desirable under any circumstances that artillery should be kept in 
reserve ? To a man, the German school are against the bare mention of 
such a thing. In support of their views the experience of the Franco- 
German War is quoted to show that the withdrawing of guns from the 
artillery line, in order to employ them in another part of the field, is an 
operation attended by no great difficulties, f and that it is absolutely 
essential that every gun should be in action throughout every period of 
the attack. { On the other side it may be urged that it is only by 
taking immediate advantage of the opportunities which occur at critical 
moments that great results can be obtained; that the withdrawing of 
batteries already in action to another part of the field is a matter of 
time ; that it is an operation which cannot fail to attract the enemy’s 
* “ Studies in Troop Leading,” Verdy du Vernois. 
t “ The German Artillery.” Hoffbauer. $ Becker. 
