Artillery preparation
Artillery preparation (s) are tactical actions of the attacking artillery to destroy or hold down weapon systems, personnel, fortifications and other objects of the enemy before the start of the attack by their own troops.
In the first phase of the First World War (until 1916), the artillery preparation was used to break through the front positions. The duration of the " drum fire " varied from a few hours to several days. The tactical use of these bombings was minimal, as deep trench systems allowed the defenders to retreat during the artillery attack, but to reoccupy the previously temporarily abandoned positions during the subsequent infantry attack and to repel enemy infantry. In addition, the advance of the attacking infantry was made more difficult by the artillery preparation.
As the war progressed, the time for artillery preparation was shortened, it went hand in hand with an improvement in accuracy and encompassed fire of all calibers.
During World War II , artillery preparation was used when the enemy was in fortified positions. The attack time was now only a few tens of minutes to several hours. Artillery support was fired when the enemy was attacking their own positions. With the development of mechanized combat management by Guderian, the artillery with self-propelled howitzers like the Hummel itself became mobile and immediately followed the mechanized attack tips.
Artillery preparation played an important role in the Soviet military doctrine of the Cold War, and the training principles and structures of the army were designed accordingly. The artillery was divided into battle groups with self-propelled howitzers, the direct fire support partly in direct aiming conducted and the Regiment Artillery Group (RAG) and the Division Artillery Group (DAG), each of which was formed from the parent artillery associations such as the Division Artillery Regiment and the Corps Artillery for assistant major units. Artillery preparation was the first phase of the artillery offensive in Soviet military doctrine .
literature
- Georg Bruchmüller (1922): The German artillery in the breakthrough battles of the world war. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin.
- Georg Bruchmüller (1926): The artillery when attacking in trench warfare. Publishing house "Open Words", Berlin / Charlottenburg.
- Alexander Meschnig (2008): The Will to Move: Military Dream and Totalitarian Program. A history of mentality from the First World War ..., Transcript.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexander Meschnig (2008): The Will to Movement: Military Dream and Totalitarian Program. A history of mentality from the First World War ..., Transcript, p. 85