Artillery

What was the role of artillery in the First World War?

Artillery was used to bombard the enemy lines by firing huge shells (up to 108 kilograms) in preparation for an infantry attack. The aim was to destroy the barbed wire and the front line trenches which protected the wider trench system.

What was artillery like in 1914?

In 1914 artillery use faced many challenges:

• ❖ In 1914 artillery was not very accurate & difficult to 'range' targets by spotting where the shells landed. There was no way for infantry to effectively communicate with the 'gunners' (artillery) from the front line.
• ❖ Firing from well behind their own lines, artillery sometimes bombarded their own forward trenches because they could not see where their shells landed.
• ❖ By 1915 as many as 50% of British shells were 'duds'.
• ❖ Factories could not produce enough shells. The British fired 250,000 shells at the Battle of Loos in 1915 but they called off the attack partly because of a shortage of artillery shells.

How did artillery improve during the war?

From 1915 major improvements took place in the use of artillery:

• ❖ Shells improved in quality and quantity meaning many fewer 'duds'; in 1916 'fuse 106' was developed by the British, which was far more effective at cutting barbed wire.
• ❖ Howitzers were improved and more widely used. These fired shells high in the air and so could drop shells into trenches accurately, even if they could not be seen by the gunners.
• ❖ New tactics had been introduced e.g. the creeping barrage and the box barrage.
• ❖ Spotter aircraft, spotter balloons and radio were being used to send live information to the artillery about where and what to fire at.

What impact did artillery have?

Artillery bombardments caused more casualties than any other weapon. It was a key weapon of the war.