Artillery battery
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In military science, a battery is a unit of artillery guns or rockets, so grouped in order to facilitate battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion. Batteries are grouped in larger units called battalions, which are further grouped into regiments.
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[edit] History
Historically, many countries also maintained coastal defense batteries, typically equipped with very heavy guns in fixed, fortified emplacements along approaches to seaports, and intended to provide defense against warships. These are now obsolete. A few countries maintain coastal defense artillery units, but these units are organized and equipped quite differently to traditional artillery, often with rockets and torpedoes.
[edit] Explanation
While, in many forces, batteries are equivalent in size to a company, this has not always been the case. Historically batteries have differed in size and composition, often containing more than one weapon system. One such modern case is the Marine Corps artillery units fielding the new 120mm Dragon Fire mortar along with their howitzers. Naval batteries are a group of four or more cannon on a turret that fire in synchronization.
During the American Civil War, artillery batteries often consisted of six field pieces for the Union Army and four for the Confederate States Army, although this often varied. Batteries were divided into sections of two guns apiece, normally under the command of a lieutenant. The full battery was typically commanded by a captain. Often, particularly as the war progressed, individual batteries were grouped into battalions under a major or colonel of artillery. See Field Artillery in the American Civil War.
[edit] Modern military organization
In modern military organization, the military unit typically has 6 to 8 howitzers and 100 to 200 personnel. In the U.S. Army, generally a towed howitzer battery has 6 guns, where a self-propelled battery (such as an M 109 battery) contains 8. They are subdivided into:
- Field batteries, equipped with 105 mm howitzers or equivalent;
- Medium batteries, equipped with 155 mm howitzers or equivalent;
- Heavy batteries, which are equipped with guns of 203 mm or more calibre, but are now very rare; and
- Various more specialised types, such as anti-aircraft, missile, or Multiple Launch Rocket System batteries.
- Headquarters batteries, which themselves have no artillery pieces, but are rather the command and control organization for a group of firing batteries (for example, a regimental or battalion headquarters battery).
The battery is typically commanded by a captain in U.S. forces and is equivalent to an infantry company. In United Kingdom and Commonwealth forces a battery commander (like his infantry company commander counterpart) is a Major. The battery is divided into the following units:
- The firing section, which includes the individual gun sections. Each gun section is typically led by a staff sergeant (US Army Enlisted pay grade E-6); the firing section as a whole is usually led by a lieutenant and a senior NCO.
- The forward observers (FO), usually a group of enlisted men under the supervision of a lieutenant, situated in a forward position (forward OP) close to the enemy, or possibly observing from aircraft, to determine the locations of targets, provide feedback on the accuracy of fire, and providing calls for fire and adjustments, e.g., drop 200 [meters], three rounds fire for effect.
- The fire direction center (FDC), which computes firing solutions based on map coordinates, receives fire requests and feedback from observers and infantry units, and communicates directions to the firing section. It also receives commands from higher headquarters (i.e. the battalion FDC sends commands to the FDCs of all three of its batteries for the purpose of synchronizing a barrage).
Groupings of mortars are often referred to as platoons rather than batteries; mortars are typically considered infantry weapons.
