NEW ARTILLERY ORGANIZATION IN PRUSSIA, AND THEIR CAST-STEEL, RIFLED, BREECHI-LOADING CANNON. BY E. FREYHOLD, LATE OFFICER IN THE PRUSSIAN SERVICE. ALTHOUGH most of the great warriors, ever since the time of the Thirty-years War, had directed their attention to the perfecting of artillery, yet it cannot be denied that the really valuable improvements and alterations are of very recent date. It may safely be admitted, that even up to the time of Napoleon I., artillery was rather considered an appendage than an integral part of the army. Among the great captains of the last two centuries, Gustavus. Adolphus, for the sake of a very movable artillery, tried to introduce leather guns, surrounded with iron or brass cylinders in and outside. Frederick the Great, of Prussia, was the first to organize horse-artillery, to which organization he owed a great amount of success in his last campaigns; and Napoleon I., when entering on his first field operations, had almost succeeded in creating a complete and efficient artillery corps from the chaos of what was before his time a kind of volunteer. artillery, which, however, could never be relied upon in action, for then, in most cases, the drivers attempted to run off with the horses, frequently leaving the guns to be drawn by the cannoneers, who, in anticipation of such an occurrence, were prepared with the necessary ropes. Improvements of this kind were mostly directed towards the inner organization, system, and equipments of the guns; nothing was then done to secure greater ranges, except by means of very large charges, which required again a greater weight of the gun, to resist successfully the strain occasioned by the rapid expansion of the gases. The line of distinction between field, siege, and garrison guns was not then very definite; the range of all of them was comparatively short and insecure; the process of loading, a tedious and time-taking one; and, frequently, as a consequence of their clumsy outfit, they were more an encumbrance in action, by retarding the movements of troops, and yet the loss of a number of them would, on account of their costliness, be almost considered equal to a defeat of the army; batteries would frequently change hands three or four times during an action, but it was always difficult, if taken, to secure them. Napoleon III., himself a practical artillerist, was the first to initiate a new era in the use of field artillery, by introducing a much lighter, and, consequently, more movable gun, which, in consequence of the application of the rifle system, received a range far exceeding those of the old smooth-bore calibers. Thus the French had their Napoleon gun for the field-artillery; and the English the Lancaster ship-guns (which at the time of the Crimean war were much spoken of, but are now considered a failure) and the Armstrong gun, of more recent date, of whose construction we know comparatively little, and which, although they had made, some years ago, quite a sensation amongst the great number of inventors in gunnery, seem almost to be doomed to oblivion. The Sardinians have the Cavalli breech-loading gun, as the Prussians have the cast-steel breech-loading guns; and, finally, the United States have their Dahlgren ship and field guns (a very efficient arm) and the Parrott heavy ship-guns, which, however, at Fort Fisher, cost us many lives by their bursting. Besides these more prominent new guns, we have a host of other alterations and changes made by many other nations, but which have never attracted so much attention and interest. It cannot be my object to discuss within the narrow limits of this article the merits and demerits of these several guns, nor to dwell on their different constructions. Suffice it to say, that almost every inventor in this line considered his gun as the best, and, instead of profiting by the experiments made by other inventors, would, in most cases, tenaciously adhere to his own ideas, thus, in many cases, losing the opportunity of rendering them successful. Prussia has made an exception: her new field guns, and siege guns of smaller caliber, are constructed after a model, which is the result of a combination of the experiments of several successful inventors, and has so far succeeded, as I believe, to produce a weapon which is supposed to meet all the objections made to other cannon. At least, it is by no means illogical to make this inference, when we consider that nations with extensive military establishments are introducing and have already effectually armed their entire artillery with new guns, whereas they would have been very slow to enter npon such costly alterations without being fully convinced of their suc cess. In the last war of Schleswig-Holstein, before the strong fortifications of the intrenched field at Düppel, these guns have proved their entire success; and it was mainly due to their great perfection that the loss of the Prussians in taking these intrenchments was a comparatively small one. The material of which these guns are constructed is caststeel, the precise composition of which is said to be a secret. They are manufactured (with the exception of the 4-pounder gun, which is cast, I understand, at the Government foundery at Spandau) in the private foundery of Mr. Krupp, in Essen, Westphalia, Prussia-the largest establishment of this kind in the world, employing continually from six to eight thousand work men, and forging pieces of steel as large as twenty tons weight, with steam hammers of fifty tons weight, each hammer lifted by an engine of a thousand horse-power, giving the steel to be used for the manufacture of cannon, rails, axles, or boilers, the incomparable density for which it is so valued and renowned. It is in this establishment that the 600-pounders were cast for the Prussian Government. The Prussian artillery is divided into nine brigades (one guard and eight line brigades), each commanded by a general or colonel. The brigade comprises one field and one garrison regiment, each commanded by a colonel. In peace, the field regiments consists of three foot divisions. with four batteries each, and one horse division with three batteries; total 15 batteries. Of these are four batteries 4-pounders, four batteries 6pounders, and four batteries short 12-pounders. The horse batteries are all short 12-pounders. Each of these batteries has four equipped guns. The number of guns for one regiment is sixty. In war, or in case the army is mobilized : Three foot divisions, at four batteries. One horse division, at six 6 guns per battery. 66 66 66 These horse batteries are formed by dividing and augmenting the peace batteries of short 12-pounders. Total in war, per regiment:— There belong further to each regiment one column division in nine munition divisions, and a reserve or dépôt division. A garrison artillery regiment has two divisions, with four companies cach; in war, they are doubled by division and augmentation. Artillery officers in charge of the artillery of a fortress :First, a field officer always belongs to the brigade, in whose precinct the fortress lies, no matter whether originally he belonged to another brigade. His next superior is the commander of the garrison artillery regiment; and he, in all business transactions pertaining to the fortresses, reports directly to the War Office. With the beginning of next year, a second garrison grand division of four brigades will be organized. An artillery brigade has one general and ten field officers; a battery, one captain, one first and two second lieutenants. The train is commanded by an inspector (colonel), who is entirely independent of the control of the brigade commanders, and is formed into nine battalions (one guard and eight line battalions), each with two companies, commanded by an officer corps, formed partly of artiliery, partly of cavalry officers, and some non-commnissioned officers from the artillery, promoted to be lieutenants for distinguished services. The time of service with the train corps is but six months, receiving thus twice every year recruits. The technic department, also under command of an inspector (colonel), is now entirely separated from the brigade command, to which they formerly belonged, and comprises the arsenals in the provinces, at which now only civil inechanics. are employed (the system of mechanic companies formed of enlisted soldiers having been entirely abandoned), and the firework laboratory and gun-foundery at Spandau. The rifled breech-loading cannon are of the following calibers, viz.:- 4, 6, and short 12-pounders for field, and long 12-pounders and 24-pounders for siege artillery. The Prussian cannon take their denominations from the weight of the stone ball of the smooth-bore calibers:— The actual weight of a 4-pounder shell would be 9 lbs. with 1 lb. of charge. 6-pounder shell would be 15 lbs. with 1 lbs. 46 lbs. The heavier garrison guns are mostly of bronze or cast iron. The guns are of the modified pattern of the Wahrendorff cannon (so called from its inventor, a Swedish officer), which is, in its breech-lock, materially improved by Lieutenant-Colonel Neumann, of the Prussian artillery, the breech-loading part being to some extent a combination of the Cavalli and of the Armstrong gun. The rifled breech-loading cast-steel gun consists of two main parts-the cannon proper, and the locking or breech part. The number of grooves and their helical turn differs with the several calibers, viz.: The 4-pounder has 12 grooves, with one turn in 12 feet of caliber length. The rear part of the bore is smooth and wider, to admit with greater facility the projectile and charge. The breech-lock consists of an exactly fitting solid block of cylinder form, which in order to load the gun is drawn out towards the rear, and, when the charge has been placed in its place, is pushed in again. To keep this block in its proper condition, the rear end of it is perforated transversely, and corresponding holes are bored into the gun to receive a closely fitting cylindrical bar. To prevent all escape of gas, a strong pasteboard of hemp is laid directly behind the chamber, which also serves to break all injurious effects of the gases on the locking part, and to keep it clean. To give a greater security against any displacement of the block, a strong screw presses all parts of the breech-lock together. After every five discharges the gun is cleaned and greased; and after two hundred and fifty discharges the bore is cleansed by means of a file of the residue lead, which operation will take a quarter of an hour. As it appears that the Prussian Government considers the 4-pounder a very efficient caliber for field artillery, they make strenuous efforts to have the entire artillery supplied with these batteries within this year. I will give a general description of these batteries, one of which, used in the last Danish war, has greatly distinguished itself by its ease in manoeuvring and its rapidity and destruction in firing. The 4-pounder is drawn by six horses, and served by five men, who always, when the battery is in motion, ride, three on the limber chest, which is provided with seats and backs—the other two have seats on each side over the axle, between wheel and limber. The seats are made of and surrounded by a net of strong wire-work, to guard against any accident. The gun, as already mentioned, has twelve grooves of 0.05 of a Prussian inch depth, and one entire twist on the length of twelve feet; the gun is about five feet and some inches long. The total weight, inclusive of the breech-lock, is five hundred and eighty pounds, with five inches diameter bore; the weight of the elongated shell nine pounds, with one pound of powder. The limber is the so-called Wesener's, with steel axles of ninety-seven pounds each, and Thoret wheels, with steel axle seats. The limber chest contains forty-eight rounds, and the ammunition hind wagon fifty-six rounds. Each battery has six ammunition wagons. The weight of the complete gun and carriage is. Total..... 2,820 lbs. 750 lbs. .3,570 lbs. Weight for each horse to draw, five hundred and ninety-five pounds, which is less than with the old smooth-bore 6-pounder guns. The entire Prussian field-artillery would have, in time of peace 4× 9-36 batteries with 4 pieces of 4-pounders = 144 guns. 4× 9-36 3 x 9=27 = 144 แ 6-pounders |