Bombardments and Barrages: Preparing American Artillery for the Front in World War I
Even before the United States joined World War I, transformations to the American military had begun in earnest. The National Defense Act of 1916 authorized growth of the army to include 21 field artillery regiments. The following year, by April 1917 when the United States officially joined the war, the buildup of artillery units had reached 8,000 officers and men. And by war’s end in 1918 there would be 460,000 men. In less than three years, American artillery units grew and expanded dramatically, but not without complication due to the incorporation of foreign weapons and new methods of fighting.
With nearly a half million American officers and men committed to artillery by 1918, training became a major task that the cadre of veteran American gunners could not sustain. Lack of modern equipment prevented recruits from training with the same guns and gear used at the front. The demand for troops in France shortened training to two to four months in the United States. This proved inadequate, and ten weeks of additional training in France became standard. In a relatively short period of time, the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) organized and trained massive numbers of men to serve in artillery units. However successful the Artillery Corps was at acquiring and training men, the challenge of equipment remained.
The U.S. Army’s inadequate stock of guns and howitzers included many obsolete examples. Because American industry had technical difficulty producing modern field artillery weapons, it was decided that Allied industry should supply the guns for the AEF. The field guns would be the rapid-fire French Soixante-Quinze , known as a French 75 to the Americans. The Howitzer regiments were supplied with French Schneider 155mm Howitzers. Divisional trench mortar battalions used the French-designed 240mm mortar, and some regiments used the long range 155mm GPF canons.
The 6th and 7th Artillery Regiments of the 1st Division’s Artillery Brigades trained at Valadon near the Swiss Border in August 1917, becoming some of the first operational AEF artillery in Europe. In October they were sent, one battalion at a time, to quiet sectors of the front to train with French batteries. The battalions of the 6th and 7th Artillery Regiments competed to be the first to shell the enemy.
AEF field artillery could fire at enemy units they could see, but it made them vulnerable and was often avoided. New techniques they learned allowed artillery to fire barrages and bombardments indirectly from a distance. Bombardment was used to destroy enemy soldiers, defenses, and materiel with concentrated fire on planned targets. Barrages pinned down the enemy or barred their movement by fire into a defined area. Batteries could shift fire on a time schedule to create a creeping barrage which friendly infantry advanced behind, “hugging” it for cover in an attack.
To support an attack, artillery staff observed and mapped enemy positions in detail. Before the assault, enemy positions received concentrated indirect bombardment. Then infantry advanced close behind a creeping barrage that kept defenders in hiding. A “counter battery” bombardment continued against enemy artillery. When the infantry reached an objective, artillery fired barrages beyond them and to their flanks. This “box barrage” deterred enemy counterattacks. High explosives, poison gas, anti-personnel “Shrapnel”, and incendiary ammunition were typically used in these attacks.
The AEF became proficient in the methods of barrage and bombardment, and their defensive counterparts. However, an abbreviated training regime, and undependable communications limited timely indirect attacks on unanticipated targets. Despite this shortcoming AEF artillery performed credibly. In the bombardment of Vaux during the Second Battle of the Marne, the artillery of the AEF’s 2nd Division fired 500 high explosive and gas rounds an hour for more than twelve hours. The 2nd Division’s infantry, despite German counter bombardment, took the ruined town with few casualties.
Throughout World War I, American artillery units played a key role in battle. These units included Americans who would later serve in World War II, and an eventual Commander in Chief. Harry Truman rose to Major in the 129th Field Artillery in the AEF. As a reserve officer, he advanced to the rank of Colonel, commanding the 379th Artillery Regiment.
Despite curtailed training schedules, and the use of non-American artillery, the units overcame initial challenges, and adapted to fighting at the front lines. World War I modernized the U.S. Army's Field Artillery and was the basis for their efficiency, and successful expansion in World War II.
Recommended Reading:
King of Battle: A Branch History of the U.S. Army's Field Artillery by Boyd L. Dastrup.
History of the Seventh Field Artillery (First Division, A.E.F.) : World War, 1917-1919. (US Govt.)
Activities and Citations of the 53rd Field Artillery Brigade by William Gray Price.