Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

a Time Of grOwTh
117
to the 75- and 155-mm. guns and the
155-mm. howitzer, the United States
also adopted the 240-mm. howitzer
from France for heavy artillery. 69
American forces also depended
upon the allies for artillery support due
to delays in organizing, training, and
shipping American units. For example,
in the first major offensive by the
American First Army in the St. Mihiel
campaign, 12–16 September 1918,
the French and British provided the
bulk of artillery support. Of the 3,010
artillery pieces in the AEF, none was
manufactured in the United States, and
the French manned 1,329 of them, with
American troops serving the remainder.
By 3 November, however, American
units had replaced much of this foreign
support. 70
When the Chief of Artillery relinquished
control over field artillery
in 1908, the War Department thus lacked someone in a position of authority for
formulating military policy or for acting on behalf of the arm. At the outbreak of
the war, that situation had not been corrected. Brig. Gen. William J. Snow, commandant
of the School of Fire, was an expert in the technical aspects of artillery
training, and he put into operation programs that were to have immediate and
long-range effects on the branch. It was not until 10 February 1918, however, that
the War Department detailed General Snow as Chief of Field Artillery. Acting in
this capacity, he oversaw a series of accomplishments, establishing field artillery
replacement depots and schools for specialists; reorganizing and enlarging the School
of Fire; organizing the Central Officers Training School at Camp Zachary Taylor,
Kentucky; implementing a system of training and coordination through inspectorinstructors,
who both inspired and aided in the training of brigades; redis tributed
materiel; and coordinated materiel production through the War Industries Board. 71
General Snow
Snow, who accepted promotion to major general as of 9 July, also set up a personnel
section that exercised close supervision over the training and assignment of artillery
69 Snow, “Gun Procurement,” pp. 299–304. The French 155-mm. GPF gun, named after its designer
Col. L. J. F. Filloux, was nicknamed “Long Tom” during World War I in contemporary magazines. It
was the forerunner of the American “Long Tom” of World War II fame.
70 Pershing, My Experiences in the World War, 2:260–66, 371; Lanza, “Army Artillery,” pt. 1, pp.
14–79, CMH files; United States Army in the World War, 14:32–33, 37, 82–84.
71 Annual Reports of the War Department, 1919, 1:5053–59; AEF GO 64, 29 Apr 1918; “Duties
of the Chief, Artillery, A.E.F.,” fldr 381, box 41, Entry 22, RG 120, NARA; Order of Battle, 1:197–99,
202–05. Centers of instruction were set up to train artillery organizations by brigades, including the trench
mortar battery and ammunition train.