Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

wOrld war ii
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of division artil lery fires. Instead of the fixed corps brigade, the new head quarters,
corps artillery, commanded by a brigadier general, had only a head quarters battery
and an observation battalion assigned to it. Flexible groups with varying numbers
of bat talions were attached as needed (Tables 18 and 19). 33
The transition from regiments to groups was slow because considerable time
was required to structure the battalions into administratively self-sufficient units
and because the reorganization of units already in combat was difficult. Except for
the units in combat, however, the reorganization was accom plished in 1943, and the
first TOE for the group headquarters and head quarters battery appeared in April of
that year. The TOE author ized the unit eleven officers and seventy-eight enlisted
men, provided the bare essentials for exercising tactical control of its attached
bat talions, and gave the group two liaison airplanes for observation. The TOE for
the headquarters and head quarters battery, field artillery brigade, authorizing it an
aggregate strength of 103 in 1944, was similar to that of the group. The groups
and brigades were not originally designed to function administratively, but combat
experience showed the necessity of their doing so, and they were later augmented
by supply and administra tive person nel. 34
Because the War Department delayed implementation of the group organization
for those units already in combat, the new field artillery groups that deployed from the
United States to North Africa fought alongside the fixed brigades already serving there.
The divisions had already been streamlined under the triangular structure, and any additional
support had to come from corps level. Because the corps artillery in the theater was
limited in flexibility under the fixed brigade struc ture, the new groups and their battalions
were used almost exclu sively as a pool from which the divisions drew additional field
artil lery support. When the battle area shifted to Italy, the use of the field artillery group
changed little. Its capabilities were not fully met or tested even though it was per forming
its limited functions well. The fixed field artillery brigade con tinued to function as corps
artillery, but all newly arriving non divisional field artillery units were organized under
the new concept. By March 1944, all the regiments of the fixed corps artillery brigade
in Italy were reorgan ized under the new system. Although the reorganization provided
a uniform struc ture for the artillery for the first time in combat, in actuality, the intent of
greater flexibility was not immediately realized. 35
By the time the nondivisional field artillery units were fighting in western Europe,
their organization was standardized and their role more defined. One reason for the
field artillery group’s success was that, unlike its earlier service in North Africa
and Italy, the units had ample time to train togeth er. The centralized employment
of nondivisional artillery gave way to decentralization, although in some instances
33 Ibid., pp. 7–10, 62; Greenfield, Palmer, and Wiley, Organization of Ground Combat Troops, pp.
351–59, 362, 374–82; WD Cir 256, 16 Oct 1943; John J. Burns, “The Employment of Corps Artillery,” pts.
1 and 2, Field Artillery Journal, March 1943, pp. 208–11, and April 1943, pp. 283–90. See also General
Board, USFET, “The Field Artillery Group,” Study no. 65, and “Field Artillery Operations,” Study no.
61, copies in CMH files (hereinafter cited as USFET Study no. 65).
34 Weathersby, “Field Artillery Group,” thesis, p. 10; TOE 6–12, 16 Jun 1943, w/changes through
16 Sep 1944; TOE 6–12, 20 Oct 1944, w/changes through 11 Aug 1945; TOE 6–20–1, 10 Jan 1944,
w/changes through 7 Aug 1944. Authorizations do not include medical personnel.
35 Weathersby, “Field Artillery Group,” thesis, pp. 30, 47–50, 57–62.