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Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

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310 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry <strong>Of</strong> field arTillery<br />

<strong>Field</strong> artillery doctrine in the 1970s and 1980s stressed warfare on the European<br />

battlefield, and during that time, considerable effort was expended to improve materiel,<br />

doctrine, and training to meet the perceived Soviet threat. Developments in<br />

communications, ammunition, and automation systems were designed to give the<br />

field artillery the ability to perform the traditional role of supporting the maneu ver<br />

forces by moving, shoot ing, and com municating con tinuously despite the opposition<br />

of a sophisti cated enemy. AirLand Battle doctrine emphasized the role of fire support<br />

in the deep attack—the requirement to deliver fire in depth, to support deep strikes<br />

by maneuver formation, and to coordinate both these efforts to win the battle.<br />

By the end of the eighties, however, the large disparity in numbers and capabilities<br />

of various conven tional artillery systems between the Soviet bloc and NATO<br />

continued to disturb <strong>Army</strong> leaders, and once the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces<br />

(INF) Treaty took effect in 1988, the problem became exacerbated. With a greater<br />

reliance to be placed on conven tional forces, the disadvantages of the United States<br />

and NATO in fire support were even more pronounced.

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