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44 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of field arTillery The civilian teamsters that had performed so unsatisfactorily in previous wars continued to serve accordingly during the Mexican War. Col. Trueman Cross, assistant quartermaster general with Taylor’s Army of Occupation, recommended the use of enlisted drivers, and in the act of 3 March 1847, one principal enlisted teamster was added to each regiment and two enlisted teamsters to each company. These positions were deleted at the end of the war. 81 When assigned missions within its capabilities, the artillery performed magnificently during the Mexican War, but its improper or inadequate use caused great difficulties in some actions, such as at Monterey in the fall of 1846. Taylor, failing to consider the fortified nature of Monterey, did not take any heavy artillery other than one mortar. Although the light batteries gave outstand ing service, they contributed little to the American victory. Adequate supporting artillery fire could have reduced American losses considerably. In addition, the field batteries were ill equipped for the street fighting that ensued. 82 At Buena Vista, on the other hand, artillery dominated the field as it had at Palo Alto. The battle demonstrated the skillful use of artillery defending from a strong position, a role for which the arm was particularly suited. As successful as the action was, siege cannon would have been even more effective. Outnumbered by 15,000 men, the American army, 5,000 strong, won the battle on 23 February 1847. In his report Brig. Gen. John E. Wool, Taylor’s second in command, commented that “without our artillery we could not have maintained our position for a single hour.” 83 General Scott, who led the southern campaigns and took the Mexican capital, used artillery somewhat differently from General Taylor. In the south, the terrain—mountains, lakes, and marshy ground—hindered the movement of artillery, and most actions were against fortified positions rather than on open battlefields. The light artillery pieces, deprived of their maneuverability and lacking sufficient punch, were not very effective. Instead Scott planned to employ a substantial siege train of heavy guns, howitzers, and mortars, centralized under his control, for fire support, attaching one field battery to each division (with an actual strength of about 2,500 men). 84 Artillery dominated the critical siege at Vera Cruz; however, because a large percentage of the siege train had not arrived, Scott was forced to rely on heavy guns and crews supplied by the Navy. The artillery continued to play a prominent role in subsequent engagements, coordinating its actions with those of the infantry at Cerro Gordo, Chapultepec, and Mexico City to defeat the Mexican army. 85 81 Callan, comp., Military Laws, pp. 393–94; WD GO 9, 10 Mar 1847; WD GO 16, 15 Apr 1847; WD GO 39, 20 Jul 1848; Ltr, T. Cross to QMG, 23 Nov 1845, in Messages of the President on the Mexican War, pp. 646–48. 82 Smith, Mexico, 1:249–61, 497, 499–504; Ripley, Mexico, 1:200, 204–37. 83 Edward J. Nichols, Zach Taylor’s Little Army (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1963), p. 231. For accounts of the battle of Buena Vista, see Smith, Mexico, 2:384–400; 555–63; Ripley, Mexico, 1:396–427; K. Jack Bauer, The Mexican War, 1846–1848 (New York: Macmillan, 1974), pp. 209–18. 84 Birkhimer, Historical Sketch, p. 79. 85 Smith, Mexico, 2:21–34, 337–42; Ripley, Mexico, 2:9–39.
Battle of Buena Vista by Currier & Ives; below, A Little More Grape Capt Bragg by Currier & Ives, depicting Brevet Maj. Braxton Bragg’s Battery C, 3d Regiment of Artillery, at Buena Vista
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The Organizational History of Field
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Civil War Flag (nonregulation), wit
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-P
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FOREWORD The Organizational History
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used to defend fixed positions. Thi
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96 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of fi
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Direct Fire Gun A Aiming Point Diag
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100 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of f
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126 THE ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY OF F
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Table 11—Field Artillery Pieces R
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Table 12—Field Artillery Transpor
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CHAPTER 7 World War II Developments
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wOrld war ii 159 blow, and the thir
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wOrld war ii L-4 from the 29th Infa
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wOrld war ii 163 authorized six 105
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wOrld war ii Airborne troops loadin
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wOrld war ii 167 artillery battalio
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wOrld war ii Table 16—Principal A
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wOrld war ii Table 17—Nondivision
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wOrld war ii Destroyer Training Cen
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Firing 4.5-inch rockets in the Hür
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wOrld war ii 177 of division artil
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wOrld war ii 179 the for mer was pr
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wOrld war ii 15th Field Artillery O
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wOrld war ii as well, passed missio
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wOrld war ii 185 photographs), and
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wOrld war ii 187 After nearly six y
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CHAPTER 9 The Nuclear Arena The Kor
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The nUclear arena 211 time that rad
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The nUclear arena Honest John rocke
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The nUclear arena Corporal missile
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The nUclear arena 217 and firepower
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The nUclear arena 219 In light of n
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The nUclear arena 221 the missile c
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The nUclear arena Lacrosse missile
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The nUclear arena 225 cost over $10
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The nUclear arena his proposal the
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The nUclear arena Little John rocke
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The nUclear arena 231 fire it withi
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The nUclear arena 233 for rapid che
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The nUclear arena Lance missile 235
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The nUclear arena 237 By the end of
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The nUclear arena 239 In the late 1
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Table 23—Field Artillery Rockets
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CHAPTER 10 The Road to Flexible Res
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The rOad TO fleXiBle resPOnse 245 a
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Table 24—Comparison of Divisional
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The rOad TO fleXiBle resPOnse 249 p
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The rOad TO fleXiBle resPOnse Chart
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The rOad TO fleXiBle resPOnse Chart
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Chart 4—Reorganization of Regimen
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The rOad TO fleXiBle resPOnse 257 d
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The rOad TO fleXiBle resPOnse HHB C
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The rOad TO fleXiBle resPOnse reorg
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The rOad TO fleXiBle resPOnse M18 f
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The rOad TO fleXiBle resPOnse UH-1D
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CHAPTER 11 Vietnam During the 1950s
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vieTnam Table 25—Field Artillery
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vieTnam CH-54 Tarhe lifting a 155-m
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vieTnam 8-inch howitzer from Batter
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vieTnam 275 At each maneuver comman
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CH-47 Chinook transporting the M102
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vieTnam 279 ployed to Vietnam in la
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vieTnam 281 arose. A field artiller
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vieTnam ments were authorized, usin
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Table 26—Field Artillery Reductio
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Appendix A—Chiefs of Field Artill
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aPPendiX Maj. Gen. John A. Dubia 15
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Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

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