Instructions to German Artillery

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Jeff Leach
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Instructions to German Artillery

#1

Post by Jeff Leach » 11 May 2017, 09:26

Has anyone seen

Anweisung für Artillerieschießen gegen besonders widerstandsfähige Ziele vom 1.8.40

It might be somewhere amoung the NARA records but I wouldn't even know where to start

The text it is taken from

Mindestens zwei Einzelgeschütze der auf Zusammenarbeitmit der Infanterie angewiesenen Artillerie-Abteilungen sind zum Einsatz gegen eingegrabene Panzerkampfwagen vorzusehen. -vgl. Zusatz für "Anweisung für Artillerieschießen gegen besonders widerstandsfähige Ziele vom 1.8.40"

the instructions should be about employing artillery against resistant (hardened) targets.

Michate
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Re: Instructions to German Artillery

#2

Post by Michate » 11 May 2017, 09:54

Hello Jeff,

unfortunately i can only provide some negative information.

The mentioned instruction is not, AFAIK, in the files of General der Artillerie beim OKH (NARA T78, rolls 269 and 270).

NARA T78, roll 875 contains a couple of arillery manuals, but, again AFAIK, it is not there, either.

Regards,
Michate


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Re: Instructions to German Artillery

#3

Post by Jeff Leach » 11 May 2017, 14:57

the same order (Arko 110, 29.06.1941) mention Another instruction

Merkblätter für Artillerie Nr. 27", which is also of interest

the paragraph it comes from is

Für Fliegerschießen wird auf "Merkblätter für Artillerie Nr.27" hingewiesen, - z.B. Batteriezielverfahren Einschießen mit Staffelsalven (Auch für s.F.H.) - roughtly, 'staggered-salvo for heavy artillery"

This isn't the correct Place but is there somewhere that gives good explaination of German Artillery Techniques. Most of the source material I have deal with corps-level artillery deployment / useage.

Michate
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Re: Instructions to German Artillery

#4

Post by Michate » 11 May 2017, 16:20

I guess, you are referring to "Merkblatt 27a/36: Merkblätter für Artillerie Nr. 27 - Schießen mit Beobachtung aus der Luft - Zielmeldung, Schußmeldeverfahren, Durchführung des Schießens".

I have never seen it in NARA rolls. It is avaialbel via German university interlibrary loan. I once ordered it, but was only allowed to use it in the library auditorium and not make any copies. Thus I just took down a few notes by hand. I remember it was pretty interesting.


There are also a few articles on air observed gunnery in the "Artilleristische Mitteilungen", collective volume folder for 1942.

Staffelsalve is a battery firing technique, where all guns of the battery fire at the same time and (normally) the same direction, but each at a different range The result then resembles a "ladder". This was often used for air observed adjustment of artillery, to shorten the time for determining the correct range (which should be somewhere between the minimal and the maximal range of the guns firing) and also to indicate the direction of the guns towards the target (gun-target line). The Staffelsalve procedure was normally quicker, but also consuming more shells, then normal adjustment procedures as used by main observation posts or forward observers.

One other thing I remember from the mentioned Merkblatt is that air observers in aircraft were using a kind of "clock" to relate the fall of the shots in relation to the target in terms of clock direction and distance from the target (in meters). I guess the 12 o'clock direction was set to northern direction, but I am not sure. The battery computation troop would then "translate" this information into corrections of the gunnery data (so called "Schießgrundlagen").

Could you provide a reference to the archival source for the order you have mentioned (Arko 110) ? I would like to take a look.

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Re: Instructions to German Artillery

#5

Post by Jeff Leach » 11 May 2017, 16:49

Just from memory the war diary of Arko 110 is in T314 R823 (handwritten but not do difficult to read) in two folders. There is also a folder of Anlage dealing from September 1941 to the Siege of Sevastopol'. My interest is unfortunately June - August 1941 but some of the orders from this period are found in the records of the 198. I.D. T315 R1568 (maybe R1567). I haven't done a systematic search yet but there may also be material in the relavant records of the 46. or 170. I.D. There may also be material in the records of the 11th Army but that is a lot of material to search through.

If you want the references to the material in records of the 198.ID., I can supply the frame references.

The rolls mentioned are on the 'Free List'

Michate
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Re: Instructions to German Artillery

#6

Post by Michate » 12 May 2017, 16:09

Hello, thanks for the references, I will have a look.

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