Part 11

Napoleon depended so much on his artillery at Waterloo that, although every moment was precious, he delayed commencing the battle till his chief of artillery had reported the ground, which had been covered by a soaking rain, to be sufficiently dry for the movements and effectiveness of that arm. The three hours' delay thus caused, would have sufficed him to crush Wellington's army before the arrival of the Prussians.

8. Stony ground is a bad location for a battery; for the enemy's shot will scatter the stones around it with more or less fatal effect.

9. Rough or uneven ground immediately in front of a battery is not objectionable, as it will stop the enemy's shot.

10. A battery, when it is possible to avoid it, should not be posted within musket range of woods, bushes, ravines, hedges, ditches, or other cover from which the enemy's sharpshooters might kill off the gunners, or, by a sudden dash, capture the guns.

11. To prevent the enemy from approaching a battery under cover, it should be so placed as to be able to sweep all villages, hollows, and woods, in front and in flank.

12. In taking up a position, a battery should avail itself of all inequalities of the ground, for the shelter of its pieces and gunners, or of its limbers and caissons, at least.

For the same purpose, a battery posted on an eminence should have its pieces some ten paces behind its crest.

13. Where the ground affords no shelter, and where the position of the guns is not likely to be changed, it may be worth while to cover them by an épaulement or breastwork, some three feet, or more, high.

II.--How posted with respect to our own Troops.

1. In order to be ready to support the flanks of our attacking columns, and to aid in the defence in every part of the field, batteries should be placed at several different points in the line of battle.

2. In a defensive battle especially, as it is uncertain on what point the enemy will mass his principal attack, the artillery should usually be distributed through the whole line.

3. A line of battle has been compared to the front of a fortification, of which the infantry is the curtain, and the artillery batteries the bastions.

4. The lighter guns should be placed on the salient points of our line, from which they can be more easily withdrawn; the heavier guns, constituting the stationary batteries, on the more retired points.

5. Pieces should not be placed in prolongation with troops; for this would be giving the enemy a double mark. Artillery posted in front of other troops will draw a fire on them. When a battery must be placed in front of the line, let the infantry in rear of it clear the ground by ploying into double columns.

6. Never place artillery so as to impede the movements of the other two arms. A battery posted in front of the centre would often hamper the movements of the infantry; besides being peculiarly exposed to a converging fire from the enemy's batteries.

7. The safest position for a battery is on that wing which is most secure from a flank attack.

But guns should re-enforce the weaker points, thus making the enemy attack the strongest ones.

Therefore, where a wing is weak, place the largest number of guns there, to support it. If we have one wing entirely uncovered, of four batteries, for instance, we should give three to the uncovered wing.

8. Of the heavy batteries, one, at least, should be placed in the first line, so that we may be able to open an effective fire on the enemy at the earliest possible moment.

9. The prompt use, at the proper moment, of the reserve, may decide the battle. The movements of heavy artillery, therefore, are too slow for the reserve, which should have most of the light pieces. Horse artillery is especially suitable for it.

10. Guns near an infantry square should be posted at its angles. If the square is charged by cavalry, the gunners run into the square, after filling their ammunition pouches, which they take in with them, as well as their sponges and other equipments. The limbers and caissons are sent to the rear; or, if there is no time to do this, they may be brought into the square. If this is impossible, they may be formed into a barricade.

At Waterloo, on the French cavalry's retiring from their charges on the enemy's squares, the British gunners rushed out from the squares in which they had taken refuge, and plied their guns on the retiring squadrons.

III.--How posted with respect to the Enemy.

1. If the enemy's batteries are concentrated in one position, by placing our own batteries properly we may obtain a powerful cross-fire on them.

2. It is always advantageous to so dispose our batteries as to take those of the enemy in enfilade, or obliquely (en écharpe, as it is called).

At the battle of Murfreesboro', in December, 1862, a rebel battery, being taken in enfilade by one of our own, was silenced in about five minutes.

3. So, also, if we can obtain an oblique or enfilading fire on his troops, it will be very destructive. A flanking battery, raking the enemy's position, is often enough, of itself, to decide a battle.

Thus, the battle of Chippewa was finally decided by our getting a gun or two in a flanking position, enabling us to enfilade the British line.