Artillery The Battle Winning Arm

Artillery: the Battle-Winning Arm is a book about the battle winning role played by the artillery. The artillery made its first impart on the Indian soil in 1526, in the first Battle of Panipat, when Babar inflicted a crushing defeat on his opponent, Ibrahim Lodhi. The artillery shot into prominence once again during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Then followed a period of relative stagnation, with the value of the gun confined barely to a supporting role of infantry and armour. It is only during the last two decades that there has been a considerable growth in the expansion of the artillery. The artillery has now emerged as a formidable force of about 250 units, including two artillery divisions, on its order of battle. (Orbat) Further, the artillery of today is equipped with long-range multi-barrel rocket launchers (MBRL’s) and guns capable of firing a variety of lethal ammunition. With the above resurgence of the Indian artillery, it is no longer a supporting arm but a fighting arm much like the infantry and armour. In fact, the artillery has emerged as a battle-winning arm, where the artillery battles will decide the course of future ground operations.

This is, without doubt, the finest book about the crucial role that artillery played in the two World Wars of the Twentieth century. The authors, both former artillery officers who saw action in Word War Two, describe the development of their neglected, inadequate and class-ridden arm through the battles of the First World War and the eventual war-winning role that artillery played, to the culmination of professional military deployment in the Second World War.

Originally published in 1915, when Jennings Cropper Wise was commandant of the Virginia Military Institute, "The Long Arm of Lee" has never been surpassed as an authoritative study of the Confederate artillery in the Civil War. Volume I describes the organization and tactics of the field batteries of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and their performance in famous battles, including those at Bull Run, Malvern Hill, Cedar Mountain, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg. It ends with the bitter winter interlude before the Chancellorsville campaign of the spring of 1863. Volume 2 of Wise's history, also available as a Bison Book, takes up the harrowing events stretching from Chancellorsville to Appomattox. In his introduction, Gary W. Gallagher addresses some of the myths exposed by Wise, touching on the persistent under-estimation of the artillery's role in winning battles.

Battle Winners is a vibrant and detailed account of the extraordinary battles of the Australian 6th and 9th Division six field artillery regiments against the Italian Army and Afrika Korps in the unforgiving terrain of the Western Desert from 1940 to 1942. It traces the 6th Division's advance to Benghazi, the legendary Siege of Tobruk and their 'bush artillery' of the 9th Division, closing with the bloody finale that was Second El Alamein against a battle-hardened foe. The book describes the organisation, equipment, development and artillery tactics of both sides in meticulous detail. General Montgomery's appointment in August 1942 proved the turning point and the Eighth Army artillery rose to become the 'queen of battles' at the climactic El Alamein battle. Battle Winners includes a Roll of Honour, casualty lists, maps and photographs and includes a Foreword by Major General S. N. Gower, AO, AO(Mil).

Originally published in 1915, when Jennings Cropper Wise was commandant of the Virginia Military Institute, The Long Arm of Lee has never been surpassed as an authoritative study of the Confederate artillery in the Civil War. Volume I describes the organization and tactics of the field batteries of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and their performance in famous battles, including those at Bull Run, Malvern Hill, Cedar Mountain, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg. It ends with the bitter winter interlude before the Chancellorsville campaign of the spring of 1863. Volume 2 of Wise's history, also available as a Bison Book, takes up the harrowing events stretching from Chancellorsville to Appomattox. In his introduction, Gary W. Gallagher addresses some of the myths exposed by Wise, touching on the persistent under-estimation of the artillery's role in winning battles.

The Great War confronted Australia’s fledgling field and garrison artillery forces with a seemingly insurmountable challenge: to rapidly raise, prepare, deploy and engage in history’s most lethal war to date. By 1915, the Australian artillery entered into a bloody contest of learning and adaptation against resourceful and resolute opponents, where the stakes would be measured in thousands of soldiers’ lives. Far from popularly-held views of the Great War as one of stalemate and stagnation, Clash of the Gods of War: Australian Artillery and the Firepower Lessons of the Great War reveals a dynamic and rapidly evolving battle-scape, as artillery planners on each side sought to combine innovative concepts, technology and tactics into victory. The book draws on an unparalleled array of perspectives on artillery and firepower, presented by Australian and international experts and practitioners over four years during the Firepower: Lessons from the Great War seminar series, commemorating the Centenary of Anzac. From Anzac Cove to the Hindenburg Line, Clash of the Gods of War tells a gripping Australian story of the Great War through the lens of artillery – the most lethal and influential arm of the war – and considers the legacy that its evolutionary journey holds for warfare today.