An artillery brigade is a specialised form of

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

dedicated to providing

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

support. Other brigades might have an artillery component, but an artillery brigade is a brigade dedicated to artillery and relying on other units for infantry support, especially when attacking. Initially, a brigade was normally formed for either offence or

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

, but in the 20th century, as warfare became generally more mobile and fixed fortifications became less useful, artillery brigades were formed for either purpose, the main exception being

coastal defence Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the use and formation of artillery brigades (normally having between 3,000 and 4,000 personnel, with between 24 and 70 guns) gained prominence, as they could be attached to divisions that needed them, then detached and re-attached elsewhere as the need arose. A specialised type of artillery brigade is the anti-aircraft brigade. During the Second World War, many anti-aircraft brigades served both to defend from air attack and as offensive units against armoured vehicles - this was especially true with the effective German artillery. Modern artillery brigades tend to be smaller and even more specialised than in the past, often specifically trained to handle just one or two types of artillery. In tactical terms, the use of

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s has taken over much of the historic advantage of the artillery brigade.

Royal Artillery

From 1859 to 1938, "brigade" ("brigade-division" 1885–1903) was also the term used for a battalion-sized unit of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. This was because, unlike infantry battalions and cavalry regiments, which were organic, artillery units consisted of individually numbered batteries which were "brigaded" together. The commanding officer of such a brigade was a lieutenant colonel. In 1938 the Royal Artillery adopted the term "regiment" for this size of unit, and "brigade" became used in its normal sense, particularly for groups of anti-aircraft artillery regiments commanded by a brigadier.Maj-Gen Sir John Headlam, ''The History of the Royal Artillery'', Vol II (1899–1914), Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1937.

Artillery Division

Specialised artillery divisions came in vogue in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

during the later stages of the

, and it is mostly used by large armies with large territories to defend and with a large manpower base. Examples include 34th Artillery Division and 51st Guards Artillery Division. Artillery Divisions are usually tasked with providing concentrated firepower support to higher combined arms formations such as

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, ...

s or

Theaters Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. Artillery divisions have later been taken up by the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

since 1988 (two Artillery Divisions), the Iraqi Army for a short time between 1985 and 1998, and by the

PAVN The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed win ...

between 1971 and 2006. The concept of the Artillery Division is deeply rooted in Soviet military doctrine relies on treating artillery as a unique combat arm in its own right capable of achieving large results with its resources. It is a means to concentrate overwhelming firepower in a small geographical area to achieve a strategic breach in the enemy defences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Artillery Brigade Artillery brigades

Royal Artillery

Artillery Division

See also

References