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48-631: The Eiserne Division ("Iron Division") was the name of an anti-communist military formation made up of German volunteers that took part in the Latvian War of Independence in the Baltic States in 1919. It was the best-known Freikorps formation in the Baltic States . The unit was deployed against Soviet Russia -backed Soviet Latvia , and later fought against the army of the Republic of Latvia after

96-463: A company as "larger than a platoon, but smaller than a battalion" while being a "unit consisting of two or more platoons, usually of the same type, with a headquarters and a limited capacity for self-support." The standard NATO symbol for a company consists of a single vertical line placed above a framed unit icon. "Battery" is a relatively modern term at sea. Advanced warships in the Age of Sail , such as

144-582: A defection to Russian monarchist command . The division , which at times numbered up to 16,000 men, was disbanded at the beginning of 1920 due to mutiny . After the end of the First World War , the war-weary troops of the German 8th Army withdrew from the eastern Baltic States due to the incoming the Red Army . In order to protect the removal of troops and material, the so-called Eiserne Brigade ("Iron Brigade")

192-483: A few armies. Coastal artillery sometimes had completely different organizational terms based on shore defence sector areas. Batteries also have sub-divisions, which vary across armies and periods but often translate into the English "platoon" or "troop" with individual ordnance systems called a "section" or "sub-section", where a section comprises two artillery pieces. The rank of a battery commander has also varied, but

240-581: A gun) and 12 ammunition mules. During the American Civil War , artillery batteries often consisted of six field pieces for the Union Army and four for the Confederate States Army , although this varied. Batteries were divided into sections of two guns apiece, each section normally under the command of a lieutenant. The full battery was typically commanded by a captain . Often, particularly as

288-558: A lieutenant) who is also the reconnaissance officer. The battery has two Command Posts (CP), one active and one alternate, the latter provides back-up in the event of casualties, but primarily moves with the preparation party to the next gun position and becomes the main CP there. Each CP is controlled by a Command Post Officer (CPO) who is usually a Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant or Warrant Officer Class 2. Gun positions may be "tight", perhaps 150 m × 150 m (490 ft × 490 ft) when

336-486: A rallying point for reactionary , monarchist and nationalist forces. The fighting was merciless on both sides and at the expense of the civilian population. Prisoners were shot and robbed in violation of orders. The marauding in the hinterland could never be stopped. After the conquest of Riga, the riots in the area of the Iron Division caused an international sensation. Special company courts had to be set up due to

384-903: A result, the Red Armies initially gave up the battle for Latvia. In June 1919, the division was deployed in the conflict between the Latvian Niedra puppet government on the one hand and the Republic of Estonia and the Latvian Ulmanis government on the other. As German troops were ordered by the Reich government and the Entente powers not to carry out any further offensive movements, five battalions and three batteries were deployed for 14 days in Niedra-Latvian service. However, they were decisively defeated at

432-429: A smaller secondary battery for self-defense. This leap in heavy offensive armament from a standard four large caliber guns to a main battery of ten made all other battleships obsolete overnight, as the weight of broadside it could unleash, and overwhelming rate of fire a superior number of similar weapons could sustain, could overwhelm any similarly sized warship. A third, or tertiary battery, of weapons lighter than

480-420: A vessel, many in mounts on the hull or superstructure with limited travel. Confusion also arose when combinations of large caliber "main battery" and smaller "secondary battery" weapons of mixed offensive and defensive use were deployed. This began to be resolved with the 1906 launching of the revolutionary "all big gun" battleship HMS  Dreadnought . It shipped a main battery of ten heavy caliber guns, and

528-549: Is a Major (like his infantry company commander counterpart). However, in these armies the battery commander leads the "tactical group" and is usually located with the headquarters of the infantry or armoured unit the battery is supporting. Increasingly these direct support battery commanders are responsible for the orchestration of all forms of fire support (mortars, attack helicopters, other aircraft and naval gunfire) as well as artillery. General support battery commanders are likely to be at brigade or higher headquarters. The gun group

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576-528: Is commanded by the Battery Captain (BK), the battery's second-in-command. However this position has no technical responsibilities, its primary concern is administration, including ammunition supply, local defence and is based in the "wagon-lines" a short distance from the actual gun position, where the gun towing and logistic vehicles are concealed. Technical control is by the Gun Position Officer (GPO,

624-671: Is the equivalent of a company in terms of organisation level. In the United States Army , generally a towed howitzer battery has six guns, whereas a self-propelled battery (such as an M109 battery) contains eight. They are subdivided into: The battery is typically commanded by a captain in US forces and is equivalent to an infantry company . A US Army battery is divided into the following units: Other armies can be significantly different, however. For example: The United Kingdom and Commonwealth forces have classified batteries according to

672-472: Is usually a lieutenant, captain, or major. The number of guns, howitzers, mortars or launchers in an organizational battery has also varied, with the calibre of guns usually being an important consideration. In the 19th century four to 12 guns was usual as the optimum number to maneuver into the gun line. By the late 19th century, a mountain artillery battery was divided into a gun line and an ammunition line . The gun line consisted of six guns (five mules to

720-436: The American Civil War by John Ericsson . Open barbettes were also used to house their main batteries on rotating mounts. Both designs allowed naval engineers to dramatically reduce the number of guns present in the battery, by giving a handful of guns the ability to concentrate on either side of the ship. In time this trend reversed, with a proliferation of weapons of multiple calibers being arranged somewhat haphazardly about

768-545: The Baltic Territorial Army , the Iron Division, the incoming 1st Guards Reserve Division and various smaller Free Corps. The Iron Division took part in the offensive on Mitau (Lat. Jelgava ) at the beginning of March and occupied the old World War II position near Olai (Lat. Olaine ). On 22 May, Riga was recaptured together with the Baltic Army, with the Iron Division distinguishing itself through its brutality. As

816-550: The Battle of Wenden (Lat. Cēsis ). Some of the troops refused to serve because they had only been recruited to fight against the Bolsheviks. After the subsequent evacuation of Riga and the armistice of Strasdenhof, the division found itself back in the Olai section. By taking over closed volunteer corps and individual volunteers, the division reached a supply strength of around 14,000 men by

864-696: The Council of the People's Deputies authorised the recruitment of volunteers and Free Corps in the Reich. For the time being, however, the weak front troops found themselves crowded together in a small area around Libau (Lat. Liepāja ) and had supply problems because Red soldiers' councils in the rear blocked the railway for the border guards. On 16 January, command of the Iron Brigade passed from Colonel Friedrich Kumme to Major Josef Bischoff. The latter forbade any further marches back, sent unreliable units home and renamed

912-462: The Reichswehr , adventurers, the unemployed, but also all kinds of dubious elements, including criminals, who wanted to evade the criminal justice system in the Reich. Around half of the incoming replacements were sent back because they were deemed ‘morally’ unsuitable. Units often had to be disbanded due to unreliability. Politically unpopular officers and men were also deported. The division thus became

960-466: The ship of the line , mounted dozens of similar cannons grouped in broadsides , sometimes spread over several decks. This remained the standard main weapon layout for centuries, until the mid-19th century evolution of the naval rifle and revolving gun turrets came to displace fixed cannon. The first operational use of a rotating turret was on the American ironclad USS  Monitor , designed during

1008-409: The 18th century "battery" began to be used as an organizational term for a permanent unit of artillery in peace and war, although horse artillery sometimes used "troop" and fixed position artillery "company". They were usually organised with between 6 and 12 ordnance pieces, often including cannon and howitzers. By the late 19th century "battery" had become standard mostly replacing company or troop. In

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1056-974: The 20th century the term was generally used for the company level sub-unit of an artillery branch including field, air-defence, anti-tank and position (coastal and frontier defences). 20th-century firing batteries have been equipped with mortars, guns, howitzers, rockets and missiles. During the Napoleonic Wars some armies started grouping their batteries into larger administrative and field units. Groups of batteries combined for field combat employment called Grand Batteries by Napoleon. Administratively batteries were usually grouped in battalions , regiments or squadrons and these developed into tactical organisations. These were further grouped into regiments , simply "group" or brigades , that may be wholly composed of artillery units or combined arms in composition. To further concentrate fire of individual batteries, from World War I they were grouped into "artillery divisions" in

1104-548: The Bolsheviks and gain influence over a future Russia. At the very least, the division was to be preserved for as long as possible in order to participate in a reactionary upheaval in Germany if necessary. Like many other Freikorps in the period after the First World War, the Iron Division used black as the basic colour of its flag. It featured a white skull and crossbones with the slogan ‘und doch’ (‘and yet’) beneath it. This motto

1152-753: The Free Corps of the German Legion, joined the West Russian Liberation Army of the adventurer Pavel Bermondt-Avalov . During their advance, the division reached the western suburbs of Riga without being able to conquer the city. When the Entente powers intervened in favour of Latvia and the German border was closed to supplies, the Bermondt army, which consisted of 80 % German Freikorps, collapsed. The division

1200-462: The Iron Brigade, failed. On 3 January, a Soviet government moved into Riga (see Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (1918-1920) ). The Bolshevik armies, which consisted mainly of Red Latvian Rifle Regiments , conquered almost the entire territory of Latvia by mid-January 1919, and it was feared that they were planning an advance on East Prussia in order to trigger a revolution in Germany . To prevent this,

1248-773: The Ride to the East and the anti-Bolshevism of the Free Corps was one of the roots of National Socialism . The former Baltic soldiers of the Freikorps were a destabilising factor during the Weimar Republic and a large proportion of them joined the Hitler movement. Heinz Guderian (April to August as Second General Staff Officer), Rudolf Berthold , Waldemar Hartmann, Bruno Loerzer , Kurt Andersen , Paul Hofmann , Kurt Kaul , Bernhard Ruberg, Richard Manderbach, Günther Pancke . The following structure

1296-416: The basic field organization being the "gun group" and the "tactical group". The former being reconnaissance and survey, guns, command posts, logistic, and equipment support elements, the latter being the battery commander and observation teams that deploy with the supported arm. In these armies the guns may be split into several fire units, which may deploy dispersed over an extended area or be concentrated into

1344-436: The caliber of the guns. Typically: Headquarters batteries, which themselves have no artillery pieces, but are rather the command and control organization for a group of firing batteries (for example, a regimental or battalion headquarters battery). The basic field organization being the "gun group" and the "tactical group". The former being reconnaissance and survey, guns, command posts, logistic and equipment support elements,

1392-745: The counter battery threat is low, or gun manoeuver areas, where pairs of self-propelled guns move around a far larger area, if the counter-battery threat is high. During the Cold War NATO batteries that were dedicated to a nuclear role generally operated as "sections" comprising a single gun or launcher. Groupings of mortars, when they are not operated by artillery, are usually referred to as platoons. 155mm Howitzer Battery, Artillery Battalion, Artillery Regiment, Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force (Battery Organization consisting of 147 Marines and Navy personnel, per Table of Organization T/O 1113G) Other armies can be significantly different, however. For example:

1440-625: The division remained together as agricultural worker communities on estates in Pomerania. Although most of the division had already been disbanded by the time of the Kapp Putsch , many former members were involved in the putsch. Former members of the division were later also involved in the Free Corps battles in the Ruhr area ( Ruhr uprising ) and Upper Silesia ( uprisings in Upper Silesia ). The ideology of

1488-424: The early 20th century necessitated two other groups, firstly observers who deployed some distance forward of the gun line, secondly a small staff on the gun position to undertake the calculations to convert the orders from the observers into data that could be set on the gun sights. This in turn led to the need for signalers, which further increased as the need to concentrate the fire of dispersed batteries emerged and

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1536-461: The gun emplacement was only one part of an extensive installation that included magazines and systems to deliver ammunition from the magazines to the guns. Improvements in mobile artillery, naval and ground; air attack; and precision guided weapons have limited fixed position's usefulness. Within NATO member nations, it is typical to label company sized organizations of artillery as "batteries." NATO defines

1584-867: The introduction fire control staff at artillery headquarters above the batteries. Fixed artillery refers to guns or howitzers on mounts that were either anchored in one spot (though capable of being moved for purposes of traverse and elevation), or on carriages intended to be moved only for the purposes of aiming, and not for tactical repositioning. Historical versions often closely resembled naval cannon of their day, "garrison carriages," like naval carriages, were short, heavy, and had four small wheels meant for rolling on relatively smooth, hard surfaces. Later, both naval and garrison carriages evolved traversing platforms and pivoting mounts. Such mounts were typically used in forts, or permanent defensive batteries, such as coastal artillery. Fixed batteries could be equipped with much larger guns than field artillery units could transport, and

1632-406: The latter being the battery commander and observation teams that deploy with the supported arm. In these armies the guns may be split into several fire units, which may deploy dispersed over an extended area or be concentrated into a single position. In some cases batteries have operationally deployed as six totally separate guns, although sections (pairs) are more usual. A battery commander, or "BC"

1680-571: The many assaults and overloading of the field gendarmerie (German military police ). Although the evacuation of the Baltic states officially began in July, the division continued to strengthen itself and maintained illegal recruitment centres in Germany for this purpose. Contrary to official German policy, the aim of the circles around Bischoff was to work with the Russian White Armies to disempower

1728-452: The multi-barrel Phalanx CIWS rotary cannon used for point defense . The rapid fire 5"/54 caliber Mark 45 gun 5-inch (130 mm) and Otobreda 76 mm (3.0 in) used for close defense against surface combatants and shore bombardment are among the last traditional naval guns still in use. In modern battery organization, the military unit typically has six to eight howitzers or six to nine rocket launchers and 100 to 200 personnel and

1776-638: The remaining 300 men the ‘Iron Division’. With the arrival of reinforcements and new battle tactics, the front at the Windau (Latvian: Venta ) was actually held. Bolshevik problems on other fronts also contributed to this. At the beginning of February 1919, the VI Reserve Corps took over command in Courland. The commanding general, Major General Rüdiger von der Goltz , was in charge of the Libau Governorate,

1824-410: The secondary battery was typically mounted. To simplify the design many later ships used dual-purpose guns to combine the functions of the secondary battery and the heavier guns of the tertiary batteries. Many dual-purpose guns also served in an anti-aircraft role. In addition, dedicated light-caliber rapid-fire anti-aircraft weapons were deployed, often in the scores. An example of this combination

1872-403: The story of the indomitable defiance and iron will of the Baltic people, who were the ‘last Germans ever’ and found symbolic expression in the slogan ‘and yet’. When the first transports of the division were ready for shipment to Germany on 23 August 1919, Bischoff decided on his own responsibility to refuse orders and stopped further transport. At the end of September, the division, together with

1920-438: The summer of 1919. There were three infantry regiments and an artillery regiment as well as cavalry and supply troops. The volunteers signed a contract for one month each, received a Baltic supplement to their pay and had the prospect of Latvian citizenship ; they were also promised settlement land, albeit without authorisation. In addition to those willing to settle, idealists, professional soldiers who could not be accommodated in

1968-442: The term "battery" referred to a cluster of cannon in action as a group, either in a temporary field position during a battle or at the siege of a fortress or a city. Such batteries could be a mixture of cannon, howitzer , or mortar types. A siege could involve many batteries at different sites around the besieged place. The term also came to be used for a group of cannons in a fixed fortification, for coastal or frontier defence. During

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2016-441: The war progressed, individual batteries were grouped into battalions under a major or colonel of artillery. In the 20th century it varied between four and 12 for field artillery (even 16 if mortars), or even two pieces for very heavy pieces. Other types of artillery such as anti-tank or anti-aircraft have sometimes been larger. Some batteries have been "dual-equipped" with two different types of gun or mortar, and taking whichever

2064-483: Was a reaction to the behaviour of the German government during the so-called Baltenputsch ("Baltic coup") of 16 April 1919 — a coup by Baron Hans von Manteuffel-Szoege with the Baltische Landeswehr , which resulted in the formation of a pro-German government — as a result of which the Iron Division was ordered to withdraw. The Iron Division saw this behaviour as a betrayal of the Baltic states. This gave rise to

2112-489: Was forced to retreat. In mid-December, the last units crossed the German border at Memel. The remaining Freikorps men felt betrayed by their own government. However, the expected march on Berlin did not materialise due to a lack of political leadership. The volunteers were given immunity from prosecution, but had no opportunity to be accepted into the Reichswehr or to find jobs in industry. After demobilisation, many members of

2160-401: Was more appropriate when they deployed for operations. From the late 19th century field artillery batteries started to become more complex organisations. First they needed the capability to carry adequate ammunition, typically each gun could only carry about 40 rounds in its limber so additional wagons were added to the battery, typically about two per gun. The introduction of indirect fire in

2208-668: Was recruited from 29 November from soldiers of the army. This was decided at a joint meeting of the Reich Plenipotentiary August Winnig , the Army Commander Hugo von Kathen and the Central Soldiers' Council. Around 600 volunteers signed up, but some of them later refused to serve at the front. A defence of Riga by the Baltic State Army , a volunteer force consisting largely of Baltic Germans , and

2256-544: Was the German battleship  Bismarck , which carried a main battery of eight 380 mm (15 in) guns, a secondary battery of twelve 150 mm (5.9 in) guns for defense against destroyers and torpedo boats, as well as a tertiary battery of various anti-aircraft guns ranging in caliber from 105-to-20 mm (4.13-to-0.79 in). Conventional artillery as a vessel's battery has been largely displaced by guided missiles for both offensive and defensive actions. Small caliber guns are retained for niche roles, such as

2304-493: Was used: Early March 1919 End of May 1919 Latvian War of Independence Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.132 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 395877233 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:48:26 GMT Artillery battery Historically

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