ABSTRACT
In the 18th century, the control of guns in battle was usually delegated to artillery officers located with their guns, which often deployed in batteries, but often also in twos or threes. Napoleon realized the value of larger groupings under a central command, whose chief function was to move and supply a formation of artillery so that its fire could be applied at the best time and in the best place in battle. The fire of these guns was, however, necessarily controlled and directed by officers on the spot, and hence artillery became, to some degree, an independent force on the battlefield.
