ABSTRACT
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONBefore the development of indirect fire techniques at the turn of the century, artillery provided close support by siting its guns among the supported arm. This ensured that fire would be delivered against targets of greatest importance to that arm. It was not possible to concentrate a decisive weight of fire by fire-mobility, because the guns had a limited range, and poor communications prevented their co-ordination. Concentrations of fire could be achieved only through a geographical concentration of the guns; and it was the skilful massing of artillery in the 19th century, following Napoleon’s example, that enabled artillery to go beyond mere close support of others, and to fight as an arm in its own right.
