"Prussian Howitzer Battery - 6 guns or 8 guns?" Topic

…or did they change?

I'm looking at some OBs from 1813, showing 8 guns in the battery in Yorck's corps… but an 1814 howitzer battery under Bülow seems to have only 6.

Attrition? Typo?

The establishment number was 8, wasn't it?

No guns. Howitzers.

Smartass!

All Prussian batteries are 8 guns, whether reserve, brigade, horse or howitzer. That's full establishment, some batteries may be less due to losses

Dassa wudda thought.

You info about a howitzer battery with Bülow (3rd army corps) in 1814 is probably wrong.

In the beginning of 1814, there was only one howitzer battery, of eight 7pounder howitzers. It was attached to Kleist (2nd army corps).

At some time in 1814, there existed half a battery of four 10pounder howitzers, under Lieutenant Kurgaß. I don't know where these were attached to.

Five more howitzer batteries were formed as late as 1815.

Unless the howitzers he's looking at were converged from other batteries in the corps, in which case all bets are off as to standard strength (and you'd have 3 other batteries with 6 guns and no howitzers).

Best would be if GWHLS gave his source, the excact place and date, and the name and/or the commander of this alleged howitzer battery, so that its existence can be verified or falsified.

When academics clash.

'verified or falsified' <roll eyes>

Brings back memories of that lovely epithet "falsifiers of bourgeois history".

Oli is correct, without a source, it is difficult to trace/research for an answer. Sam, that would be helpful. <;^}

We are of many languages here on the TMP. Perhaps Oli's English is better than our complaining colleagues German? Oli's statement is perfectly understandable – particularly by the academicians that post here on the 'Napoleonic History Message Board' – "For academic-level discussion of Napoleonic history", as it were.

Just one man's opinion, mind you. <;^}

Big Al

References would help.

In early 1814, the army should have had 208 pieces, yet there were 106 tubes in the field, thus, 102 below strength.

See summary on the bottom of page 412 in volume 3 of Kurd Wolfgang von Schöning's Historisch-biographische Nachrichten zur Geschichte der Brandenburgisch-Preussischen Artillerie (E. S. Mittler, 1845). – R

link

@ Steven
"Dassa wudda thought."
I think you should not criticise Goethe Would Have Liked Sushi for his poor English. I think he might be only joking.

Huh?

I come back here and everybody's in a tizzy because I wrote "That's what I thought," in slang-phonetics? Ye Gods.

Anyway, I'm in the office at the moment, but it was an old Nafziger print-out OB, and Yes, Yes, I know about those… I wasn't trying to dedicate a new wing of the college to it; just curious to see if there were any 6-tube howitzer batteries running around!

"Huh?" Huh?

Sam, I made no comment about your "slang-phonetics"! I did however make comment about those commenting on a colleague's use of the word 'falsified'.

We need a new rule: Anyone commenting on a non-native English speaker's use of English must comment only in the non-native speaker's native language. Take that!

So, what will you call the new wing?

Big Al

Sam Mustafa House of English and Pancakes.

Wow, a Zombie Thread. I'm always amazed at how these things get resurrected. Must be Halloween.

Shoot it in the Head!

Wait, wrong century. Gunner, Canister!