Tactics, Volume 1 (of 2). Introduction and Formal Tactics of InfantryBalck, W. (William)
History
Tactics, Volume 1 (of 2). Introduction and Formal Tactics of Infantry
Balck, W. (William)
Military art and science; Tactics
On September 11th, 1877, after the attack made by the 63rd and 117th
Infantry Regiments on the =Omar Bey Tabia= had been repulsed, the
64th and 118th Infantry Regiments of the IVth Army Corps, and the
31st Infantry Division of the IXth Army Corps (the last mentioned
force was not under the orders of the commander of the IVth Army
Corps) were placed in readiness for a renewed attack at 3 P. M. In
spite of the heavy losses (42 and 49%) and the fact that the failure
of the first attack had demonstrated that such a small force was
insufficient for taking the Turkish work, only two regiments were
again sent forward to the attack (in other words, 6 battalions
instead of 18). When this assault had also been repulsed, and
one regiment from the reserve had in addition been thrown in, 6
battalions of the 15 still intact, were again sent forward, but they
likewise failed to take the work. A regiment began its attack only
when the preceding one had been repulsed with loss. The 24 battalions
lost 115 officers and 4319 men. A timely reinforcement by troops in
reserve would have averted a reverse at any rate, and a simultaneous
employment of adequate forces would have assured the success of the
Russian infantry.[231]
[231] KUROPATKIN-KRAHMER, _Kritische Rückblicke auf den
Russisch-Türkischen Krieg_, I, p. 211.
The same thing occurred at =Gorni-Dubniac=. As the Russians, who
advanced on a broad front, did not attack simultaneously, the weak
garrison of the trenches was able to concentrate its fire on the
isolated attacking groups which followed each other.
The same peculiar feature, namely, small frontage with insufficient
fire power and strong reserves, was frequently observed during the
battles in the =Russo-Japanese war=. On the left flank, at =Wafangu=
(15th June, 1904), the 1st East Siberian Rifle Division advanced
with one battalion of the 2nd Regiment and one of the 3rd in the
first line, with four battalions in the second line, and with three
battalions of the 1st Regiment in the third line. A full development
of the fire power of the division did not take place at all.[232] The
2nd and 3rd Regiments, in all about 6000 men, lost 49 officers and
1464 men. The 1¹⁄₂ batteries attached to the division were shot to
pieces in a short time and fell into the hands of the Japanese.
[232] LÖFFLER, _Russisch-Japanischer Krieg_, I, p. 56.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account