Defilade & indirect Fire

[mikereme]

Hi Everyone,

 

Can someone out there in this great forum explain in lay-mans terms what is Defilade Fire is it the same as Indirect Fire?

 

if this is not the case please help me?

 

I thank you in anticipation

[BullerTurner]

Indirect fire is used to engage troops/targets which are in defilade.  So in cover, dead ground or in a reverse slope position?

 

"Defilade is also used to refer to a position on the reverse slope of a hill or within a depression in level or rolling terrain. Defiladed positions on hilltops are advantageous because "dead space" – a space that cannot be engaged with direct fire – will be created in front of the position. Ideally, this dead space should be covered by the interlocking fields of fire of other nearby positions, and/or by pre-planned indirect fire such as mortars or other forms of artillery."

[mikereme]

1 minute ago, BullerTurner said:

Indirect fire is used to engage troops/targets which are in defilade.  So in cover, dead ground or in a reverse slope position?

 

"Defilade is also used to refer to a position on the reverse slope of a hill or within a depression in level or rolling terrain. Defiladed positions on hilltops are advantageous because "dead space" – a space that cannot be engaged with direct fire – will be created in front of the position. Ideally, this dead space should be covered by the interlocking fields of fire of other nearby positions, and/or by pre-planned indirect fire such as mortars or other forms of artillery."

Hi Buddy.. i have read this very same article..so the position that is in a reverse slope can engage the enemy with Indirect Fire?

[badger123456]

51 minutes ago, mikereme said:

Hi Everyone,

 

Can someone out there in this great forum explain in lay-mans terms what is Defilade Fire is it the same as Indirect Fire?

 

if this is not the case please help me?

 

I thank you in anticipation

No its not the same.

 

Indirect fire is when the target cannot be seen from the firer. If a machine gunner can see the target it is firing at, it would be direct fire. If the machine gunner cannot see the target (for example if the elevation of the MG is pointing high and up over a hill towards an unseen target), that would be indirect fire. Indirect fire is usually controlled or directed by an observer.

 

Enfilade fire is when a gun fires from the side or flank into a target. So imagine a line of troops moving towards an enemy trench (such as when an advance is carried out from front line trenches across no mans land during WW1) and a MG firing into them FROM the side or flank, the gun would likely hit more targets than if it was pointing directly from the opposing enemy trench.

 

A defilade is the position that the gun is in when it is firing enfilade. A defilade position is usually protected from observation and from enemy fire.

[mikereme]

9 minutes ago, badger123456 said:

No its not the same.

 

Indirect fire is when the target cannot be seen from the firer. If a machine gunner can see the target it is firing at, it would be direct fire. If the machine gunner cannot see the target (for example if the elevation of the MG is pointing high and up over a hill towards an unseen target), that would be indirect fire. Indirect fire is usually controlled or directed by an observer.

 

Enfilade fire is when a gun fires from the side or flank into a target. So imagine a line of troops moving towards an enemy trench (such as when an advance is carried out from front line trenches across no mans land during WW1) and a MG firing into them FROM the side or flank, the gun would likely hit more targets than if it was pointing directly from the opposing enemy trench.

 

A defilade is the position that the gun is in when it is firing enfilade. A defilade position is usually protected from observation and from enemy fire.

Badger...i think Ive got it...

[Chris Henschke]

In relation to indirect fire, here are some contempory extracts from "Amendments to SS 106, Notes on the Tactical Employment of Machine Guns and Lewis Guns, issued by the General Staff at General Headquarters, March, 1916." This Amendment was issued in May, 1916.

Targets in trench warfare will consist chiefly of communication and support trenches ; roads, cross-roads and paths ; ammunition and ration dumps ; trench railways ; and places where it is known that work is being carried out.  These targets should, when possible, be enfiladed.

    A great advantage of indirect fire is that targets can be engaged which are invisible from the gun position, while the gun itself remains screened from observation and the chances of being located by the enemy are reduced to a minimum.

    Another advantage of indirect fire will probably be found in the facilities it affords for the training of all ranks in the knowledge of the gun.  Stoppages may be set up, men practised when wearing respirators, &c., and unique opportunities afforded for developing fire control and fire orders.  With indirect overhead fire special regard must be paid to the rules of safety angles as laid down in Infantry Machine Gun Company Training, Section 30.

    Owing to inaccuracy of maps, difficulties of observation, atmospheric influences on the flight of the bullet at long ranges, faults in mechanism and handling, and the varying quality of ammunition, it will be necessary to spray a target considerably in order to make sure of hitting it.  In spite of these limitations, indirect fire, according to information of prisoners and deserters, has caused a considerable amount of moral and material effect on the enemy.

    To obtain the best results, observation of fire is essential.  If a number of points are registered, the errors due to ranging and inaccuracy of maps can be found and the necessary corrections applied to other targets upon which observation is impossible.

    A barrage of indirect fire, under the prevailing conditions of trench warfare, will usually necessitate guns being brought specially into the line for the purpose.  The available guns of a machine-gun company in the line will seldom be sufficient to allow of an effective barrage being created.  As the result of experience and experiment, it would appear that an effective barrage will often require one gun for every 40 yards of front.

    N.B.—Notes and Rules for Barrage Fire are being issued as an Addendum to Infantry Machine Gun Company Training.

    (b) The Attack from Trenches.—In an attack from trenches a barrage of machine-gun fire is often both possible and desirable.  After sufficient guns have been detailed to the tasks of supporting with direct fire the infantry advance and consolidating positions won, a sufficient number will usually be found available to bring additional direct or indirect fire on to selected portions of the enemy’s positions, e.g., some guns should be placed so as to enfilade communication trenches, and others to form a barrage on the area between the enemy’s trenches.

    While the artillery is engaging the trench line, the machine guns can sweep the area beyond them, and thus keep down fire from machine guns placed in the area swept, and may hinder intended counter-attacks.

    The time of the barrage should coincide with the artillery barrage which is fixed as part of the corps artillery plan by the Corps Commander.

    A copy of the time-table decided upon should be issued to the section officers concerned.

 

To form a barrage on an  area of ground, frontal fire should generally be use.  The guns of each section should be close together in order to facilitate control.  There are various ways of carrying out the formation of a barrage.  If a definite front is given to each section each gun may traverse the whole extent of that front.  By this means, in the event of any gun in the section being knocked out or having a prolonged stoppage, no gap in the barrage line is made.

    On the other hand, the method of each gun sweeping a very small extent of front has also been used.  This ensures an evenly distributed barrage, but care should be taken that the extent traversed by each gun should overlap by one half the extent covered by the gun on each flank, so that, if any gun ceases firing, a gap will not be caused in the barrage line.

    Care must be taken in working out a barrage to apply the theoretical considerations of indirect fire to each successive stage of the advance to ensure the safety of our own troops.

    (c) In Defence.—The above principles hold good for a barrage in defence.  The machine guns should be ready to respond to the S.O.S. signal.  By this means the enemy’s supports may be prevented from reinforcing the firing line ; moreover, the machine gunners creating the barrage are less perturbed than those in the front line, especially in those cases where the enemy discharges gas.

    (d) Open Fighting.—Owing to the small scale maps which generally are alone available in open fighting, to the lack of contour lines on the maps, and to the resultant difficulty of laying the gun with any degree of accuracy, indirect fire becomes an operation of great difficulty.  Indirect fire is also hampered by the rapid movements of the troops and by the difficulty of locating their precise positions ; further, there is usually little time to make the necessary arrangements and calculations.  These factors alone are sufficient to show that opportunities will seldom occur for using indirect fire under such conditions.

    In those periods, however, of open fighting where the troops are stationary it may be found possible to search reverse slopes, if the maps sufficiently define the contours, or to search approaches or possible places of assembly.

 

III.—SELECTION OF SITES FOR INDIRECT FIRE POSITIONS.

    Too often indirect fire positions are selected without sufficient regard to the tactical situation.  Generally it will be possible to select a number of sites to be used for definite purposes.

    (a) Targets ordinarily engaged by Night.—In the case of targets which are ordinarily engaged by indirect fire, the gun positions should be selected with a view to bringing an enfilade fire on targets ; thus, maximum fire effect will be obtained.  This desideratum may often necessitate the engaging of targets on adjacent brigade or divisional fronts.  Arrangements should be made for this purpose through the Corps Machine Gun Officer or the Brigade Commander.  Very often a combined weekly scheme for bombarding and harassing the enemy can be prepared and co-operation obtained with the artillery and trench mortar batteries through the medium of Brigade Headquarters.  A copy of this scheme showing gun position, targets engaged, range and times of firing, should be sent to Brigade Headquarters, the Corps Machine Gun Officer and Battalion Commanders.

 

b) Barrage Line.—If gun positions are required for the purpose of creating a barrage along the enemy’s front or trench system, they should be so sited that the desired result will be obtained without the gunner being compelled to resort to oblique traversing.  Traversing fire should effect the object in view.

    (c) In relation to Strong Points.—Very often indirect fire positions can be sited in such relation to strong points that they form intermediate strong points in the intervals in a rear line of resistance, to which the forward guns may fall back if the front system is penetrated.  Wire entanglements should be so sited along this line that they conform to the line of fire of the machine guns from these positions, and hold up the enemy under the maximum fire of the machine guns.

    (d) In Communication Trenches.—As  communication trenches are more or less parallel, it is possible in many sectors of the line to site an indirect fire position in the trench in such a way that guns from such positions, in the event of the enemy breaking through, can sweep the area behind the support line and prevent him reaching the reserve line.  If arrangements are made for a block in the communication trench and wire erected along the line of fire of the guns, the enemy can be held up while the counter-attack is prepared.  Generally it may be said that sites for indirect fire should be chosen with strict regard to the tactical situation.  In the selection of the actual position concealment should be the first consideration.  Very often it will be found possible to choose sites which will satisfy this consideration and still conform to the principles of siting already laid down.

    As far as possible, dug-outs should be made at each position.

    Above all, it should be clearly recognised that indirect fire from a “battle emplacement” is never to be used.

 

Chris Henschke

 

 

[mikereme]

46 minutes ago, Chris Henschke said:

In relation to indirect fire, here are some contempory extracts from "Amendments to SS 106, Notes on the Tactical Employment of Machine Guns and Lewis Guns, issued by the General Staff at General Headquarters, March, 1916." This Amendment was issued in May, 1916.

Targets in trench warfare will consist chiefly of communication and support trenches ; roads, cross-roads and paths ; ammunition and ration dumps ; trench railways ; and places where it is known that work is being carried out.  These targets should, when possible, be enfiladed.

    A great advantage of indirect fire is that targets can be engaged which are invisible from the gun position, while the gun itself remains screened from observation and the chances of being located by the enemy are reduced to a minimum.

    Another advantage of indirect fire will probably be found in the facilities it affords for the training of all ranks in the knowledge of the gun.  Stoppages may be set up, men practised when wearing respirators, &c., and unique opportunities afforded for developing fire control and fire orders.  With indirect overhead fire special regard must be paid to the rules of safety angles as laid down in Infantry Machine Gun Company Training, Section 30.

    Owing to inaccuracy of maps, difficulties of observation, atmospheric influences on the flight of the bullet at long ranges, faults in mechanism and handling, and the varying quality of ammunition, it will be necessary to spray a target considerably in order to make sure of hitting it.  In spite of these limitations, indirect fire, according to information of prisoners and deserters, has caused a considerable amount of moral and material effect on the enemy.

    To obtain the best results, observation of fire is essential.  If a number of points are registered, the errors due to ranging and inaccuracy of maps can be found and the necessary corrections applied to other targets upon which observation is impossible.

    A barrage of indirect fire, under the prevailing conditions of trench warfare, will usually necessitate guns being brought specially into the line for the purpose.  The available guns of a machine-gun company in the line will seldom be sufficient to allow of an effective barrage being created.  As the result of experience and experiment, it would appear that an effective barrage will often require one gun for every 40 yards of front.

    N.B.—Notes and Rules for Barrage Fire are being issued as an Addendum to Infantry Machine Gun Company Training.

    (b) The Attack from Trenches.—In an attack from trenches a barrage of machine-gun fire is often both possible and desirable.  After sufficient guns have been detailed to the tasks of supporting with direct fire the infantry advance and consolidating positions won, a sufficient number will usually be found available to bring additional direct or indirect fire on to selected portions of the enemy’s positions, e.g., some guns should be placed so as to enfilade communication trenches, and others to form a barrage on the area between the enemy’s trenches.

    While the artillery is engaging the trench line, the machine guns can sweep the area beyond them, and thus keep down fire from machine guns placed in the area swept, and may hinder intended counter-attacks.

    The time of the barrage should coincide with the artillery barrage which is fixed as part of the corps artillery plan by the Corps Commander.

    A copy of the time-table decided upon should be issued to the section officers concerned.

 

To form a barrage on an  area of ground, frontal fire should generally be use.  The guns of each section should be close together in order to facilitate control.  There are various ways of carrying out the formation of a barrage.  If a definite front is given to each section each gun may traverse the whole extent of that front.  By this means, in the event of any gun in the section being knocked out or having a prolonged stoppage, no gap in the barrage line is made.

    On the other hand, the method of each gun sweeping a very small extent of front has also been used.  This ensures an evenly distributed barrage, but care should be taken that the extent traversed by each gun should overlap by one half the extent covered by the gun on each flank, so that, if any gun ceases firing, a gap will not be caused in the barrage line.

    Care must be taken in working out a barrage to apply the theoretical considerations of indirect fire to each successive stage of the advance to ensure the safety of our own troops.

    (c) In Defence.—The above principles hold good for a barrage in defence.  The machine guns should be ready to respond to the S.O.S. signal.  By this means the enemy’s supports may be prevented from reinforcing the firing line ; moreover, the machine gunners creating the barrage are less perturbed than those in the front line, especially in those cases where the enemy discharges gas.

    (d) Open Fighting.—Owing to the small scale maps which generally are alone available in open fighting, to the lack of contour lines on the maps, and to the resultant difficulty of laying the gun with any degree of accuracy, indirect fire becomes an operation of great difficulty.  Indirect fire is also hampered by the rapid movements of the troops and by the difficulty of locating their precise positions ; further, there is usually little time to make the necessary arrangements and calculations.  These factors alone are sufficient to show that opportunities will seldom occur for using indirect fire under such conditions.

    In those periods, however, of open fighting where the troops are stationary it may be found possible to search reverse slopes, if the maps sufficiently define the contours, or to search approaches or possible places of assembly.

 

III.—SELECTION OF SITES FOR INDIRECT FIRE POSITIONS.

    Too often indirect fire positions are selected without sufficient regard to the tactical situation.  Generally it will be possible to select a number of sites to be used for definite purposes.

    (a) Targets ordinarily engaged by Night.—In the case of targets which are ordinarily engaged by indirect fire, the gun positions should be selected with a view to bringing an enfilade fire on targets ; thus, maximum fire effect will be obtained.  This desideratum may often necessitate the engaging of targets on adjacent brigade or divisional fronts.  Arrangements should be made for this purpose through the Corps Machine Gun Officer or the Brigade Commander.  Very often a combined weekly scheme for bombarding and harassing the enemy can be prepared and co-operation obtained with the artillery and trench mortar batteries through the medium of Brigade Headquarters.  A copy of this scheme showing gun position, targets engaged, range and times of firing, should be sent to Brigade Headquarters, the Corps Machine Gun Officer and Battalion Commanders.

 

b) Barrage Line.—If gun positions are required for the purpose of creating a barrage along the enemy’s front or trench system, they should be so sited that the desired result will be obtained without the gunner being compelled to resort to oblique traversing.  Traversing fire should effect the object in view.

    (c) In relation to Strong Points.—Very often indirect fire positions can be sited in such relation to strong points that they form intermediate strong points in the intervals in a rear line of resistance, to which the forward guns may fall back if the front system is penetrated.  Wire entanglements should be so sited along this line that they conform to the line of fire of the machine guns from these positions, and hold up the enemy under the maximum fire of the machine guns.

    (d) In Communication Trenches.—As  communication trenches are more or less parallel, it is possible in many sectors of the line to site an indirect fire position in the trench in such a way that guns from such positions, in the event of the enemy breaking through, can sweep the area behind the support line and prevent him reaching the reserve line.  If arrangements are made for a block in the communication trench and wire erected along the line of fire of the guns, the enemy can be held up while the counter-attack is prepared.  Generally it may be said that sites for indirect fire should be chosen with strict regard to the tactical situation.  In the selection of the actual position concealment should be the first consideration.  Very often it will be found possible to choose sites which will satisfy this consideration and still conform to the principles of siting already laid down.

    As far as possible, dug-outs should be made at each position.

    Above all, it should be clearly recognised that indirect fire from a “battle emplacement” is never to be used.

 

Chris Henschke

 

 

Cheers Chris

[BullerTurner]

6 hours ago, mikereme said:

Hi Buddy.. i have read this very same article..so the position that is in a reverse slope can engage the enemy with Indirect Fire?

 Yes.