The U.S. Field Artillery saw significant advancements after the Civil War and into the First World War: technological advancements, the implementation of the Forward Observer, and changes in the method in which field artillery was implemented in battle. Coming out of the Civil War America was hesitant to invest in research and development of their Field Artillery. Therefore, the U.S. Artillery began to fall behind the advancements of the rest of the world was making. European nations had invested in improving artillery, creating bored canons with recoil mechanisms and breech-loading capabilities. With the capability for indirect fires the Forward Observer was born. This allowed for guns to maximize on their new innovations. In World War One, Artillery tactics and procedures for use in battle was tested and improved upon to create new methods that capitalized on the new capabilities. Field artillery would come to dominate the battlefield, hence forth being known as The King of Battle.
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The artillery grew from direct fire cannons that were placed on the front line in support of infantry to a decisive component of war. In order to accomplish this rise of dominance on the battlefield, great leaps in technology had to be realized: rifled bores, improvement of breech loading technology and recoil mechanisms. Along with these advancements in technology came added capability, and therefore required the adaptation of an. It took some time for the artillery to transition from using the battery commander to identify targets to incorporating a forward observer with the maneuver elements. After these advances the Field Artillery needed to adapted methods of employment that allowed artillery fire to account for over 80% percent of the casualties during WWI. In conclusion, the turn of the 20th century gave birth to advancements that allowed field artillery to rise as the King of