What is a major problem identified with the WWI proverb 'Artillery Conquers, Infantry Occupies'?

What is a major problem identified with the WWI proverb 'Artillery Conquers, Infantry Occupies'?

• A. Matching the shells with the mission
• B. Communications problems in directing artillery fire
• C. Artillery as the sole application of the mass principle
• D. Artillery alone could win battles

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that artillery alone doesn’t guarantee success; its power depends on tailoring the fire to the actual mission and targets. In WWI, a key flaw in the saying is assuming that one size of bombardment can automatically enable infantry to seize and hold ground. Different targets—wire, trenches, machine-gun nests, dugouts, wire-cutting, counter-battery work—require different shells, fuzes, and firing techniques. If the artillery issue uses shells that aren’t matched to the objective, the bombardment may fail to suppress or destroy defenses, leaving the infantry unable to exploit the breach. When the fires align with the mission and target, infantry can capitalize on the disruption; mis-matching munitions with the objective undermines the supposed advantage of artillery conquering.

The main idea here is that artillery alone doesn’t guarantee success; its power depends on tailoring the fire to the actual mission and targets. In WWI, a key flaw in the saying is assuming that one size of bombardment can automatically enable infantry to seize and hold ground. Different targets—wire, trenches, machine-gun nests, dugouts, wire-cutting, counter-battery work—require different shells, fuzes, and firing techniques. If the artillery issue uses shells that aren’t matched to the objective, the bombardment may fail to suppress or destroy defenses, leaving the infantry unable to exploit the breach. When the fires align with the mission and target, infantry can capitalize on the disruption; mis-matching munitions with the objective undermines the supposed advantage of artillery conquering.