YOKE is one of the concentration calls in the Royal Artillery during WWII that called every gun under the command of an Army Group Royal Artillery headquarters to fire a concentration at a target of opportunity.
Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
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How heavy is the artillery available? Do they have any 9.2 howitzers available, or anything larger?
Story 2317
Auckland, New Zealand November 12, 1943
Salutes were exchanged. The orders were read. Three home defense divisions were officially demobilized.
Most of the men assigned would not notice much difference in their daily lives except that they would not be called to watch the beach defenses. Several thousand men who had volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force would soon be sent to board liners in Auckland and Wellington to serve as replacements for the 2nd New Zealand Division fighting in Greece or to fill out the third brigade of the fresh 3rd New Zealand Division for future service overseas. Most of the remaining active duty men would be demobilized and sent back to the farms and the factories so that the nation could again feed itself. Several hundred men would keep the headquarters, signals and artillery units manned on the weakest possible skeletons.
Salutes were exchanged. The orders were read. Three home defense divisions were officially demobilized.
Most of the men assigned would not notice much difference in their daily lives except that they would not be called to watch the beach defenses. Several thousand men who had volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force would soon be sent to board liners in Auckland and Wellington to serve as replacements for the 2nd New Zealand Division fighting in Greece or to fill out the third brigade of the fresh 3rd New Zealand Division for future service overseas. Most of the remaining active duty men would be demobilized and sent back to the farms and the factories so that the nation could again feed itself. Several hundred men would keep the headquarters, signals and artillery units manned on the weakest possible skeletons.
My recently deceased uncle was released from the 2nd AIF to return to his farm during the later half of 1944. in the OTL New Zealand like many other nations in the early part of the war over mobilised that the ability to operate primary and secondary industries was compromised to the detriment of the war effort. It was not only small nations, France had to demobilse workers and farmers in late 1939/early 1940.
If the entire AGRA (Army Group Royal Artillery) is called on then it's something like nine regiments of 25lb, two regiments of 4.5'' and two of 7.2'' plus any other odds and sods that happen to be under that group's control on the day. I don't think the 9.2'' were used outside of anti invasion defences in the UK during WW2 - in one of Spike Milligan's books he mentions having to shout bang when they were training because there weren't enough shells left for practice shoots.
Pretty much what diestormlie said. Formally it applies to all batteries in either a Corps or Army. I think the latter given context. It was a British ( and US ?) procedure to concentrate Artillery on priority targets. Without a very centralized process of seeking approval from higher level commanders that would slow down the response.
Historically, in the 1600s and early 1700s, the British Artillery was funded and organised separately to the rest of the Army.
In part, this was reasonable because it was always centrally raised and equipped
(whereas foot and horse regiments were initially temporary local units, often "sponsored" by a magnate or existing officer)
Aside: Establishing a standing army was VERY politically sensitive at the time
since without any organised police force, foot and horse were seen as (potential) instruments of repression in Britain.
Idiotically that separation continued well past 1800 well after a small standing army was standard practice
e.g. it caused Wellington no end of trouble with Logistics and Personnel in the Peninsular.
One result was that even as late as WW2, the artillery felt that it "owned" all its assets wherever they were assigned
and set up lines of communication and control separate to the whole force organisation.
However, there was one interesting side effect. It allowed the Artillery to concentrate and bring down simply ridiculous amounts of firepower on the direction of a single observer or unit commander. Basically Forward Observation Officers had the ability to request, and some higher Artillery officers had the authority to order, multi-battery concentrations of fire. These different levels were referred to as,
Mike - Regiment
Uncle - Division
Victor - Corps
William - Army
Yoke - Army Group
So a Mike target has every gun in the artillery regiment firing on it, an Uncle all the guns in the division and a Yoke target was when every single artillery piece in an army group that could be brought to bear was aimed and fired at a single target.
(Range permitting of course .. and AIUI units already firing elsewhere were usually omitted )
What the commanders of other sectors of the front said when their designated artillery support was swept away (however temporarily) probably cannot be explicitly written on a family site.
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NZ also had the issue of losing a lot of men during Greece and in N Africa earlier in the war, which caused issues for manpower about the time Japan joined the party.
The government did a pretty massive mobilisation and control of homefront labour as well - with the government Manpower Office gaining the power mid war to compel almost allmen and many women to register with them and then be sent where they wanted you to go work.
War work
This is basically the OOB of the Gilbert's campaign a few weeks early
This is Wellington, where are my Lieutenants General, Peterloo was a good idea, "Beginning reform is beginning revolution," Wellington right? BAAAAA.
The gentleman who was berefit of support was the very politician who delayed 1789's implementation in even the most closely limited form for as long as possible. What Charter?
[edited to return to analysis rather than characterising my correspondent, thanks for the warning “See Ball. Play Ball.” I apologise without reserve to AlanJWhite: I had only intended to criticise the content, and did not mean the “you” statement I had made. Sorry.]
Viewing the British states’ organisation of violence from the perspective of a fear of a standing army is romanticisation of a liberal ideal (a Whig history if you will) rather than a historical argument. Artillery, horse, infantry and militia were all controlled by various factions within the ruling class.
RAA was a state apparatus in a very Parliamentary way to the way in which horse or infantry were aristocratic or gentry. These categories are radically different to the fear of a standing army. In precise point the fear of the Army of Parliament, and the fear of the horse of tories are equally present and inclined to cause bureaucratic separation of tools of repression due to the internal division of the ruling class. It is possible for liberal to despise Tory and yet for both of them to wish that artillery and horse sponsored by parliament and local scions obliterate chartists before they control the infantry.
And yet we understand from labour history that unemployment was endemic prior and post. It is almost as if the war was a policy choice not a throughput limit.
yours,
Sam R.
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McPherson
Banned
Speaking of artillery...
None of that work is mine, but I am aware of it.
"Yoke fires", American style (Time on Target.), were almost instantaneous and COMMON.
McP.
None of that work is mine, but I am aware of it.
"Yoke fires", American style (Time on Target.), were almost instantaneous and COMMON.
McP.
In the interest of full disclosure, I was wondering about heavy artillery because of the idea of flying tanks. Imagine the UK having a film crew along the front catching the YOKE call and catching tanks being tossed around. Imagine the sight of a PZIV in the air, or say a Tiger with an approximately sized 13.5” hole thru and thru because a pair of 13.5 RR guns were around for a future attack on fortified positions in the alps.
Comic book stuff I know, but I can dream.
Comic book stuff I know, but I can dream.
Story 2318
Oglio Valley, 1845 November 12, 1943
The radio operator yelled: "10 minutes out"
The captain nodded. Support in 10 minutes beyond the few pack howitzers that landed with the brigade that morning. This was the fourth German attack against the bridge. This time half a dozen steel monsters were supporting the battalion or more of infantry plus a few hundred cooks, clerks and whatever the Germans called their REMFs. He could barely hear the machine guns chatter as mortars were thumping, bazookas were blasting and wounded men were screaming.
The 2nd Platoon was done to perhaps two squads of effectives; all armed with automatic weapons, they held a pair of collapsed houses as impromptu bunkers on the right flank. 1st Platoon had, so far, gotten off lightly, done only eleven men even as more than half of the fighting strength were already in line for a Purple Heart. They were in the center while 3rd Platoon with the few surviving engineers held a farm house that saw Roman legions march north and south for whatever civil war or barbarian invasion needed a response. A pair of 57mm anti-tank guns were with that platoon. The crews were working fast. One Tiger was on fire from several hits in its flank. The company commander could not tell if it was the anti-tank guns, a bazooka, a mine or a Molotov cocktail that would claim that kill. He just knew that something had to be done with the other five monsters.
Before he could order his runner to tell 1st Platoon to take care of a pair of tanks advancing up a side street, his eyes saw a quartet of German combat engineers with a pair of flame throwers creeping along the flank. If they could move unmolested, they would blow open his position. He yelled at the small command group. The five men sighted their rifles and began to fire. Two Germans were bleeding, and a fuel tank had been ripped open. The company HQ relocated to another shell hole fifteen yards away as the captain reloaded his rifle for the first time this bloody day.
The runner was picking cover and making his way forward. As he entered the rear of the 1st Platoon's position, half a dozen P-40s began their attack runs. A dozen bombs went off. One Tiger was rendered mute and blind as its radio antenna was demolished and vision blocks smashed. Another was soon brewing up as its protective infantry had been killed. The P-40s circled and began a strafing carcocale. German infantry found cover quickly enough, but the attack was slowing down. The captain looked to his rear. A dozen American infantrymen were running from cover to cover to reinforce his position.
The radio operator yelled: "10 minutes out"
The captain nodded. Support in 10 minutes beyond the few pack howitzers that landed with the brigade that morning. This was the fourth German attack against the bridge. This time half a dozen steel monsters were supporting the battalion or more of infantry plus a few hundred cooks, clerks and whatever the Germans called their REMFs. He could barely hear the machine guns chatter as mortars were thumping, bazookas were blasting and wounded men were screaming.
The 2nd Platoon was done to perhaps two squads of effectives; all armed with automatic weapons, they held a pair of collapsed houses as impromptu bunkers on the right flank. 1st Platoon had, so far, gotten off lightly, done only eleven men even as more than half of the fighting strength were already in line for a Purple Heart. They were in the center while 3rd Platoon with the few surviving engineers held a farm house that saw Roman legions march north and south for whatever civil war or barbarian invasion needed a response. A pair of 57mm anti-tank guns were with that platoon. The crews were working fast. One Tiger was on fire from several hits in its flank. The company commander could not tell if it was the anti-tank guns, a bazooka, a mine or a Molotov cocktail that would claim that kill. He just knew that something had to be done with the other five monsters.
Before he could order his runner to tell 1st Platoon to take care of a pair of tanks advancing up a side street, his eyes saw a quartet of German combat engineers with a pair of flame throwers creeping along the flank. If they could move unmolested, they would blow open his position. He yelled at the small command group. The five men sighted their rifles and began to fire. Two Germans were bleeding, and a fuel tank had been ripped open. The company HQ relocated to another shell hole fifteen yards away as the captain reloaded his rifle for the first time this bloody day.
The runner was picking cover and making his way forward. As he entered the rear of the 1st Platoon's position, half a dozen P-40s began their attack runs. A dozen bombs went off. One Tiger was rendered mute and blind as its radio antenna was demolished and vision blocks smashed. Another was soon brewing up as its protective infantry had been killed. The P-40s circled and began a strafing carcocale. German infantry found cover quickly enough, but the attack was slowing down. The captain looked to his rear. A dozen American infantrymen were running from cover to cover to reinforce his position.
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I can attest that can certainly happen, because it happened to me. Antennas gone, vision blocks and periscopes cracked or shattered, and I had a pretty upset crew. All good though, nobody hurt and we were operational quite quickly.
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