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43-579: The summer residence and part of the garden was destroyed by the British military in the 19th century to make way for Lascaris Battery , a casemated artillery battery which was named after the Grand Master who had built the gardens. The remaining part of the garden was destroyed in the 20th century, and its site is now occupied by social housing blocks. The only major remain of the garden is a Baroque fountain in situ . When Francesco Laparelli designed

86-466: A company as "larger than a platoon, but smaller than a battalion" while being a "unit consisting of two or more platoons, usually of the same type, with a headquarters and a limited capacity for self-support." The standard NATO symbol for a company consists of a single vertical line placed above a framed unit icon. "Battery" is a relatively modern term at sea. Advanced warships in the Age of Sail , such as

129-488: A few armies. Coastal artillery sometimes had completely different organizational terms based on shore defence sector areas. Batteries also have sub-divisions, which vary across armies and periods but often translate into the English "platoon" or "troop" with individual ordnance systems called a "section" or "sub-section", where a section comprises two artillery pieces. The rank of a battery commander has also varied, but

172-605: A gun) and 12 ammunition mules. During the American Civil War , artillery batteries often consisted of six field pieces for the Union Army and four for the Confederate States Army , although this varied. Batteries were divided into sections of two guns apiece, each section normally under the command of a lieutenant. The full battery was typically commanded by a captain . Often, particularly as

215-561: A lieutenant) who is also the reconnaissance officer. The battery has two Command Posts (CP), one active and one alternate, the latter provides back-up in the event of casualties, but primarily moves with the preparation party to the next gun position and becomes the main CP there. Each CP is controlled by a Command Post Officer (CPO) who is usually a Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant or Warrant Officer Class 2. Gun positions may be "tight", perhaps 150 m × 150 m (490 ft × 490 ft) when

258-429: A smaller secondary battery for self-defense. This leap in heavy offensive armament from a standard four large caliber guns to a main battery of ten made all other battleships obsolete overnight, as the weight of broadside it could unleash, and overwhelming rate of fire a superior number of similar weapons could sustain, could overwhelm any similarly sized warship. A third, or tertiary battery, of weapons lighter than

301-420: A vessel, many in mounts on the hull or superstructure with limited travel. Confusion also arose when combinations of large caliber "main battery" and smaller "secondary battery" weapons of mixed offensive and defensive use were deployed. This began to be resolved with the 1906 launching of the revolutionary "all big gun" battleship HMS  Dreadnought . It shipped a main battery of ten heavy caliber guns, and

344-549: Is a Major (like his infantry company commander counterpart). However, in these armies the battery commander leads the "tactical group" and is usually located with the headquarters of the infantry or armoured unit the battery is supporting. Increasingly these direct support battery commanders are responsible for the orchestration of all forms of fire support (mortars, attack helicopters, other aircraft and naval gunfire) as well as artillery. General support battery commanders are likely to be at brigade or higher headquarters. The gun group

387-464: Is a unit or multiple systems of artillery , mortar systems, rocket artillery , multiple rocket launchers , surface-to-surface missiles , ballistic missiles , cruise missiles , etc., so grouped to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control , as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems. The term is also used in a naval context to describe groups of guns on warships . Historically

430-629: Is an artillery battery located on the east side of Valletta , Malta . The battery was built by the British in 1854, and it is connected to the earlier St. Peter & Paul Bastion of the Valletta Land Front . In World War II, the Lascaris War Rooms were dug close to the battery, and they served as Britain's secret headquarters for the defence of the island. When the British took over the Maltese islands in 1800, they used

473-544: Is commanded by the Battery Captain (BK), the battery's second-in-command. However this position has no technical responsibilities, its primary concern is administration, including ammunition supply, local defence and is based in the "wagon-lines" a short distance from the actual gun position, where the gun towing and logistic vehicles are concealed. Technical control is by the Gun Position Officer (GPO,

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516-682: Is the equivalent of a company in terms of organisation level. In the United States Army , generally a towed howitzer battery has six guns, whereas a self-propelled battery (such as an M109 battery) contains eight. They are subdivided into: The battery is typically commanded by a captain in US forces and is equivalent to an infantry company . A US Army battery is divided into the following units: Other armies can be significantly different, however. For example: The United Kingdom and Commonwealth forces have classified batteries according to

559-472: Is usually a lieutenant, captain, or major. The number of guns, howitzers, mortars or launchers in an organizational battery has also varied, with the calibre of guns usually being an important consideration. In the 19th century four to 12 guns was usual as the optimum number to maneuver into the gun line. By the late 19th century, a mountain artillery battery was divided into a gun line and an ammunition line . The gun line consisted of six guns (five mules to

602-436: The American Civil War by John Ericsson . Open barbettes were also used to house their main batteries on rotating mounts. Both designs allowed naval engineers to dramatically reduce the number of guns present in the battery, by giving a handful of guns the ability to concentrate on either side of the ship. In time this trend reversed, with a proliferation of weapons of multiple calibers being arranged somewhat haphazardly about

645-678: The Wignacourt Aqueduct . The garden became the focal point of the Valletta Marina, which also included the Church of Our Lady of Liesse , Neptune's Fountain and the Del Monte Gate . The area became one of the most picturesque parts of Valletta, and it was depicted in several paintings in the 17th and 19th centuries. The baroque garden, which included a number of evergreen fruit trees mainly consisting of lemon trees,

688-689: The fortifications built by the Order of St. John almost without alterations. Under the military theory of the time, the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean was regarded as the most reliable protection against invasion. However, during his time as governor, Sir William Reid ordered gun batteries to be added inside the Grand Harbour , in order to repel any ships which broke through the cordon of Fort St. Elmo and Fort St. Angelo and penetrated

731-407: The fortifications of Valletta in 1566, he designed a two-tiered demi- bastion known as St. Peter and St. Paul Bastion on the eastern extremity of the city's land front, overlooking the Grand Harbour . The demi-bastion was too high to offer adequate defence, so in the early 17th century the rocky shore below it was reshaped into a faussebraye (or tenaille ) with a rock-hewn ditch stretching from

774-471: The ship of the line , mounted dozens of similar cannons grouped in broadsides , sometimes spread over several decks. This remained the standard main weapon layout for centuries, until the mid-19th century evolution of the naval rifle and revolving gun turrets came to displace fixed cannon. The first operational use of a rotating turret was on the American ironclad USS  Monitor , designed during

817-475: The triumphal arch (the gate) and two elaborate baroque fountains were designed by architect Buonamici. By 1839, the Grand Master's summer residence housed the superintendent of the quarantine department and of the port of Valletta. The summer residence and part of the garden was destroyed in the mid-19th century to make way for the Lascaris Battery , a casemated artillery battery which was built by

860-409: The 18th century "battery" began to be used as an organizational term for a permanent unit of artillery in peace and war, although horse artillery sometimes used "troop" and fixed position artillery "company". They were usually organised with between 6 and 12 ordnance pieces, often including cannon and howitzers. By the late 19th century "battery" had become standard mostly replacing company or troop. In

903-981: The 20th century the term was generally used for the company level sub-unit of an artillery branch including field, air-defence, anti-tank and position (coastal and frontier defences). 20th-century firing batteries have been equipped with mortars, guns, howitzers, rockets and missiles. During the Napoleonic Wars some armies started grouping their batteries into larger administrative and field units. Groups of batteries combined for field combat employment called Grand Batteries by Napoleon. Administratively batteries were usually grouped in battalions , regiments or squadrons and these developed into tactical organisations. These were further grouped into regiments , simply "group" or brigades , that may be wholly composed of artillery units or combined arms in composition. To further concentrate fire of individual batteries, from World War I they were grouped into "artillery divisions" in

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946-466: The British military in order to defend the Grand Harbour, in particular the newly built drydock . Eventually, case bottege began to be built on the remaining parts of the garden, and the site was fully built up as social housing blocks in the 1980s. Very few remains from the garden still survive. The lower part of a staircase which led to the Grand Master's summer residence can still be seen at

989-645: The Upper Barrakka Gardens and the Saluting Battery were used as “The War Rooms” of Britain's War HQ in Malta. The facility later housed the headquarters of the Allied invasion of Sicily during mid-1943. On 24 December 1941, Lascaris Battery, along with the Upper Barrakka Gardens and the Saluting Battery, were damaged in an air raid. The damaged parts were later rebuilt. A high bastion

1032-467: The base of Lascaris Battery. The garden's belvedere has also survived. A fountain from the garden was discovered in 1956 during excavations in the ruins, and it was relocated to Argotti Gardens in Floriana , where it remains today. The fountain has a concave basin with bays divided by Tuscan pillars. Another fountain is still on site. It was restored in 1987 and, according to an installed plaque, it

1075-416: The basic field organization being the "gun group" and the "tactical group". The former being reconnaissance and survey, guns, command posts, logistic, and equipment support elements, the latter being the battery commander and observation teams that deploy with the supported arm. In these armies the guns may be split into several fire units, which may deploy dispersed over an extended area or be concentrated into

1118-459: The bastion to the Del Monte Gate . Construction was entrusted to the local contractor Maestro Xara. This rampart became known as Lascaris Bastion, after Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris , who had commissioned its construction. Soon after the rampart was completed, Grand Master Lascaris requisitioned the site and built a summer residence with a garden there. The garden contained a belvedere and several fountains which were supplied by water from

1161-559: The beginning of the 1860s, the battery was equipped with fourteen 8-inch 9-ton RML guns. In addition, four 10-inch 18-ton guns were stationed on the left flank of the battery. On an additional platform beneath the left flank of the saluting battery were three 10-inch howitzers . In 1884, the battery was armed with seven 64-pound 64-cwt RML guns in the casemates, which were protected by a wall approximately 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) thick. Since these guns were outmoded, they had to be replaced by more modern artillery. A 9-inch 12-ton RML gun

1204-436: The caliber of the guns. Typically: Headquarters batteries, which themselves have no artillery pieces, but are rather the command and control organization for a group of firing batteries (for example, a regimental or battalion headquarters battery). The basic field organization being the "gun group" and the "tactical group". The former being reconnaissance and survey, guns, command posts, logistic and equipment support elements,

1247-752: The counter battery threat is low, or gun manoeuver areas, where pairs of self-propelled guns move around a far larger area, if the counter-battery threat is high. During the Cold War NATO batteries that were dedicated to a nuclear role generally operated as "sections" comprising a single gun or launcher. Groupings of mortars, when they are not operated by artillery, are usually referred to as platoons. 155mm Howitzer Battery, Artillery Battalion, Artillery Regiment, Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force (Battery Organization consisting of 147 Marines and Navy personnel, per Table of Organization T/O 1113G) Other armies can be significantly different, however. For example:

1290-424: The early 20th century necessitated two other groups, firstly observers who deployed some distance forward of the gun line, secondly a small staff on the gun position to undertake the calculations to convert the orders from the observers into data that could be set on the gun sights. This in turn led to the need for signalers, which further increased as the need to concentrate the fire of dispersed batteries emerged and

1333-465: The gun emplacement was only one part of an extensive installation that included magazines and systems to deliver ammunition from the magazines to the guns. Improvements in mobile artillery, naval and ground; air attack; and precision guided weapons have limited fixed position's usefulness. Within NATO member nations, it is typical to label company sized organizations of artillery as "batteries." NATO defines

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1376-645: The harbour. Construction of Lascaris Battery began in 1854, on the site of Ġnien is-Sultan , a garden that had been built by Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris . The battery was thus named after him. During the Second World War , the Lascaris War Rooms were dug under the Upper Barrakka Gardens and the casemates of the Lascaris Battery, into rock. The network of tunnels and chambers located 150 feet (46 m) below

1419-867: The introduction fire control staff at artillery headquarters above the batteries. Fixed artillery refers to guns or howitzers on mounts that were either anchored in one spot (though capable of being moved for purposes of traverse and elevation), or on carriages intended to be moved only for the purposes of aiming, and not for tactical repositioning. Historical versions often closely resembled naval cannon of their day, "garrison carriages," like naval carriages, were short, heavy, and had four small wheels meant for rolling on relatively smooth, hard surfaces. Later, both naval and garrison carriages evolved traversing platforms and pivoting mounts. Such mounts were typically used in forts, or permanent defensive batteries, such as coastal artillery. Fixed batteries could be equipped with much larger guns than field artillery units could transport, and

1462-406: The latter being the battery commander and observation teams that deploy with the supported arm. In these armies the guns may be split into several fire units, which may deploy dispersed over an extended area or be concentrated into a single position. In some cases batteries have operationally deployed as six totally separate guns, although sections (pairs) are more usual. A battery commander, or "BC"

1505-452: The multi-barrel Phalanx CIWS rotary cannon used for point defense . The rapid fire 5"/54 caliber Mark 45 gun 5-inch (130 mm) and Otobreda 76 mm (3.0 in) used for close defense against surface combatants and shore bombardment are among the last traditional naval guns still in use. In modern battery organization, the military unit typically has six to eight howitzers or six to nine rocket launchers and 100 to 200 personnel and

1548-410: The secondary battery was typically mounted. To simplify the design many later ships used dual-purpose guns to combine the functions of the secondary battery and the heavier guns of the tertiary batteries. Many dual-purpose guns also served in an anti-aircraft role. In addition, dedicated light-caliber rapid-fire anti-aircraft weapons were deployed, often in the scores. An example of this combination

1591-442: The term "battery" referred to a cluster of cannon in action as a group, either in a temporary field position during a battle or at the siege of a fortress or a city. Such batteries could be a mixture of cannon, howitzer , or mortar types. A siege could involve many batteries at different sites around the besieged place. The term also came to be used for a group of cannons in a fixed fortification, for coastal or frontier defence. During

1634-441: The war progressed, individual batteries were grouped into battalions under a major or colonel of artillery. In the 20th century it varied between four and 12 for field artillery (even 16 if mortars), or even two pieces for very heavy pieces. Other types of artillery such as anti-tank or anti-aircraft have sometimes been larger. Some batteries have been "dual-equipped" with two different types of gun or mortar, and taking whichever

1677-423: Was built on the harbour side of SS Peter and Paul Bastion, below the rectangular Saluting Battery . Lascaris Battery has an irregular trapezoid shape with rounded corners. A shooting platform extends from the right flank. A parade ground was located inside the new bastion. Beginning in 1868, the two-storey casemates were converted to barracks , which, as a result, have open galleries facing the parade ground. At

1720-677: Was inaugurated again by Minister Ugo Mifsud Bonnici . The belvedere and fountain are scheduled as Grade 1 by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority . Details of the Baroque garden, including its trees and Baroque fountains are found in British periods literature. [REDACTED] Media related to Ġnien is-Sultan at Wikimedia Commons Lascaris Battery Lascaris Battery ( Maltese : Batterija ta' Lascaris ), also known as Fort Lascaris ( Maltese : Forti Lascaris ) or Lascaris Bastion ( Maltese : Sur ta' Lascaris ),

1763-401: Was more appropriate when they deployed for operations. From the late 19th century field artillery batteries started to become more complex organisations. First they needed the capability to carry adequate ammunition, typically each gun could only carry about 40 rounds in its limber so additional wagons were added to the battery, typically about two per gun. The introduction of indirect fire in

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1806-413: Was mounted on the battery on an open barbette in a very exposed situation. The powder store, with a capacity of 30,500 pounds (13,800 kg), was protected only by 3 metres (9.8 ft) walls and roof. Overall, the construction of the battery was outdated and the installation no longer able to defend against modern artillery. Artillery battery In military organizations , an artillery battery

1849-596: Was the German battleship  Bismarck , which carried a main battery of eight 380 mm (15 in) guns, a secondary battery of twelve 150 mm (5.9 in) guns for defense against destroyers and torpedo boats, as well as a tertiary battery of various anti-aircraft guns ranging in caliber from 105-to-20 mm (4.13-to-0.79 in). Conventional artillery as a vessel's battery has been largely displaced by guided missiles for both offensive and defensive actions. Small caliber guns are retained for niche roles, such as

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