This series began with the discovery of a remarkable book, a delightfully detailed history of a French artillery regiment if the First World War that, in addition to describing the service of batteries and battalions, told tales of outfits that trained gunners, repaired equipment, and delivered ammunition. However, because the chronicle dealt only with units formed by the regiment in question, the picture it painted left me with lots of questions about the men who fed the guns.
A handbook published on the eve of the war answered many of these questions. At the same time, it added greatly to my stock of little mysteries. In particular, after explaining the structures of elements that the regiment provided to the artillery park of an army corps, it made me aware of a type of unit known as a ‘3rd echelon of an artillery park of an army corps’ (3ème échelon de parc d’artillerie de corps d’armée).
On the march, a 3rd echelon looked a lot like the 1st and 2nd echelons of the artillery park of an army corps. That is, an observer would see eleven men on horseback, one one-horse medical carriage, and four two-horse wagons. (Three of the latter qualified as fourgons, which my dictionary translates as ‘vans’, and one served the needs of the butcher.)
