Barrage (artillery)

Common card · No. 324359

In military usage, a barrage is massed sustained artillery fire (shelling) aimed at a series of points along a line. In addition to attacking any enemy in the kill zone, a barrage intends to suppress enemy movements and deny access across that line of barrage. The impact points along the line may be 20 to 30 yards (18 to 27 m) apart, with the total line length of the barrage zone anything from a few hundred to several thousand yards long. Barrages can consist of multiple such lines, usually about 100 yards (91 m) apart, with the barrage shifting from one line to the next over time, or several lines may be targeted simultaneously. A barrage may involve a few or many artillery batteries, or even (rarely) a single gun. Typically each gun in a barrage, using indirect fire, will fire continuously at a steady rate at its assigned point for an assigned time before moving onto the next target, following the barrage's detailed timetable. Barrages typically use high-explosive shells, but may also...

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