Artillery Brigade (FinnishTykistöprikaati) is a Finnish Army unit situated in Niinisalo in Western Finland. The Artillery Brigade trains conscripts and regular personnel for war-time artillery duties. In addition it provides weather service in Niinisalo region and trains most of Finnish Defence Forcesdogs. The total strength of the brigade is some 800 conscripts and 400 regular civilian and military personnel.
Artillery Brigade consists of Satakunta Artillery Regiment, Reconnaissance Battallion, Artillery School, and Satakunta Military Band. Every year, some 1,600 conscripts are trained by the brigade. The training guns vary from 122 mm light howitzers to 155 mm cannons and 122 mm multiple rocket launchers, depending on reserve units the conscripts are trained for. The conscripts participate in several live-fire exercises in nearby Pohjankankaa firing range before the two- or three-week-long national live-fire artillery exercise held twice a year in Rovajärvi firing range in Lapland.
The Artillery School provides University-level education for future artillery officers and continuing education for artillery regular personnel.
External links
Artillery Brigade web page (http://www.mil.fi/maavoimat/joukot/tykpr/index_en.dsp)
Brigade is a term from military science which refers to military echelon under a division, above a regiment where that exists as such, nowadays often a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support).
The brigade was invented as a tactical unit, by the Swedish king and conqueror Gustavus Adolphus.
In the British Army, the brigade has been the smallest tactical formation for more than two centuries, since regiments are either administrative groupings of battalions (in the infantry) or battalion-sized units (in the cavalry).
Other brigades might have an artillery component, but an artillerybrigade is a brigade dedicated to artillery and relying on other units for infantry support, especially when attacking.
Initially, a brigade was normally formed for either offence or defence, but in the 20th century, as warfare became generally more mobile and fixed fortifications became less useful, artillerybrigades were formed for either purpose, the main exception being coastal defence.
During the Second World War, the use and formation of artillerybrigades (normally having between 3,000 and 4,000 personnel, with between 24 and 70 guns) gained prominence, as they could be attached to divisions that needed them, then detached and re-attached elsewhere as the need arose.
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