Not WW2 but this should give you a rough idea to start with. FM 6-50 - Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for THE FIELD ARTILLERY CANNON BATTERY FM 6-50 Table of Contents
Iroh...why do you ask? I spent over a decade with the artillery, so if you have any further questions perhaps I can help.
It's basically very simple question i've seen in the war movie or film about people firing artillery but i don't know what trigger the artillery to fire ?
This site has quite a bit of info. I linked to the "fire plan" section, but there is a lot info. on this site. I assume when you say "trigger the artillery to fire" you meant what initiates or commences fire... FIRE PLANNING
Zippo, the next website I was going to provide was precisely Nigel's, whose work I find to be brilliant, a work of love if I saw one. Great minds thinking alike?
If I understand your meaning... Usually the artillery is controled by a individual or small team who can see the target and have a radio or telephone connection to the cannon crew. Those are usually called the 'observer' in English. An officer commanding the cannon group or battery relays the observers directions to the cannon crew as orders. A sergeant or corporal of each cannon crew controls the final command to fire. Sometimes the target is selected from a map or photograph in a HQ and the orders to attack it are sent from that HQ to the officer of the battery. In other cases a target might be located by a radar, or by sound using a specialized observation team, or perhaps by report of a reconissance patrol. Hope this is helpfull.
