Horse-drawn field artillery remained the backbone of American ground firepower through World War I, despite the lessons of mechanized warfare already emerging from the Western Front. A standard U.S. field artillery battery of this era consisted of four to six guns with caissons, each pulled by a six-horse team with riders mounted on the left-side horses — exactly the formation visible here. The flat, open terrain suggests a southwestern training post, where much of the Army's pre-war artillery drill took place in the years following the Mexican border crisis.
The image dates to the preparedness period of 1915–1916, when the Army was modernizing rapidly under pressure of the European war while still relying on horse transport for most field operations. Motor traction would begin replacing horse teams during WWI itself, but the transition was incomplete when the armistice came in 1918.
Cards from the "Active Army Life" series document the American Army at precisely this transitional moment — professional, disciplined, and still fundamentally nineteenth century in its equipment and methods.
Zoom in on photos as they are considered part of the description.
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