Abstract
History and Traditions
The thirteen artillery shells that we should keep (at least)
from the Artillery School collection.
The collection of artillery shells kept in the Artillery School starts
with the muzzle-loading smooth-bore artillery, and goes up to
modern artillery shells, with around 185 different artillery shells.
Some of them can also be found elsewhere in Spain, but there is
a series of 97 projectiles which can only be found in the Artillery
School. Among these ones, the author has stood out thirteen, due
to its state of conservation and historical importance.
Over the shoulder. From the battle of Castillejos to the 21st
century.
This article recalls the tradition in the Artillery Branch of adop-ting
the position of the rifle "over the shoulder" during the call to
prayer, initiated as a result of the actions carried out by an arti-llery
battalion in the battle of Los Castillejos, and the relationship
of those units from the 19th century with the current ones.
The Artillery in Ceuta and the heroic deed of Lieutenant
Joaquín Fuentes Pila.
In the middle of the Rif War, Artillery branch Lieutenant Fuen-tes
Pila volunteered to command a Spanish battery, heavily
besieged by Rif rebels in Kudia Tahar, south of Tetouan. Upon
reaching the position and despite strong enemy resistance,
Lieutenant Fuentes Pila managed to break the siege and gai-ned
access to the position, to immediately restart the artillery
fire. During the combat, the lieutenant suffered serious injuries
which caused his death, with the position being finally libera-ted
by Spanish troops some days later. For his exemplary acts,
Lieutenant Joaquín Fuentes Pila received the Laureate Cross of
the Royal and Military Order of San Fernando.
Saint Barbara. Origin of Patron Saint for Artillery soldiers.
Barbara of Nicomedia is one of the greatest women of early Chris-tianity,
who died as a martyr in Roman times due to her belie-fs.
Saint Barbara, virgin and martyr, is one of the most revered
saints in all Christendom. From east to west, she has been hailed
as a protector. She is also called the protector against the evils
caused by storms and against sudden death. The geographical
extension where she is worshiped is immense, being even recog-nized
in those lands that are not of Christian tradition. The extent
of the cult dedicated to her, both in time and space, make her
worthy of the title of universal patron saint.
This article aims to show how this beautiful young woman from
the Anatolian peninsula conquered the altars of the Spanish Ar-tillery
units five hundred years ago. To do this, we will follow a
line of argument based on Santa Barbara's patron saint in di-fferent
professional unions, and how this was transmitted one
another.
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