Artillery of World War I

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The artillery of World War I, improved over that used in previous wars, influenced the tactics, operations, and strategies that were used by the belligerents. This led to trench warfare and encouraged efforts to break the resulting stalemate at the front. World War I raised artillery to a new level of importance on the battlefield.

The First World War saw many developments in artillery warfare. Artillery could now fire the new high explosive shells, and throw them farther and at a higher rate of fire. Because of this, enemies in trenches were no longer always safe, and could constantly be fired upon. In some areas, artillery concentration was common, with several guns firing onto an area such as a line of trenches, each gun firing several rounds per minute for hours. Artillery barrages were also used to divert the enemy's attention from the site of attack before a battle. Paths behind the lines were also fired on so that enemy reinforcements could not safely reach the front lines.

Mortars were revived by the Germans because of their ability to shoot at an angle above 45 degrees, and they, therefore, could theoretically (although not often) drop shells directly in an enemy's trench before exploding, for maximum damage. Artillery shells were used for chemical weapon emission by the German troops in 1915, and the Allies followed their example after the Second Battle of Ypres.

Strategy

Artillery is generally split into two categories: light artillery and heavy artillery. Light artillery, commonly known as field artillery, is designed to be lightweight and easy to transport on the battlefield. The need for light weight limited the size of the shells and the damage they could inflict on the enemy. Heavy artillery is difficult to transport and typically used in fixed positions during siege warfare. Heavy artillery typically requires specialized troops and transport infrastructure.

The belligerents were not prepared for the nature of World War I. Military doctrine before the war, particularly for the Germans, focused on aggressive attacks on the enemy, based on Germany's experience in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. This doctrine failed to account for the numerous new technologies that defined World War I, including machine guns, wire obstacles and artillery that had greatly improved. These changes made the war primarily a defensive art, and also resulted in artillery being the greatest cause of casualties during the war, unlike previous wars. Early in the war, the Germans attempted several attacks without adequate artillery support, with disastrous results.

Before the war, light artillery was becoming more common among the world's militaries. However, the development of trench warfare and the resulting stalemates increased the importance of heavy artillery. While the light artillery remained in use, it was supplemented by heavy artillery installed in fixed positions. Because of the need for heavy artillery, many older guns from the 19th century were used. While these guns lacked the capabilities of newer artillery, they could still fire large shells over long distances.

Several new methods and tactics for artillery were developed during the war, including:

Box barrage
Chinese barrage
Clock method of calling fall of shot
Creeping barrage
Artillery sound ranging

While artillery was able to inflict major damage on the enemy, it faced several disadvantages. Throughout the war, forces struggled to locate their targets, and when they did locate them, it was difficult to hit them. Communications between infantry and artillery was also a major problem that was never solved during the course of the war. This meant that the artillery could not adapt its firing to meet the needs of infantry. Finally, artillery was expensive, demanding time and materials of the belligerents.

Technology

Despite the advent of new technologies like aircraft, machine guns, and armored vehicles, artillery was the primary weapon of land warfare in World War I. Artillery was the principal threat to ground troops in the war and was the main reason for the development of trench warfare.

A key advancement in artillery was made by France in 1897, with the invention of long barrel recoil and its incorporation into the 75 mm field gun. Before this invention, each time an artillery weapon was fired, the entire gun would be pushed backwards by the force of the shell firing. This meant that the gun had to be re-set into position each time it was fired. Long barrel recoil technology placed the gun within a barrel that included a system to absorb the momentum from firing the gun, allowing the weapon to remain stationary when it was fired.

The German General Staff had learned from the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) the importance of heavy artillery in destroying enemy guns and positions, and advocated the use of heavy artillery in the field army. While heavy artillery is normally not mobile and only suitable for sieges, the Germans were able to develop mobile weapons that were more powerful than traditional light artillery.

Germany also improved mortar technologies. While artillery generally fires in a trajectory closest to the horizontal, mortars fire closer to the vertical. Mortars had largely fallen out of use in the 1800s; however, the Germans saw the potential of mortars while observing the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. By the time the war arrived in 1914, Germany had a stockpile of mortars ready for use. The French and British were caught completely off-guard by the return of mortars. Once they saw these weapons being used by their enemy and proving effective, Britain and France quickly devised and introduced mortars of their own. Mortars were particularly effective in trench warfare since the vertical trajectory of their shells potentially allowed them to fall straight into enemy trenches.

World War I also saw the development of the first anti-aircraft artillery, as well as light mortars that could be carried by infantry troops.

National forces

Austria-Hungary

Among the European powers, in proportion to its national income, Austria-Hungary paid the lowest attention to the development and maintenance of its army. Despite having developed new types of world class modern cannons, the majority of the Austro-Hungarian artillery pieces were from old and very obsolete types. Only Germany and Austria-Hungary developed heavy field artillery before World War I. The armed forces of Austria-Hungary were in decline at the start of the war due to the insufficient finance of the armament. While they had powerful artillery, their technology was often behind their rivals due to the absolute dominance of old types of cannons. They did well at building efficient and mobile artillery, particularly their mountain guns which worked well in mountainous terrain. However, due to a mix of cost-savings and tradition, they failed to adopt technological improvements, such as steel barrels. Austria-Hungary ceased to exist at the end of the war and most of its artillery was seized by the Italians.

France

The long barrel recoil technology incorporated by the French into the 75 mm field gun revolutionized artillery and made previous artillery obsolete. However, early in the war, the French over-relied on this gun under the assumption that it was the only artillery they needed. The development of trench warfare demonstrated the need for a wider variety of artillery, which mostly entered service in 1916 and 1917. Much of this artillery was kept in service and used against German forces in the Battle of France in 1940 during World War II. France did not develop heavy field artillery prior to World War I. Like the British Army, French forces suffered heavier casualties in trench warfare than their German enemies during the first years of the war due to the lack of heavy artillery in the French Army.

Germany

The German Empire had the best artillery of all participating countries when the war began in 1914. The Germans had carefully researched previous conflicts and developed state-of-the-art technology that out-performed their rivals. Like all countries, Germany struggled to replace artillery lost in combat, and it was forced to improvise with available materials as the war progressed. After the war, Germany was forced to destroy most of its artillery under provisions of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919.

British Empire

The United Kingdom's preparations were largely guided by its experience in the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. The British purchased the field guns that the Boers had used against them, and used these as prototypes for their own weapons. The British also modeled their howitzers after those used by the Boers. Some British designs were used by the United States. The British also supplied guns to Australia and New Zealand. Despite the long tradition of British naval heavy artillery developments, the British Empire did not have heavy field artillery before World War I, which disadvantaged the British infantry in the first years of the war.

Italy

The Kingdom of Italy did not join the war until May 1915, and did not have any artillery designs of its own. It therefore used artillery designs from other countries, built in Italian factories. The Italians lost nearly all their artillery in the Battle of Caporetto in October–November 1917, requiring a massive effort to rebuild, and also requiring supplies from other Allied countries. The Italians also used artillery that they captured from Austria-Hungary. After the war, the Italians seized most of the Austro-Hungarian weaponry, and some was still in service during World War II.

United States

The United States lacked industry that could build artillery and was only able to do so in collaboration with European manufacturers. With the outbreak of the war in 1914, this collaboration came to an end as European manufacturers focused on equipping their home countries. When the United States entered the war in April 1917, it was clear that its artillery would not be sufficient, so the United States mostly used French and British artillery.

List of artillery weapons

Allied Powers

Central Powers

References

"Weapons | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1)". encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
^ "First World War.com - Weapons of War: Trench Mortars". www.firstworldwar.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
^ "Artillery | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1)". encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
Lupfer, Timothy (July 1981). "Dynamics of doctrine: the change in German tactical doctrine during the first world war". US Army Combined Arms Center - Command and General Staff College. Archived from the original on 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
p.26, Rawling
"WW1 Artillery". www.militaryfactory.com. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
Winter p. 138
^ "Passion & Compassion 1914-1918 : Database of World War 1 Surviving Artillery". www.passioncompassion1418.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2021-04-04.

Gudmundsson, Bruce I., On Artillery, Praeger, London, 1993
Rawling, Bill; Surviving Trench Warfare - Technology and the Canadian Corps, 1914-1918, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1992
Winter, J. M.-The Experience of World War I. Oxford University Press. 1989 ISBN 0-19-520776-9

Right of the Line: History Of The American Field Artillery, US Army Field Artillery School, Ft. Sill Oklahoma, April 1984
Terraine, John; The Smoke and the Fire: Myths and Anti-myths of War, 1861-1945, Pen and Sword, 2004
Terraine, John; White Heat: The New Warfare 1914-18, Pen & Sword Books, 1992

v t e British Empire artillery of the First World War
Armoured vehicle guns	QF 3-pounder Vickers QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder 6 cwt
Infantry guns	1.59-inch breech-loading Vickers Q.F. gun, Mk II
Field artillery	BL 12-pounder 6 cwt QF 12-pounder 8 cwt QF 12-pounder 18 cwt QF 13-pounder BL 15-pounder BLC 15-pounder QF 15-pounder QF 18-pounder QF 4-inch gun Mk III BL 4-inch gun Mk VII QF 4.5-inch howitzer
Medium & heavy artillery	QF 4.7-inch gun BL 5-inch howitzer BL 5.4-inch howitzer BL 60-pounder gun BLC 6-inch siege gun BL 6-inch gun Mk VII BL 6-inch gun Mk XIX BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer BL 8-inch howitzer Mk I – V BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI – VIII
Siege artillery	BL 7.5-inch Mk III naval gun BL 9.2-inch howitzer BL 9.2-inch Mk X naval gun BL 12-inch howitzer BL 12-inch Mk X naval gun BL 15-inch howitzer
Mountain artillery	RML 2.5-inch mountain gun BL 10-pounder mountain gun BL 2.75-inch mountain gun QF 2.95-inch mountain gun QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzer
Mortars	Garland trench mortar 3-inch Stokes mortar Vickers 1.57-inch mortar 2-inch medium mortar Newton 6-inch mortar 9.45-inch Heavy Mortar
Smoke and chemical weapons	4-inch Stokes Mortar Livens Projector Livens Large Gallery Flame Projector
Anti-aircraft guns	QF 1-pounder pom-pom QF 2-pounder "pom-pom" Mk II 75 mm AA gun QF 12-pounder 12 cwt QF 13-pounder 6 cwt QF 13-pounder Mk IV QF 13-pounder 9 cwt QF 3-inch 20 cwt QF 18-pounder QF 4-inch Mk V
Coastal artillery	QF 12-pounder 12 cwt QF 4-inch naval gun Mk I – III BL 6-inch Mk VII naval gun BL 9.2-inch Mk IX – X naval gun RML 9-inch
Railway guns	BL 9.2-inch railway gun BL 12-inch railway gun BL 12-inch railway howitzer BL 14-inch railway gun

v t e United States artillery of World War I
Tank guns	Puteaux SA 18 QF 6-pounder 6 cwt Hotchkiss
Small and pack guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP 37 mm Infantry Gun Model 1917 QF 2.95-inch mountain gun
Field, medium and heavy guns	3-inch M1902 field gun 75 mm gun M1897 75 mm gun M1916 75 mm gun M1917 3.2-inch gun M1897 4.7-inch gun M1906 5-inch gun M1897 6-inch howitzer M1908 6-inch gun M1903 6-inch gun M1917 155 mm GPF M1918 155 mm howitzer M1917 BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI – VIII BL 9.2-inch howitzer 240 mm trench mortar
Anti-aircraft guns	75 mm gun M1897 75 mm gun M1916 3-inch gun M1917 3-inch gun M1918
Coast artillery guns	3-inch gun M1903 4.72-inch Armstrong gun 5-inch gun M1897 6-inch Armstrong gun 6-inch gun M1897 8-inch gun M1888 10-inch gun M1895 12-inch gun M1895 12-inch coast defense mortar 14-inch gun M1907 16-inch gun M1895 16-inch gun M1919 155 mm gun M1918MI
Railway artillery	7"/45 caliber gun 8-inch gun M1888 10-inch gun M1895 12-inch coast defense mortar 12-inch gun M1895MIA1 14"/50 caliber railway gun

v t e French artillery of World War I
Anti-aircraft guns	Canon de 75 antiaérien mle 1913-1917
Coastal artillery	Canon de 100 mm Modèle 1891 Canon de 19 C modèle 1870/93 Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 24 C modèle 1870 Canon de 24 C modèle 1876 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Field artillery	Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Canon de 75 modèle 1912 Schneider Canon de 75 modèle 1914 Schneider De Bange 90 mm cannon Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Obusier de 120 mm mle 15TR
Infantry guns	Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP
Medium and heavy artillery	Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider Canon de 155 court modèle 1904 Rimailho Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Canon de 145 L modele 1916 Saint-Chamond Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond Canon de 155 L modèle 1877/14 Schneider Canon de 155 L Modele 1917 Schneider Canon de 155 L modèle 1918 Schneider Canon de 155 mm GPF De Bange 155 mm cannon Canon de 220 L mle 1917 Mortier de 220 modèle 1915/1916 Schneider
Mortars	Cellerier Mortar Mortier de 58 T N°1 Mortier de 58 T N°1 bis Mortier de 58 mm type 2 Mortier de 75 modèle 1915 Schneider Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1916 Batignolles Mortier de 150 mm T Mle 1917 Fabry Mortier de 240 mm Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889
Mountain artillery	Canon de 65 M modele 1906 75 mm Schneider-Danglis 06/09 Canon Court de 105 M modele 1909 Schneider
Railway artillery	Canon de 120 L mle 1878 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Canon de 140 sur affut-truc mle 1884 Obusier de 155 C mle 1881 sur affût-truc Peigné-Canet-Schneider mle 1897 Materiel de 155 sur affut-truc Schneider Canon de 164 modèle 1893/96 TAZ Canon de 19 C modèle 1875 Canon de 19 modèle 1870/93 TAZ Obusier de 200 "Pérou" sur affût-truck TAZ Schneider 24 cm Canon G modèle 1916 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 274 modèle 93/96 Berceau Canon de 274 modèle 87/93 Glissement Canon de 305 modèle 93/96 TAZ Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à berceau Canon de 305 modèle 1893/96 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/81 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/84 à glissement Canon de 32 modèle 1870/93 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1893 à glissement Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à berceau Canon de 340 modèle 1912 à glissement Obusier de 370 modèle 1915 à berceau Canon de 370 modèle 75/79 Glissement Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 Obusier de 520 modèle 1916
Siege artillery	Obusier de 120 mm C modèle 1890 Canon de 120 mm modèle 1878 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1881 Obusier de 155 mm C modèle 1890 Mortier de 220 mm modèle 1880 Canon de 240 L Mle 1884 Canon de 240 TR Mle 1903 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 Mortier de 280 modèle 1914 Schneider Mortier de 293 Danois sur affut-truck modèle 1914 Mortier de 370 modèle 1914 Filloux
Self propelled artillery	Canon de 194 GPF Canon de 220mm L Mle1917 Schneider (FAHM) Mortier 280 mm TR de Schneider sur affût-chenilles St Chamond
Armoured vehicle guns	Puteaux 37 mm SA 18 Canon de 75 modèle 1897

Russian Empire small arms & ordnance of the First World War

Model 1914 grenade

Artillery

Infantry guns	37 mm trench gun M1915 37 mm McClean Automatic Cannon Mk. III
Field Artillery	76 mm gun M1900 76 mm divisional gun M1902 87 mm light field gun M1877 42-line field gun M1877 107 mm gun M1910 QF 4.5-inch howitzer 120 mm howitzer Model 1901 122 mm howitzer M1909 122 mm howitzer M1910
Mountain artillery	76 mm mountain gun M1909
Howitzers, medium, and heavy artillery	BL 60-pounder gun 152 mm howitzer M1909 152 mm howitzer M1910 BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer 152 mm siege gun M1910 BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI – VIII
Siege artillery	42-line siege gun M1877 6 inch siege gun M1877 6-inch siege gun M1904 8-inch mortar M1877 9-inch mortar M1877 11-inch mortar M1877 11-inch gun M1877 280 mm Schneider Mortar Model 1914/15 BL 9.2-inch howitzer 305 mm howitzer M1915
Mortars	9 cm Mortar Type GR Aasen mortar
Anti-aircraft guns	76 mm air-defense gun M1914/15
Coastal artillery	Obukhovskii 12-inch/52-caliber Pattern 1907 gun

v t e German artillery of World War I
Infantry and mountain guns	5.7 cm Maxim-Nordenfelt 6 cm S-Bts K L/21 7.5 cm GebirgsKanone 13 7.5 cm Gebirgskanone L/13 C/80 Ehrhardt 7.5 cm Model 1904 7.62 cm Infanteriegeschütz L/16.5 7.7 cm Infanteriegeschütz L/20 7.7 cm Infanteriegeschütz L/27 10.5 cm Gebirgshaubitze L/12
Mortars	Granatenwerfer 16 7.58 cm leMW 9.15 cm leichtes Minenwerfer System Lanz 17 cm mMW 24 cm schwere FlügelMinenWerfer Albrecht 24 cm schwere Flügelminenwerfer IKO 24 cm schwerer LadungsWerfer Ehrhardt 25 cm sMW Albrecht mortar
Field, medium and heavy guns	5.3 cm Fahrpanzer Krupp 7.5 cm Model 1903 7.7 cm FK 16 7.7 cm FK 96 7.7 cm FK 96 n.A. 7.7 cm KiH 8 cm Kanone C/73 8 cm Kanone C/80 9 cm Kanone C/73 9 cm Kanone C/79 10.5 cm FH 98/09 10.5 cm leFH 16 10 cm K 04 10 cm K 14 10 cm K 17 12 cm Kanone C/80 13.5 cm K 09 15 cm Kanone 16 15 cm L/40 Feldkanone i.R. 15 cm Ring Kanone C/72 15 cm Ring Kanone C/92 15 cm Ring Kanone L/30 15 cm sFH 02 15 cm sFH 13 15 cm sFH 93 17 cm SK L/40 i.R.L.
Superheavy and siege artillery	21 cm Haubitze M1891 21 cm Mörser 10 21 cm Mörser 16 21 cm Mörser 99 21 cm Paris Gun 21 cm Versuchmörser 06 28 cm Haubitze L/12 28 cm Haubitze L/14 i.R. 38 cm Langer Max 42 cm Big Bertha 42 cm Gamma howitzer
Railroad artillery	15 cm SK "Nathan" 17 cm SK L/40 "Samuel" 21 cm SK "Peter Adalbert" 24 cm SK L/30 "Theodor Otto" 24 cm SK L/40 "Theodor Karl" 28 cm K L/40 "Kurfürst" 28 cm SK L/40 "Bruno" 38 cm SK L/45 "Max"
Anti-aircraft artillery	3.7 cm Maxim Flak M14 3.7 cm SockelFlak L/14.5 7.62 cm FlaK L/30 7.7 cm FlaK L/35 7.7 cm Leichte Kraftwagengeschütze M1914 8.8 cm Flak 16 Flaming onion
Anti-tank guns	3.7 cm TAK 1918 MG 18 TuF
Tank guns	5.7 cm Maxim-Nordenfelt

v t e Austro-Hungarian artillery of World War I
Infantry and mountain	3.7 cm Infanteriegeschütz M.15 7 cm Gebirgsgeschütz M 75 7 cm Gebirgsgeschütz M 99 7.5 cm Gebirgsgeschütz 15 Škoda 7.5 cm d/29 Model 1911 10 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 99 10 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 8 10 cm Gebirgshaubitze M 16
Mortars	8 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 9 cm Minenwerfer M 14 9.15 cm leichtes Minenwerfer System Lanz 9 cm Minenwerfer M 17 10.5 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 12 cm Minenwerfer M 15 12 cm Luftminenwerfer M 16 14 cm Minenwerfer M 15 15 cm Luftminenwerfer M 15 M. E. 20 cm Luftminenwerfer M 16 22.5 cm Minenwerfer M 15 26 cm Minenwerfer M 17
Field, medium and heavy	8 cm FK M 99 8 cm FK M. 5 8 cm FK M. 17 8 cm FK M 18 9 cm FK M 75/96 10 cm FH M 99 10 cm Feldhaubitze M. 14 10.4 cm Feldkanone M. 15 15 cm sFH M 94 15 cm sFH M 14 15 cm sFH M.15 15 cm Autokanone M. 15/16
Superheavy and siege	12-cm Kanone M 80 15 cm Mörser M 80 15 cm Kanone M 80 18 cm kurze Kanone M 80 21 cm Mörser M. 16/18 24 cm Mörser M 98 24 cm Kanone M. 16 30.5 cm Mörser M. 11 30.5 cm Mörser M. 16 35 cm Marinekanone L/45 M. 16 38 cm Belagerungshaubitze M 16 42 cm Haubitze M. 14/16

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World War I artillery

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