History
The majority of military planners before the First World War were wedded to the concept of fighting an offensive war of rapid maneuver and in a time before mechanization meant a focus on cavalry and light horse artillery firing shrapnel shells. Although the majority of combatants had heavy field artillery before the outbreak of the First World War, none had adequate numbers of heavy guns in service, nor had they foreseen the growing importance of heavy artillery once the Western Front stagnated and trench warfare set in. The theorists hadn't foreseen that trenches, barbed wire, and machine guns had robbed them of mobility and the need for portable high-angle heavy artillery that could drop a large diameter high explosive shell into enemy trenches and fortifications began to assert itself. [2]
To provide their infantry with portable firepower the combatants experimented with using mortars and mountain guns as infantry support weapons. The ability of mountain guns to be broken down into multiple loads partially overcame the inability of field guns to move across the shell-pocked no man's land between trench lines but their light multi-piece construction meant that when assembled they were often too fragile to be towed across rough terrain. Mortars were often more portable and could deliver high-angle indirect fire but mountain guns could provide both low-angle direct fire and indirect fire. [2]
This article explains terms used for the British Armed Forces' ordnance (weapons) and ammunition. The terms may have different meanings depending on its usage in another country's military.
The British BL 6-inch gun Mk XIX was introduced in 1916 as a lighter and longer-range field gun replacement for the obsolescent BL 6-inch gun Mk VII.
The Mortaio da 210/8 was a siege howitzer which served with Italy during World War I and World War II.
Obice da 305/17 was an Italian howitzer used during World War I. Produced by the Armstrong works in Italy between 1914 and 1917, approximately 30-44 were built. Originally the Obice da 305/17 Modello 15 was a stationary coastal defense gun but was later adapted to a mobile siege artillery role. A number also served during World War II.
The Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1889 sur affût G was a heavy mortar originally employed as coastal artillery and later converted to the siege artillery role. Mle 1889 mortars were used in both the First World War and Second World Wars.
The Mortier de 270 mm modèle 1885 was a French heavy mortar employed as siege artillery during the First World War.
The Mortaio da 260/9 Modello 16 - was an Italian Heavy mortar and Siege Gun designed by the French Schneider Company and produced under license in Italy by Ansaldo and Vickers-Terni for the Italian Army. It was used by the Italian Army during both the First World War and Second World War.
The Obice da 280 was an Italian coastal defense and siege howitzer designed in 1884 by the British Armstrong firm and produced under license by the Ansaldo company during the late 1800s. It was used during both the First and Second World Wars.
The 15 cm sFH 93 was a German howitzer which served in a number of colonial conflicts, the Balkan Wars and World War I.
The 8-inch mortar M1877 was a Russian 203 mm (8 in) coastal, fortress and siege mortar that was used in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I.
The 21 cm Mörser 99 was a German siege mortar built by Krupp which served during World War I. The mortar utilized a new nickel-steel alloy of greater strength than other cast cannons, though it lacked a recoil mechanism. While the gun was more effective than previous models, it was soon phased out because of improved field artillery and counter-battery fire, though it remained in service in limited numbers throughout the war because of heavy German losses.
The 15 cm Ring Kanone C/72 was a fortress and siege gun developed after the Franco-Prussian War and used by Germany and Portugal before and during World War I.
The 15 cm Ring Kanone C/92 was a fortress and siege gun developed in the 1880s that saw service in the Italo-Turkish War, Balkan Wars, and World War I.
The 15 cm Ring Kanone L/30 was a naval gun and coastal artillery piece that was used by the German Navy before the First World War that was converted to a siege gun for the German Army during the First World War when the ships that carried it were decommissioned.
The Mortier de 75 modèle 1915 Schneider was a French trench mortar designed and built by Schneider that saw action with the French and Belgian Army during the First World War.
The 7.5 cm Gebirgskanone L/13 C/80 was a mountain gun used by several countries during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Germany and the Ottoman Empire also used them during World War I.
The 24 cm schwere Flügelminenwerfer IKO or 24 cm sFIMW IKO was a heavy mortar used by the Imperial German Army during the First World War.
The kleineGranatenwerfer 16 or Gr.W.16(Small Grenade Launcher Model 1916) in English, was an infantry mortar used by the Central Powers during the First World War. It was designed by a Hungarian priest named Father Vécer and was first used by the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1915. In Austro-Hungarian service, they received the nickname "Priesterwerfers". In 1916 Germany began producing a modified version under license for the Imperial German Army.
The Mortaio da 210/9 modello 1914 was an Italian Heavy Mortar designed by the French Schneider Company and produced under license in Italy by Ansaldo for the Italian Army and used during the First World War.
The 21 cm Haubitze M1891 or (21 cm Howitzer Model 1891) in English was a fortress gun built by Krupp that armed the forts of several European countries before World War I. Two countries that bought the M1891 were Belgium and Romania. In Belgian service it was designated Obusier de 21c.A. and in Romanian service it was designated Obuzierul Krupp, calibrul 210 mm, model 1891.
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