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German Artillery in World War One
 Part Two: Field Artillery
by Arie Dijkhuis

  Introduction

At the beginning of the war the organisation of the German artillery was basically the same as it was during the 1870 and the Napoleonic wars. It was organised in two branches. The first was the highly mobile and light field artillery, and the second was the foot artillery. The field artillery consisted of guns up to the calibre of 10cm, and howitzers up to 10,5cm. The foot artillery consisted of guns with a calibre from 10cm or more, and howitzers from 12cm or higher. The really heavy guns like the 42cm Dicke Bertha and Gamma Mörser, and the 38 cm Langer Max were either part of the foot artillery or part of the various Marine Batterien (Navy batteries).

It seems from my previous articles that the German army had paid close attention to the Russo‑Japanese War and that they have learned their lessons. The latter is only partly so. The Germans saw two types of warfare ahead of them. The mobile war for the light field artillery with lots of infantry scaring the hell out of each other, but to come to this stage, they first had to blow up a few Belgium and French forts along the way. This was going to be the job for the foot artillery. This was not the quick marching force, but a comparatively slow moving force, that relied heavily on the precision and the enormous destructive power of their guns, rather than speed and large volumes of fire. Their howitzers (Haubitze and Mörser) were to be supplemented by the pioneering sections with their mortars (Minenwerfer and later the Granatwerfer).

In a war of movement these guns are virtually useless, but with the arrival of stalemate, and the front gradually being turned into a giant fort, they proved their worth. In this the Germans had a great edge over the other warring nations. They turned out to be right in their choice of artillery, but from a different point of perspective.

As far as the light artillery is concerned, the armies at the start of the war had their minds firmly locked in the Napoleonic era of warfare. Infantry and cavalry were to be the dominant forces on the battlefield, and the artillery was there to provide firepower to the infantry. Their task was not to engage enemy artillery, but merely to stop the enemy from attacking, and as a morale booster (funnily the same reason why they were employed for the first time at the battle of Chrécy in 1346). For that reason they were always physically on the battlefield. Although the rudimentary of indirect fire was already discovered, none of the field guns of that day were equipped to direct fire in that way. Their carriages only enabled them to use a flat trajectory, even though most guns could fire double their range if they were able to aim higher. Their use on the battlefield can be seen as giant shotguns, mowing everything away that comes in their path, and stop large bodies of men advancing in one blow, and turning them in a large pile of bodies of men.

In the opening stages of the war, many an artillery man was cut to ribbons by rifle and machine gun fire. These guns were not suited for the task that lay ahead of them. The opening stages of the war, and the artillery battles of 1915 made this painfully clear. Due to the enemy firepower (rifles, MG, grenades etc.) they could not be used on the open battlefield, but their carriages prevented their use for anything else. Besides, they shot very light shells, so they would not make a dent in a dug out when they were fired in a flat trajectory. A higher trajectory with a delay fuse could do the trick, but the design of the gun carriage prevented high trajectory fire. Also, at the start most field guns were issued with shrapnel shells. These are very good against head on advancing infantry or cavalry, but to make life difficult for entrenched or fortified troops a HE shell is much better suited.

At the start of the war the field artillery was commanded by an Inspectör der Feldartillery (Inspector of Field Artillery). The field artillery broke down into brigades led by a Generalmajor (Major-General). These brigades, about 55 all in all, were permanently assigned to an infantry division. The brigades broke down into 2 regiments. Each regiment consisted of 2 battalions, which comprised of 3 batteries per battalion. Each battery had 6 guns, organised in 3 sections of 2 guns (are you still with me?). Both battalions of the first and the first battalion of the second regiment were issued with 3x6 FK96 n/A field guns. The second battalion of the second regiment consisted of 3x6 lFH98/09 field howitzers. In 1914 there were about 650 batteries. In 1915 the Field artillery got scaled down to only 4 guns per battery, making more batteries and regiments to overcome the shortage of divisional artillery. In 1916 the Field artillery got dismantled, and along with the whole artillery it was reorganised. By 1918 there were about 2850 batteries of light field guns, organised in about 300 regiments.  

  77mm FK96 n/A

In 1896 the German Army received their 77mm Feld Kanone (field gun) to replace the old 88 mm C73 heavy field gun. Better propellant and explosive charges meant, that the field gun could be scaled down to only 77 mm. This was a much lighter gun with excellent ballistic qualities. It could be manhandled much easier over the battle field than it’s predecessor and it was produced by Krupp. In 1897 the French got their famous ‘75’, and the FK96 gun, lacking barrel recoil became obsolete over night. A gun without recoil apparatus means that the gun has to be aimed after each shot. The recoil is usually absorbed by letting the gun run along two ramps behind the wheels. A later improvement was letting part of the recoil being absorbed by trunnions inside the carriage, but still this was not perfect. A recoil mechanism dispenses with this, and the stabile gun does not need to be aimed after each shot. Therefore they can produce a much higher rate of fire. So the 77mm FK96 n/a (neuer Art, or new type) was born, and the old type became the a/A (alter Art, or old type).

This gun was an equal to the French 75, and the British 18 pounder of it’s day. After the initial stages of the war, in which movement was still a factor, they could prove their worth, but only at terrible costs to the crew manning them. After the front settle down into a stalemate, these guns were pulled back to makeshift gun pits, and used to shell the enemy with HE shells. Even though they could do the task, it became apparent that a new gun with a new carriage was needed, in order to improve the firing distance. The FK16 gun entered service. However, later in the war, the old guns again received the task for what they were developed for, and they returned to their former glory. They followed the infantry into battle once again. Normally drawn over the shell torn no mans land by a team of 4 or 6 horses (depending on the shortages), they were quickly unlimbered once in hostile territory. The guns were man handled, and pressed into service wherever needed.

 

Calibre: 77mm
Barrel lenght in calibres: 27,3
Weight: 925 kg
Range of fire: 7800 m
Weight of shell: 6,85 kg

These drawings are based on measurements and pictures taken at the Koninklijk Belgisch Legermuseum in Brussels, Wehr-technisches Museum in Koblenz, Memorial de Verdun (a wreck) and the Imperial War Museum in Duxford.

For another article on the FK96 n/A, click here!

 

The 105mm lFH 98/09

In 1898 the German Army received a new howitzer, the 105 mm leichter Feld Howitzer 98 (light field howitzer). It was produced by Rheinmetall. Like the FK96 a/A it did not have barrel recoil. In 1909 this gun was given a new and thoroughly redesigned gun carriage (which would become the base for a whole family of field guns and howitzers), and a barrel recoil, thus it became the lFH 98/09. The upgrading had been done by Krupp. This gun remained in service throughout the war, even though the improved lFH 16 with the longer barrel was a big improvement when distance of fire was concerned.

Calibre: 105mm
Barrel lenght in calibres: 16
Weight: 1110 kg
Range of fire: 2860 m
Weight of shell: 15,5 kg 

The carriage is based on measurements of a FK16 (Studien-sammlung Schiessplatz Meppen) and a lFH16 (Studiensamm-lung Schiessplatz Meppen, the Imperial War Museum in Duxford and the Wehrtechnisches Museum in Koblenz), the rest of the gun is based on measurements from official German records and countless photographs. The barrel measurements are taken from a barrel that survives in the Koninklijk Belgisch Legermuseum in Brussels.

For another article on the 10.5cm 98/09, click here! For more on the 10.5cm lFH16, click here!
The 105mm M14 lFH Skoda (Ö)

 

Technically this gun should not be in this article, but the German army used many guns from their Austria-Hungarian allies. This particular gun was used in quite large numbers. After the war many of these guns, under the Treaty of Versailles, were handed over to the newly formed Republic of Czechoslovakia. In 1919 this gun was upgraded. The updated versions, which are only different in minor details, served well into the Second World War, again with the German army when the occupied Chechoslovkia.

Calibre: 105mm
Barrel lenght in calibres: 24
Weight: 1548 kg
Range of fire: 9800 m
Weight of shell: 16 kg

The drawings are based on measurements and pictures from 3 surviving guns in the cemetery in the town centre of Verdun - see the photos on the left.

For the drawings of the lFH14 I would like to thank Eggo and Anneke Smit for their hospitality, and for helping me to measure the gun. I would also like to thank Raymond Gaveel for helping me measure the FK96 n/A and the lFH16. Furthermore I would like to thank my brother Bert for his help in measuring all the above guns.

 

For another article on this gun, click here!
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