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do tactics and other stuff on other nations because you only do German this German that you can clearly see that you hoped on their train and don't want to hop off
Great video as always 9:11 what exactly is the scale of this map? It would help visualize better. Edit: how much of this applies to SPGs in armored support? (Or maybe an entire video about the tactical use of SPGs would be better?)
I am really considering it, but it would break my rule of only supporting my Scandinavian compatriots with my limited resources. Your channel is so good though. And I know you shouldn't answer this question and I know you're Austrian, but you like metal, so what do you think about Rammstein's latest hit? ;)
As a former Artillery observer for the US army, it interesting to think that we use many of the same tactics and methods that the Germans employed during WW2. Though obviously we have different names for things. For instance, annihilation fire, would be called grid suppression fire for us.
Douglas Troop That’s because during and after the war most militaries took whatever original/modern/new inventions and tactics the enemies had made and established it in their own military.
Douglas Troop I'm not surprised. Warfare hasn't changed that much since WW2. The equipment got better, yes. Tanks are better armoured, faster and more reliable, artillery has more range and better mobility, and every soldier now has a select fire weapon. But the basic things were all there. What woked then still works now. If an artillery piece can shoot 15 or 30 kilometers doesn't change the principles of how it's employed, just the scale increases.
Douglas Troop don’t know if that is the case, because suppression is a temporary psychological effect that once fires are lifted is lost, were annihilation fires are massed surprise fires to maximize lethality prior to the enemy being able to get under cover or move.
@@ronhmclaughlin thus why its grid suppression, key word: grid, it is a concentrated barrage in one specific area (say an enemy fortification), though it is "suppressive," it would completely level what area they're suppressing (not military, but this is what I gather) edit: did more research, its called Suppression because it is an indirect fire, they wouldn't just bombard a small position (say, a machine gun post) but would bombard and level the nearby area
The John over the 30s years I have been in Artillery I have shot tons of DPICM before, it does not suppress it creates zones in which everything above ground is destroy and every human is turned into piles of hamburger. The only time you won’t get the effect is against bunkers or against tree lines, which an FDO would never use ICM against because it does not work on them You may want to get back in the books because the term suppression is applied to both direct and indirect weapons (machine guns and rifles shoot most of their ammo as suppression) and have nothing to with annihilation or destruction
Artillery.... The flower of land battle.... shrapnel: slices through muscles and bones like wet napkins. heat: burns and sucks air from invincinty causes collapse of lungs on impact pressure: busts soft tissues causing internal and external bleed out vibrations: causes internal bleeding within the body and organ failure
The shockwave is both in the bottom. The shockwave may be the most dangerous, it pushes you away but it crushes you against yourself, you may not be hit by shrapnel, but the shockwave of the blast and velocity will rupture organs, break/shatter bones, and rupture blood vessels.
Yeah, the only way you might have a chance against it is when you hear the whistle to lie down flat and open your mouth as wide open as possible. This way you avoid shrapnel, which flies above you mostly, the shockwave not hitting you in the whole body to crush you and the open mouth regulates the pression to avoid internal damage. It was pretty good, as you can even see in Wochenschau, a german soldier attacking a trench having 2 shells landing just a few meters from him in a few seconds
@@AlejandroRodriguez-le7pm not correct just recently i watched a video of a guy who fought in ukraine and he said artillery hit right next to him and threw him into a fence he was fine as the russian shells have quite the bad shrapnell dispersion they usually break into 3 or 4 big parts the shockwave itself doesnt do any of the things you described unless its litterary a direct hit the shrapnell part is what kills most deaths until 1916 in the german army during ww2 were head wounds from shrapnel when the helmets were introduced the death rate was radically lowererd
@@TheKnaeckebrot I guess being exposed to the Donau-something word must have numbed you. :D Or even Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer. Heck, I even found a recipe of Kartoffelfleischpflanzerl once. That's really a mouthful. I suggest we shorten it to... Kartoffelpanzer ! Cue the Kartoffelpanzer song ! : Ob's brät oder backt, Ob die Küchin uns lacht, Die Pfanne glühend heiss Oder kalt der Gefrierschrank. Bemehlt sind die Gesichter, Schmutzig ist unser Kinn, ja unser Kinn. Fahr, Kartoffelpanzer, Im Ofen dahin. :D
@@TheKnaeckebrot Blame my having watched many many times the Battle of the Bulge movie and finding this Kartoffelfleischpflanzerl recipe ! But I must say nothing compares to the poetry of... ARTILLERY ONLY !
Excellent explanation. My Grandfather was in the 8th Army during WWII, I remember him explaining how they worked during battles. One thing left out here; though maybe subject in another video of yours, was the importance of mortars during engagements. Thanks for the videos, very informative.
@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized yeah but that's because you're self hating, American worshipping & have an inferiority complex. Very sad actually considering how rest of the world including Americans (soldiers as well) have a deep respect & even are a bit intimidated by German ability ESPECIALLY military.
The tactic of bouncing shot is an old one. I remember reading of Nelson's ship successfully besting a Spanish battleship with a broadside described as a "Yorker," a cricket term for a ball that bounces close to the batsman, referring to bouncing the shot of the water close to the ship to hit about the water line. I did check and the cricket term does date back to the 18th century.
Would be interesting to learn about Finnish artillery tactics during WW2. Finland made several advances when it comes to use and tactics of artillery, and some of those are still being used by modern artillery. Also, would be interesting to learn of the Fire correction circle and teachings of Vilho Nenonen, the General of Artillery of Finnish army.
I'm right now serving as an forward observer in the finnish military and I can assure you that our tactics these days are surprisingly same as the ones you saw here in the video. One thing that differs is the way how we get the targets etc.. In ww2 80% of all the losses and damage we finns did to our enemies were made by artillery. And finnish artillery is still these days a really powerful force on the battlefield.
On WW2 Round Table I listened to a lecture about the Battle of the Bulge. The Historian said the real unsung hero at Bastonge was the American Artillery. It was completely devastating and accurate and really the only thing that kept the 101st in the fight before the clouds finally cleared which finally allowed the Airforce to do its part. In the same video they let a veteran speak that was a American tanker that was a gunner in a Sherman equipped with a 105 MM Howitzer. He talked about taking out a Tiger using HEAT rounds. Which I thought was interesting because those are 2 very rare vehicles that fought each another. I'm suprised that little tank on tank fight isn't talked about more. We always hear stories about Pershings and Fireflys but not much about Shermans 105mm.
Likely describing the M7 Priest. This was a self propelled howitzer assigned to support armored units. It was a Sherman chassis with a fixed open top to allow the howitzer to fire at high angle. My unit was created after Vietnam, but we were assigned a name which put us in the 109th FA. During first day of the Bulge, they were supposed to be firing in support of the 110th Infantry Regiment. The FOs were screaming for fires, but did not get any. Panzers had got in behind the infantry and were attacking the artillery positions. The 109th had 105 mm towed howitzers and were firing directly at tanks coming into their position. They nailed some but there were just too many. When the battle was over, they had 2 howitzers left out of 18 to start. My unit, because of its association with the 109th, was authorized to wear the Presidential Unit Citation for this fight.
@@jameshorn270 Excellent insight! I wish the Artillery praises were sang more for there crucial part in the Battle. Thank you so much for your service sir. Today I met a gentleman at work that was an retired Artillery man with hearing problems because he said they didn't give ear protection in the old days. His Artillery piece was a 155 mm Howitzer. What kind of Artillery piece were you equipped with? Kind of a coincidence I met him today and now I get to interact with another Artillery man. Thanks again.
Sorry, keyboard issues seem to have caused loss of original comment. The man was probably talking about the M7 Priest, a Sherman chasis with a fixed open top to allow the howitzer to fire at high angle. They were assigned mostly to support armored units. My unit was formed after Vietnam but received a designation placing it in the 109th Field Artillery. They were assigned to support the 110th Infantry. During the Battle of the Bulge, the 110th was one of the first units hit, and they were screaming for fire support, but it never came, German tanks had gotten beind the infantry and were attacking the artillery positions. The 109th was fighting for its life, shooting direct fire at tanks , ultimately a losing fight, both because artillery is designed for indirect fire and is far less efficient in direct fire than a tank. Nevertheless, they did take a toll on the attacking tanks, but there were too many. When the 109th finally got to safety, they 2 howitzers left out of 18. They were using towed 105s. Because of the connection with the 109h, we were authorized to wear the Presidential Unit Citation. Our Christmas banquet was usually close to the date of that fight, and I made sure to draw attention to it each year.
@@Wallyworld30 Actually, I was target acquisition, intitially sound and flash ranging, then radar. The units I worked with were, at the start, equipped with WW II era towed 105s and 155s, and a battery of M110s (8 inch/203 mm) Later they transitioned to the M109A6 Paladin. I worked with every artillery battalion in the Division, ranging from the 109th, which was excllent, to a battlion I will not name but was, at the time, a sick joke. I learned, with the latter unit, to use the firing tables to aim my radar for registrations, because the data they sent me was often useless. My civilian job for much of that time was with the manufacturer of the M110 and M109 series as a new equipment trainer, so I did a lot of study of how the equipment was used. I think I could, if pushed, have run a section or worked in the FDC, though it would have been largely through my job rather than actual training. Since I needed to know how to use my radar most effectively, I did a bit of self training on ballistics.
@@jameshorn270 Interesting. So as target acquisition would you be a forward observer and communicate to the guys on the gun where to target or would you acquire targets while being physically near the gun just using the Radar?
I actually fired German WW2 artillery in the 90's 127mm navy guns built in 1935, it was still with the original markings (used as coastal artillery). I think I was one of the few that found the compulsory military service fun.
The work that goes into this "simple" video is tremendous! Thank you for posting & your excellent, highly descriptive work! Very informative for me, an armchair Eastern Front "veteran!" It must've been hell on earth for both sides.
"artillery was a supporting arm in the Wehrmacht" and then there are madmen that can't wait for a Bison SPG and instead shove a sIG 33 facing the building and yell out "EVICTION NOTICE!" in German
It's interesting how artillery tactics from all countries are so close to each other no matter the country or era. Infantry and tank tactics vary a lot, but the German way to use artillery sounds a lot like, for example, what I read in a 1934 vintage French army manual. I guess there are not so many good ways to use field howitzers!
@L. della Rovere they have devoured all the budget for a unfinished fortification belt. When Petain was minister of war 34-35 he doesn't want to ask for new credits for new tanks.
Well, in WW2 you can more or less group all the armies' artillery branches into two groups: 1. The US and Britain, world-class equipment and methods 2. Everyone else, including the Germans, far inferior in methods(especially) and much of their equipment.
Artillery videos are always welcome to me, TBQH. Artillery is an under-addressed subject of (modern) war in general, despite its immense role (for one, the grunts hate it the most for a good reason).
Very interesting video, my great grandfather was an artillery battalion commander on the eastern front from 1941-1945 he died last year at the age of 104, amazing man.
Thanks for the presentation. Surprising so little emphasis on the artillery in German memoirs when so many senior commanders were from the artillery. The Russians and Brits mention their artillery much more, especially the Russians who seem to really love their guns.
Arty....the true god of war. Your "skin rash" joke remnded me of something....Australian Artillarymen....Gunners....in the Pacific war....used the 25 pounder, and found that shells would sweat in tropical humidity, they had to wipe the moisture off the base of the shell and the timer on the 'buisness end" regularly....they refered to the chore with the standard larrikan terminology...."Make sure you wipe their noses and bums' ...was the order of the day.
How do rocket artillery tactics compare to the conventional artillery tactics described in the video? Especially since they developed later and could fire faster, it seems like they may have been used differently.
As far as I know early rocket artillery was effective, but not precise, it could be used in large concentrations to great effect as there wasn't a gun to be overheated, but alone it could basically go anywhere so it wasn't so effective Artillery could be used as a more reliable way to provide precise fire support This is mostly speculation from what I know about the Soviet katyushas and artillery tactics which in this video says it can have targets as small as tanks or bunkers so I'm assuming it can get pretty accurate
Rocket artillery's advantage is that it delivers a VERY high "throw weight" of explosives VERY quickly. Since most of the casualties caused by artillery are in the first 90 seconds or so (due to surprise and being caught in the open, basically), this makes rocket artillery very deadly, but terrible for any sort of sustained fire mission requirement due to the long reload times and logistical burden. Given the 4 types of fire mission described in this video, I would say rocket artillery specializes in "Annihilation Fire": attacking concentrations of troops with almost no warning.
Marcelo Henrique Soares da Silva maybe it does not translate well, harassing fire as understood by artillery is fire to disrupt the enemy’s daily activity. Only someone wgo does not know proper employment of Arty would use rockets in that nature, rockets provide the ability to put a large volume of somewhat less accurate fire quickly on a target. In fire planning, you would use that fire to attack your high value targets.
Yo Maverick Lara, as you see the conventional artillery needs fronts or zones, to be effective (flanks, front, and support) and spotting certain enemy changes to your own position. Missile artillery in a preemptive sense are used to deter new enemy movement in covered areas such as blocks, roads, or zones. Missile artillery in a frontal sense is to provide anti mobile artillery (tanks, transports, other artillery movements and anti infantry equipment ). Missile is used contact directly in effect in most cases like herding enemy movement tactically, as conventional is to pin down or "smash" zones of fortified holds or great counter (or offensive) swells. All together artillery mainly used to support infantry or level a playing field for advancing your own forces, it's hard to bring in large numbers or bulls of weapons under a storm of lead and fire. Hope this was helpful ( also if mounting counter offensive with artillery supported by infantry, quickly secure high grounds as long as the enemy has no air superiority)
I like to see more on how organic infantry support pieces worked in the German army in WW2. Examples being the IG 7.5cm, 50mm mortar and rifle grenades.
This is excellent. I realise that panzervideos draw a bigger crowd. But artillery really is the forgotten arm in historybooks and popculture. I know only of one book that is only about artillery and that is about the artillery of the Brits when dropping over Arnhem (and it is mostly about the crews of the ATguns). So I greatly appriciate this video.
*German Artillery Officers writing their manual-* "We have been tasked with naming the different types of fire. Don't you think they should be as descriptive as possible and perhaps easy to remember? You know, something we can turn into an acronym." "Hmmm, I'm not sure but I do know we don't need any more acronyms. Hey, let's give them awesome sounding names! Wait, I have one. Destruction Fire!" "Destruction Fire? Wunderbar! How about 'Annihilation Fire'? That is sure to scare the crap out of the enemy!" "Oh, I wish I though of that one! This is fun, let's make more! But first let's get drinks. We are sure to come up with even more awesome sounding names after a pint or three!" The End
@@lucaswatson1913 Not sure, will check it later today, but a regiment definitely is not 20 tanks mate, that would be a battalion, of which the brigades were made of - 3 btls of tanks and 1 of motorized infantry..usually. Maybe the guards brigades from 1943 were made from regiments, though I highly doubt so.
@@filipopalka1417 No they definitely had 20 tanks. I know this because in WiTE the guards heavy tank regiments in 1943 had 21 KV-1s at FULL TOE. They later had IS-2s.
@@potatopotato8360 You mean Garry Grigsbys War in the East? Always wanted to try that one...Got a book in pdf about Red Army TOE, will check it soon, maybe we can find some info there, it has a whole chapter on Soviet armor. It simply seems too few tanks to be a regiment to me...will let you know soon if Ive found something there.
i was just thinkings about the various ways artillery was utilized during ww2 and the differences in tactics like rolling and creeping barrages, then i see this vid in my notice, thanks!
@@luuk341 it may be not as precise as smart ammunitions but its accurate enough to destroy mechanised formations on the move like in ukraine and syria.
"First Glantz", nice one. Quality job, as it is customary. And a question: I have heard the statement that the German artillery was set up with accurate fire in mind but it lost flexibility and became relegated when compared to the artillery of the their enemies. What do you make of that statement?
sadly, I can't answer your question, yet. Generally, German quality decreased over the course of the war. I also read a bit into the famous artillery book (forgot the name), but the author seems very dismissive towards the Germans to a degree that feels quite off.
@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized Thank you for the reply nonetheless. And indeed, after a reading a book or two (hundred) one starts to "perceive" some red flags when an author is showing a bit of bias. From the technical aspect, which seems a bit easier to judge, German pieces were serviceable and reliable, but somewhat bulky, and the sFH 18 in particular appears to be somewhat short ranged when compared to some of the competition. It would be great to see a video in the future about the differences in artillery regarding the major combatants. Artillery is a fascinating subject ("things go up, things go down" said Helmut) and it has received little screen time when compared to other more "glamorous" arms. Cheers and keep up the great wörk!
yeah, Wettstein in Wehrmacht in Stadtkampf particularly pointed out that the Germans had problems with the long range of the Soviet artillery arm. might happen, but it depends on the success of the video etc. the whole artillery stuff takes quite more time than Panzers due to source situation, my prior knowledge and accessibility, similarly Panzer videos generally do better. So, every artillery video involves more investment and risk. The "ad" in the beginning was not a joke, but it seems like around 40 K people that watched it don't care at all or think it was a joke.
"Feuerglocke" is also not noted here, or practically anywhere outside of smaller wartime documents, maps, etc. It is in original map sketcheand a manual dated 1942 for "reconnaissance in the defense". It's a really weird term, in English it equates to "fire dome" or "fire bell". It seems to have meant artillery fire that only covered the outermost 360 degrees perimeter of known enemy locations all the way around, thus preventing any escape in any direction, and/or resupply and reinforcement by nearby enemy troops. If anyone has further information on this I am all ears. I found the term in "Biespiele für Aufklärungs und Sicherungsdienst und Unternehmungen in der Verteidigung" published 1942 and republished in 1944.
In general the tactical employment of artillery nowadays has been classified as: PREPARATIVE (massed fire against defensive structures, trenches, obstacles etc. prior to an attack to disrupt and degrade them), SUPPRESSIVE (massed fire against enemy defences during an attack, as described in this video), PROPHYLACTIC (covering gaps in defences, blocking enemy advances and manoeuvres, or covering a retreat etc.), COUNTER BATTERY (as described in the video, taking out or suppressing enemy heavy artillery batteries in the rear, usually using the largest calibre heavy artillery.)
Interesting, the US doctrine had the mechanical time/super-quick fuse (same as the German dopplezunder) as the default fuse for all fire missions. In fact, the US 105mm came with a MT/SQ fuse installed. This type of fuse in really just a miniature mechanical clock that is robust enough to be shot out of a gun, yet accurate to a few milliseconds.
Do you think you could do a video on why German mortar fire was so effective? I always hear reports of allies moaning about how accurate it was. Love your channel and thanks for another great video :)
@@rhysthomas623 Delayed combat-in-depth imo Fighting Retreat, the germans developed from an very offebsive force to an nearly fully defensive one, their weapons reflect that, as does their tactics. Delayed combat is essentially combat where your goal is to rather then stop the enemy you intend to delay their advance leading to them eventually grinding to either a halt or you breaking contact/getting defeated so you can set up an proper counter offensive. When the war turned against the Germans they made sure that the cost of such whould be exponentially much higher then then they where attacking. Essentially Delayed combat is combat meant to tire out the opponent via attrition and constant fighting, coerincing them into overextending, or halting their offensive whichever the case whould be a success to the Germans.
@@Zretgul_timerunner Nice! Thanks for your response. I was aware that the Germans employed such tactics but id not heard the term delayed combat before :)
German mortars were also very accurate due to the planned use of field telephones. These had precise length cables brought in a straight line to the forward observer with one soldier whose only job was dealing with the cable. By trigonometry, the forward observer could command much more precise mortar fire as the mortars were safely hidden while the forward observer could see the target. This only seemed to be used for the 81mm mortars.
You guys really should google Vilho Nenonen and his work for artillery obversing devices. "during the Battle of Tali-Ihantala Finnish Army had 21 artillery battalions and one heavy battery, a total of 250 guns and mortars, focusing their fire on targets inside an area of 7 square kilometers, considered to be a world record at the time" All thanks to Nenonen's invention.
I think exploring German WWI artillery tactics especially under Büchmuller would be really interesting to see the contrast as he organized a far more centralized system of fire management and was actually very influential to Soviet artillery thought and why in the Soviet Army artillery was considered a combat arm not a supporting arm
Modern artillery tactics underwent a drastic change with the invention of proximity fuses. The western allies basically had an force multiplier that the Soviets could only match by increasing tube density to 100 or more per kilometer of front. War end artillery was outrageously fearsome.
I wonder how much damage you can do with the various cannons. In WWII 45mm was used against Infantry in buildings, but soon they switched to 75mm. Today, 30mm autocannons seem to be the weapon of choice for soft targets, whereas fortified structures are attacked with 120 and 155mm cannons. From what I could gather the explosive cargo was: 75mm: 0.7kg 105mm: 1.75kg 122mm: 3.6kg 150mm: 8.6kg My guess for 30mm would be 200-300g. 80mm mortars appear to have around 3kg and 120mm even 14kg, meaning that 80mm mortar equals a 122mm cannon and a 120mm mortar outclasses even a 150mm howitzer.
The numbers you mention for the mortars are the complete shell, not the filler. A 81mm mortar shell have around 750g of filler, or about the same as a 75mm field gun. A 12cm mortar have about as much filler as a 105mm field gun, at around 1,3kg. A 30mm shell got around 50g of explosive, the 3hg is the weight of the shell it self.
@@am17frans For the ones I couldnt find information on the ammount of filler, I assumed that 1/3rd of the weight would be the framework, but I guess they also considered the propellant part of the shell and not just the projectile...
@@edi9892 Framework? Do you mean the body of the shell? A quicke note of terminology, "shell" only referes to the projectile, if one included propellant, primer and (if any) case, then one speak of a "round".
@@am17frans I meant with framework everything of the projectile except the payload. The line is a bit blurred with mortar ammunition as they don't have the propellant in a case like other cartridges.
Great video! Thank you for that. I would like however to point out that one of the main targets for a sensitive fuze is to hit foliage and therefore explode before hitting the ground so it explodes in the air and causes the best possible shrapnell pattern. Sensitive fuzes main disadvantege however is that it cannot be fired on cloudy or foggy weather as a hail could explode it midair. The artillery and fuzes are somewhat a complex topic on how to use them and on what especially to explain all of it on a 13min video. But just wanted to point that out.
Interesting to point out that parts (but not all) of German artillery doctrine were quickly coopted by the Soviets in WWII - which, combined with the sheer mass of artillery the Soviets eventually had (not to mention the even bigger mass of mortars), was a pretty deadly combination. The key, I think, is that German artillery doctrine was honed on the Western Front in WWI - and they had it figured out well from the start of WWII, while others (and Soviets in particular) still had a bit of learning to do. On the other hand, the Germans were working against material limitations (like in WWI, really) - while their enemies were practically swimming in artillery by the end of the war. And the nature of artillery warfare is such that in the end, the winner is the side with the most guns in the most batteries supplied with the most shells.
_And the nature of artillery warfare is such that in the end, the winner is the side with the most guns in the most batteries supplied with the most shells_ Napoleon, who was first an artillery officer, used to say that "God is on the side of the one with the best artillery".
great video, my grandmother told me that her brother had gotten an ironcross as artelery gunner during ww1. Always wondered why they would give them to soldiers save behind the front , probably cause he managed to deplete all shells into the enemy and make krupp sell more ammo and get higher profit. to route out all evil just follow the money. maybe next time include costs of all weapons and amo mentioned in ure info videos , keep up the good work.
while describing harassing fire, i imagined an artillery commander laughing maniacally as he hives the order exactly when he knows the enemy was just about to deliver letters
Modern US term for Notfeuer is Final Protective Fire- ordered to catch an enemy crossing an area in assault. I also note this disregards the critical importance of rifle grenades or 5cm Leichter Granatwerfer 36.
> I also note this disregards the critical importance of rifle grenades or 5cm Leichter Granatwerfer 36. those are not weapons of the artillery arm, but infantry.
"Combat effectiveness over camouflage" make sense in the beginning of the war. But what about the end of the war when Allies had air superiority ? By the way, amazing video !
A lot less effective. US Army had forward observers constantly observe the battlefield on light L-4 reconnaissance aircraft. Any movement by ground forces or firing of artillery will be instantly answered with concentrated counter-battery fire. Airborne observers called in more fire missions than ground observers. US Army forward observer and Fire Direction center procedure was simply the best in the war; German observers generally could only call on his division artillery or a battalion worth of guns; American ones could call on pratically every gun in range. Air superiority allows for this. According to this link, armyhistory.org/u-s-and-german-field-artillery-in-world-war-ii-a-comparison/ The L-4 observation aircraft could silence enemy artillery and ground force by merely showing up. There is a recent monographic study of a US Major which lamented the loss of these skills from the current army. Current ground forces leaders first instinct is to call in helicopters and air strikes. Certain operations in recent years failed because artillery was not brought into play.
That ”abpraller” with the delayed fuse is still a fireing command in the swedish artilleri, I kept asking for that command during my time with the 15,5cm howitzers, but the officers always answered - it doesn’t work, we have tried, the soil is too soft and uneven.
It is important to understand that German artillery tactics continued to evolve after 1942. Indeed, by mid-1943, German light artillery batteries on the Eastern Front began to assume a major role in direct-fire antitank combat, mostly because the infantry divisions were required to fight on over-extended defensive frontages and possessed relatively few dedicated antitank weapons. Accordingly, deployment of light artillery in defilade positions was often impossible, because the howitzers needed to shoot relatively flat-trajectory high-explosive antitank shells at long ranges to avoid close range firefights with packs of enemy tanks. Whenever possible, the Germans dug antitank ditches and laid antitank minefields behind the main battle line, but before and usually within about 1,000 meters of the light artillery gun positions, to confound enemy tanks and bring effective massed antitank fires to bear against them. While this tactic worked fairly well until mid-1944, the Soviets caught on and Red Army intelligence officers were able to use the information gleaned from previous battles to develop a clear picture of the locations of numerous German artillery positions BEFORE it commended the massive summer offensives of 1944 that destroyed most of Army Group Center, mauled Army Group North Ukraine, and virtually annihilated Army Group South Ukraine. In addition to hammering known German artillery positions with massed artillery fires, the Red Air Force often used regiments of IL-2 ground attack aircraft to pin down, disrupt, and often destroy German artillery systems. Give that most German artillery was horse drawn, the effect of near-continuous bombing and strafing runs shouldn't be underestimated.
My father used to say that many of his battery's fire missions were "H&I" or harassment and interdiction; think about aiming at a crossroads or rail junctions and you get the idea. The other type that he mentioned was "TOT", or time on target where sometimes the entire battalion would fire simultaneously at a pre-selected target at a particular time without any prior registration; would this be "annihilation fire" in Bernhard's example?
The question is: how many of the 1937-1939 regulations still were kept until the end of the war; probably many, but maybe not all of the ones showed here? Too bad there isn't more litterature, but maybe you'll come across another book some day :)
Anecdotally, it seems like direct fire from 88s was especially effective against dug-in positions. Did the Heer have 88mm guns or was that just the Luftwaffe?
Dug-in positions were especially effective against direct fire 88s. It's easier to counter smallish direct fire than heavier artillery showering you from afar.
It’s impressive that way back then they could shoot artillery from Miles away and be accurate. I understand how today you could be really accurate but back then I feel like it’d be hard to hit anything
It’s very interesting to read on German Artillery in WWI where they use indirect fire, where the French and British use direct fire. And how are 105 (USA) is a direct descendent of the German 105.
thank you, MHV, for taking your time with artillery. I love artillery so much. @MHV, have you read Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945 by Joachim Engelmann and Horst Scheibert? I think that book covers s already outdated and/or biased information.
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do tactics and other stuff on other nations because you only do German this German that you can clearly see that you hoped on their train and don't want to hop off
Howitzers and proper artillery serve slightly different roles.
Your channel is incredible! You provide so much useful information on the topics covered.
Great video as always
9:11 what exactly is the scale of this map? It would help visualize better.
Edit: how much of this applies to SPGs in armored support? (Or maybe an entire video about the tactical use of SPGs would be better?)
I am really considering it, but it would break my rule of only supporting my Scandinavian compatriots with my limited resources. Your channel is so good though. And I know you shouldn't answer this question and I know you're Austrian, but you like metal, so what do you think about Rammstein's latest hit? ;)
Sniper: one shot, one kill
Artillery: one shot, twelve kills
More like 200 shots 1 kill and 300 people shat their pants and discovered how much they loved their mothers
Twelve kills... And a lot of materiel destroyed.
To paraphrase a German general. When the American's start using 155mm as a sniper weapon it's time to surrender.
@@gabrielnieves3972 lel
rupert kiler oh I assumed we were still shelling Warsaw
Finally, I too can set up my artillery position in my back yard with the help of this video. Thank you MHV, very cool!
Useful for that hoi4 artillery only challenge as well
A bit warped to actually crack *jokes* about weapons that killed millions of people.
I think I just found my next target to fire at with my 80cm Gustav Rail Cannon
(I know it got dismantled, I’m making a joke xD)
@@HiTechOilCo Well... Any yahoo can make an Artillery piece (hell the Stokes Mortar was basically a homemade Mortar).
@@HiTechOilCo why do you exist?
The man is right, there's few english-speaking sources on the matter. Thanks for bringing the german sources to us.
lmao what . u actualy notice u watching an animated video huh ?
As a former Artillery observer for the US army, it interesting to think that we use many of the same tactics and methods that the Germans employed during WW2. Though obviously we have different names for things. For instance, annihilation fire, would be called grid suppression fire for us.
Douglas Troop That’s because during and after the war most militaries took whatever original/modern/new inventions and tactics the enemies had made and established it in their own military.
Douglas Troop
I'm not surprised. Warfare hasn't changed that much since WW2.
The equipment got better, yes. Tanks are better armoured, faster and more reliable, artillery has more range and better mobility, and every soldier now has a select fire weapon. But the basic things were all there.
What woked then still works now. If an artillery piece can shoot 15 or 30 kilometers doesn't change the principles of how it's employed, just the scale increases.
Douglas Troop don’t know if that is the case, because suppression is a temporary psychological effect that once fires are lifted is lost, were annihilation fires are massed surprise fires to maximize lethality prior to the enemy being able to get under cover or move.
@@ronhmclaughlin thus why its grid suppression, key word: grid, it is a concentrated barrage in one specific area (say an enemy fortification), though it is "suppressive," it would completely level what area they're suppressing (not military, but this is what I gather)
edit: did more research, its called Suppression because it is an indirect fire, they wouldn't just bombard a small position (say, a machine gun post) but would bombard and level the nearby area
The John over the 30s years I have been in Artillery I have shot tons of DPICM before, it does not suppress it creates zones in which everything above ground is destroy and every human is turned into piles of hamburger. The only time you won’t get the effect is against bunkers or against tree lines, which an FDO would never use ICM against because it does not work on them
You may want to get back in the books because the term suppression is applied to both direct and indirect weapons (machine guns and rifles shoot most of their ammo as suppression) and have nothing to with annihilation or destruction
Artillery....
The flower of land battle....
shrapnel: slices through muscles and bones like wet napkins.
heat: burns and sucks air from invincinty causes collapse of lungs on impact
pressure: busts soft tissues causing internal and external bleed out
vibrations: causes internal bleeding within the body and organ failure
Soldier who got hit by one: bro im straight up not having a good time
The shockwave is both in the bottom. The shockwave may be the most dangerous, it pushes you away but it crushes you against yourself, you may not be hit by shrapnel, but the shockwave of the blast and velocity will rupture organs, break/shatter bones, and rupture blood vessels.
Yeah, the only way you might have a chance against it is when you hear the whistle to lie down flat and open your mouth as wide open as possible. This way you avoid shrapnel, which flies above you mostly, the shockwave not hitting you in the whole body to crush you and the open mouth regulates the pression to avoid internal damage. It was pretty good, as you can even see in Wochenschau, a german soldier attacking a trench having 2 shells landing just a few meters from him in a few seconds
the heat myth is utter bullshit and doesnt work like that
@@AlejandroRodriguez-le7pm not correct
just recently i watched a video of a guy who fought in ukraine and he said artillery hit right next to him and threw him into a fence
he was fine as the russian shells have quite the bad shrapnell dispersion they usually break into 3 or 4 big parts
the shockwave itself doesnt do any of the things you described unless its litterary a direct hit
the shrapnell part is what kills
most deaths until 1916 in the german army during ww2 were head wounds from shrapnel
when the helmets were introduced the death rate was radically lowererd
"Artillerieverbindungskommando"
I wouldn't be surprised if these people could write the whole Mein Kampf book using only one very long word.
does it say much if this word doesnt even sound too long for me as a german? :D
@@TheKnaeckebrot I guess being exposed to the Donau-something word must have numbed you. :D
Or even Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer.
Heck, I even found a recipe of Kartoffelfleischpflanzerl once. That's really a mouthful.
I suggest we shorten it to... Kartoffelpanzer ! Cue the Kartoffelpanzer song ! :
Ob's brät oder backt,
Ob die Küchin uns lacht,
Die Pfanne glühend heiss
Oder kalt der Gefrierschrank.
Bemehlt sind die Gesichter,
Schmutzig ist unser Kinn, ja unser Kinn.
Fahr, Kartoffelpanzer,
Im Ofen dahin. :D
@@KenshiroPlayDotA i love your poetry! xD
@@TheKnaeckebrot Blame my having watched many many times the Battle of the Bulge movie and finding this Kartoffelfleischpflanzerl recipe !
But I must say nothing compares to the poetry of...
ARTILLERY ONLY !
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. Look it up on Wikipedia and use the "listen" function
Excellent explanation.
My Grandfather was in the 8th Army during WWII, I remember him explaining how they worked during battles. One thing left out here; though maybe subject in another video of yours, was the importance of mortars during engagements.
Thanks for the videos, very informative.
Thank you for the video. As a german, its very nice that you've put the german translation on it.
I'm glad you like it
One of the most informed channels on UA-cam. Absolute S tier content.
Yea you realy want to avoid skin rash. Sensitive it is.
Speak like yoda, you do
Or Welsh.
I just commented about this. I didn't think he said that at first. Had to go back & listen again😆
Then you really want to avoid Death!
We need a MHV vid on Wehrmacht skincare in WW2
Remember to play "Battery" by Metallica when setting up your battery position.
Wrong!!! We are talking about German Artillery, so play Rammstein - Feuer Frei! (:
I saw MetallicA like 7 times live and Rammstein about 1. I don't want to see Rammstein again, but definitely MetallicA.
So, alex, you are wrong.
@@terminallydrunk1900 Erikaaaaaaa!
@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized yeah but that's because you're self hating, American worshipping & have an inferiority complex. Very sad actually considering how rest of the world including Americans (soldiers as well) have a deep respect & even are a bit intimidated by German ability ESPECIALLY military.
@@sufimuslimlion4114 get some basic manners
Tremendously informative. A thousand thanks. I will be watching this video over and over for the next week or two.
The tactic of bouncing shot is an old one. I remember reading of Nelson's ship successfully besting a Spanish battleship with a broadside described as a "Yorker," a cricket term for a ball that bounces close to the batsman, referring to bouncing the shot of the water close to the ship to hit about the water line. I did check and the cricket term does date back to the 18th century.
Would be interesting to learn about Finnish artillery tactics during WW2. Finland made several advances when it comes to use and tactics of artillery, and some of those are still being used by modern artillery. Also, would be interesting to learn of the Fire correction circle and teachings of Vilho Nenonen, the General of Artillery of Finnish army.
They more or less put in words the strategical moving artillery.
I'm right now serving as an forward observer in the finnish military and I can assure you that our tactics these days are surprisingly same as the ones you saw here in the video. One thing that differs is the way how we get the targets etc.. In ww2 80% of all the losses and damage we finns did to our enemies were made by artillery. And finnish artillery is still these days a really powerful force on the battlefield.
Finnish artillery is frightening. As a Canadian, we have amazing artillery too, but I don’t think anyone else can beat Finnish artillery.
lmao finnish country was run over by wehrmacht in 60sec. to the moment they did surrender.
great tactics LMAO
@@roberttange805 Are you confusing Finland with Denmark, which was invaded by Wehrmacht in 1 day in 1940, as Finland was never invaded by Germany?
Still enjoying your interjection of humour now and again, both in words and graphics. Keep it up dude.
On WW2 Round Table I listened to a lecture about the Battle of the Bulge. The Historian said the real unsung hero at Bastonge was the American Artillery. It was completely devastating and accurate and really the only thing that kept the 101st in the fight before the clouds finally cleared which finally allowed the Airforce to do its part. In the same video they let a veteran speak that was a American tanker that was a gunner in a Sherman equipped with a 105 MM Howitzer. He talked about taking out a Tiger using HEAT rounds. Which I thought was interesting because those are 2 very rare vehicles that fought each another. I'm suprised that little tank on tank fight isn't talked about more. We always hear stories about Pershings and Fireflys but not much about Shermans 105mm.
Likely describing the M7 Priest. This was a self propelled howitzer assigned to support armored units. It was a Sherman chassis with a fixed open top to allow the howitzer to fire at high angle.
My unit was created after Vietnam, but we were assigned a name which put us in the 109th FA. During first day of the Bulge, they were supposed to be firing in support of the 110th Infantry Regiment. The FOs were screaming for fires, but did not get any. Panzers had got in behind the infantry and were attacking the artillery positions. The 109th had 105 mm towed howitzers and were firing directly at tanks coming into their position. They nailed some but there were just too many. When the battle was over, they had 2 howitzers left out of 18 to start. My unit, because of its association with the 109th, was authorized to wear the Presidential Unit Citation for this fight.
@@jameshorn270 Excellent insight! I wish the Artillery praises were sang more for there crucial part in the Battle. Thank you so much for your service sir. Today I met a gentleman at work that was an retired Artillery man with hearing problems because he said they didn't give ear protection in the old days. His Artillery piece was a 155 mm Howitzer. What kind of Artillery piece were you equipped with? Kind of a coincidence I met him today and now I get to interact with another Artillery man. Thanks again.
Sorry, keyboard issues seem to have caused loss of original comment. The man was probably talking about the M7 Priest, a Sherman chasis with a fixed open top to allow the howitzer to fire at high angle. They were assigned mostly to support armored units.
My unit was formed after Vietnam but received a designation placing it in the 109th Field Artillery. They were assigned to support the 110th Infantry. During the Battle of the Bulge, the 110th was one of the first units hit, and they were screaming for fire support, but it never came, German tanks had gotten beind the infantry and were attacking the artillery positions. The 109th was fighting for its life, shooting direct fire at tanks , ultimately a losing fight, both because artillery is designed for indirect fire and is far less efficient in direct fire than a tank. Nevertheless, they did take a toll on the attacking tanks, but there were too many. When the 109th finally got to safety, they 2 howitzers left out of 18. They were using towed 105s.
Because of the connection with the 109h, we were authorized to wear the Presidential Unit Citation. Our Christmas banquet was usually close to the date of that fight, and I made sure to draw attention to it each year.
@@Wallyworld30 Actually, I was target acquisition, intitially sound and flash ranging, then radar. The units I worked with were, at the start, equipped with WW II era towed 105s and 155s, and a battery of M110s (8 inch/203 mm) Later they transitioned to the M109A6 Paladin. I worked with every artillery battalion in the Division, ranging from the 109th, which was excllent, to a battlion I will not name but was, at the time, a sick joke. I learned, with the latter unit, to use the firing tables to aim my radar for registrations, because the data they sent me was often useless. My civilian job for much of that time was with the manufacturer of the M110 and M109 series as a new equipment trainer, so I did a lot of study of how the equipment was used. I think I could, if pushed, have run a section or worked in the FDC, though it would have been largely through my job rather than actual training. Since I needed to know how to use my radar most effectively, I did a bit of self training on ballistics.
@@jameshorn270 Interesting. So as target acquisition would you be a forward observer and communicate to the guys on the gun where to target or would you acquire targets while being physically near the gun just using the Radar?
I actually fired German WW2 artillery in the 90's 127mm navy guns built in 1935, it was still with the original markings (used as coastal artillery). I think I was one of the few that found the compulsory military service fun.
In our country it is said , "A bullet has a name written on it, however an artillery shell is addressed to "whomever it may concern"".
The work that goes into this "simple" video is tremendous! Thank you for posting & your excellent, highly descriptive work! Very informative for me, an armchair Eastern Front "veteran!" It must've been hell on earth for both sides.
thank you for posting your sources, it is quite annoying when people put documentaries on you tube and don't provide sources.
"artillery was a supporting arm in the Wehrmacht"
and then there are madmen that can't wait for a Bison SPG and instead shove a sIG 33 facing the building and yell out "EVICTION NOTICE!" in German
It's interesting how artillery tactics from all countries are so close to each other no matter the country or era. Infantry and tank tactics vary a lot, but the German way to use artillery sounds a lot like, for example, what I read in a 1934 vintage French army manual. I guess there are not so many good ways to use field howitzers!
@L. della Rovere they have devoured all the budget for a unfinished fortification belt. When Petain was minister of war 34-35 he doesn't want to ask for new credits for new tanks.
"I guess there are not so many good ways to use field howitzers!"
But then you have to explain, why German artillery caused more losses.
@@olafkunert3714 It's similar, but small differences can cause big changes. Plus actual implementation is important.
Well, in WW2 you can more or less group all the armies' artillery branches into two groups:
1. The US and Britain, world-class equipment and methods
2. Everyone else, including the Germans, far inferior in methods(especially) and much of their equipment.
Artillery videos are always welcome to me, TBQH.
Artillery is an under-addressed subject of (modern) war in general, despite its immense role (for one, the grunts hate it the most for a good reason).
"TBQH"? The Big Quad Hammock? What is this code?
Your videos are unparalleled. Such resources save other historians valuable research time. Keep up the great work!
Very interesting video, my great grandfather was an artillery battalion commander on the eastern front from 1941-1945 he died last year at the age of 104, amazing man.
Lucky he survived
Thanks for the presentation. Surprising so little emphasis on the artillery in German memoirs when so many senior commanders were from the artillery. The Russians and Brits mention their artillery much more, especially the Russians who seem to really love their guns.
Arty....the true god of war.
Your "skin rash" joke remnded me of something....Australian Artillarymen....Gunners....in the Pacific war....used the 25 pounder, and found that shells would sweat in tropical humidity, they had to wipe the moisture off the base of the shell and the timer on the 'buisness end" regularly....they refered to the chore with the standard larrikan terminology...."Make sure you wipe their noses and bums' ...was the order of the day.
I'm sorry, you got me with the teddy bear as the soft target icon, damn near needed a new keyboard.
Also he says "at first Glantz" :)
I cri everytime
How do rocket artillery tactics compare to the conventional artillery tactics described in the video? Especially since they developed later and could fire faster, it seems like they may have been used differently.
As far as I know early rocket artillery was effective, but not precise, it could be used in large concentrations to great effect as there wasn't a gun to be overheated, but alone it could basically go anywhere so it wasn't so effective
Artillery could be used as a more reliable way to provide precise fire support
This is mostly speculation from what I know about the Soviet katyushas and artillery tactics which in this video says it can have targets as small as tanks or bunkers so I'm assuming it can get pretty accurate
Rocket artillery's advantage is that it delivers a VERY high "throw weight" of explosives VERY quickly. Since most of the casualties caused by artillery are in the first 90 seconds or so (due to surprise and being caught in the open, basically), this makes rocket artillery very deadly, but terrible for any sort of sustained fire mission requirement due to the long reload times and logistical burden. Given the 4 types of fire mission described in this video, I would say rocket artillery specializes in "Annihilation Fire": attacking concentrations of troops with almost no warning.
Noble713 most casualties occur in the first 5 seconds that is why massed surprised fires were the goal
Marcelo Henrique Soares da Silva maybe it does not translate well, harassing fire as understood by artillery is fire to disrupt the enemy’s daily activity. Only someone wgo does not know proper employment of Arty would use rockets in that nature, rockets provide the ability to put a large volume of somewhat less accurate fire quickly on a target. In fire planning, you would use that fire to attack your high value targets.
Yo Maverick Lara, as you see the conventional artillery needs fronts or zones, to be effective (flanks, front, and support) and spotting certain enemy changes to your own position. Missile artillery in a preemptive sense are used to deter new enemy movement in covered areas such as blocks, roads, or zones. Missile artillery in a frontal sense is to provide anti mobile artillery (tanks, transports, other artillery movements and anti infantry equipment ). Missile is used contact directly in effect in most cases like herding enemy movement tactically, as conventional is to pin down or "smash" zones of fortified holds or great counter (or offensive) swells. All together artillery mainly used to support infantry or level a playing field for advancing your own forces, it's hard to bring in large numbers or bulls of weapons under a storm of lead and fire. Hope this was helpful ( also if mounting counter offensive with artillery supported by infantry, quickly secure high grounds as long as the enemy has no air superiority)
could you cover different types of tank Shells during WW2?
aphe, ap, apcr, heat, he, smoke and there was some limit use of special ammunition but would love an vid on it to
@@marcroelse9517 as well as apc, apcbc and ac (anti concrete)
@@OmarSlloum ac was that in ww2 thought it was after ww2 i know how the round looked i saw it in rl
@@marcroelse9517 crap we forgot about apds
@@marcroelse9517 and APFSDS
I like to see more on how organic infantry support pieces worked in the German army in WW2. Examples being the IG 7.5cm, 50mm mortar and rifle grenades.
This is excellent. I realise that panzervideos draw a bigger crowd. But artillery really is the forgotten arm in historybooks and popculture. I know only of one book that is only about artillery and that is about the artillery of the Brits when dropping over Arnhem (and it is mostly about the crews of the ATguns). So I greatly appriciate this video.
*German Artillery Officers writing their manual-*
"We have been tasked with naming the different types of fire. Don't you think they should be as descriptive as possible and perhaps easy to remember? You know, something we can turn into an acronym."
"Hmmm, I'm not sure but I do know we don't need any more acronyms. Hey, let's give them awesome sounding names! Wait, I have one. Destruction Fire!"
"Destruction Fire? Wunderbar! How about 'Annihilation Fire'? That is sure to scare the crap out of the enemy!"
"Oh, I wish I though of that one! This is fun, let's make more! But first let's get drinks. We are sure to come up with even more awesome sounding names after a pint or three!"
The End
"pint" in german army? western spy i see :v
Please do the organisation of Soviet heavy tank (KV-1S) regiments! Been wondering for ages and can't find a good source
Were there actually entire regiments of KV-1s? Probably sometime during the later stages of the war?
@@filipopalka1417 1943 Guards heavy tank brigades mate, had 2 regiments of KV-1Ss/KV-1Es. Remember a regiment is only 20 tanks
@@lucaswatson1913 Not sure, will check it later today, but a regiment definitely is not 20 tanks mate, that would be a battalion, of which the brigades were made of - 3 btls of tanks and 1 of motorized infantry..usually. Maybe the guards brigades from 1943 were made from regiments, though I highly doubt so.
@@filipopalka1417 No they definitely had 20 tanks. I know this because in WiTE the guards heavy tank regiments in 1943 had 21 KV-1s at FULL TOE. They later had IS-2s.
@@potatopotato8360 You mean Garry Grigsbys War in the East? Always wanted to try that one...Got a book in pdf about Red Army TOE, will check it soon, maybe we can find some info there, it has a whole chapter on Soviet armor. It simply seems too few tanks to be a regiment to me...will let you know soon if Ive found something there.
i was just thinkings about the various ways artillery was utilized during ww2 and the differences in tactics like rolling and creeping barrages, then i see this vid in my notice, thanks!
artillery is still the king of the battlefield
I think aircraft are
@@luuk341 Air support can be denied much easier than artillery, plus artillery doesnt have to worry about time over target.
@@nks406 Thats true, but artillery isnt nearly as precise as an airstrike.
@@luuk341 it may be not as precise as smart ammunitions but its accurate enough to destroy mechanised formations on the move like in ukraine and syria.
@@luuk341 the artilerie is as accurate or more accurate with smart amunition as aircraft bombs
Vielen dank, ein sehr nützliches video.
I like the idea of the harassing fire, I'm gonna apply it in foxhole.
Enemy builders and logi will cry tears of blood!
The accent alone was enough to give this a like
Echt gute Videos ich mag die idee fahinter es ist echt sehr informativ und ich habe deine Videos auch als lehrmaterial vorgeschlagen 😊
danke!
"First Glantz" haha. I love it!
me: needs to review for amt exam
also me at 2am: oh i wanna know how germans plan arty
Artillerymen of the world, unite!!!
hjp14 😂😂 I think this is the first time I've see so many gunners on a single forum
The only thing you have to lose is your Caissons.
"First Glantz", nice one.
Quality job, as it is customary. And a question: I have heard the statement that the German artillery was set up with accurate fire in mind but it lost flexibility and became relegated when compared to the artillery of the their enemies. What do you make of that statement?
sadly, I can't answer your question, yet. Generally, German quality decreased over the course of the war.
I also read a bit into the famous artillery book (forgot the name), but the author seems very dismissive towards the Germans to a degree that feels quite off.
@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized Thank you for the reply nonetheless. And indeed, after a reading a book or two (hundred) one starts to "perceive" some red flags when an author is showing a bit of bias.
From the technical aspect, which seems a bit easier to judge, German pieces were serviceable and reliable, but somewhat bulky, and the sFH 18 in particular appears to be somewhat short ranged when compared to some of the competition.
It would be great to see a video in the future about the differences in artillery regarding the major combatants. Artillery is a fascinating subject ("things go up, things go down" said Helmut) and it has received little screen time when compared to other more "glamorous" arms.
Cheers and keep up the great wörk!
yeah, Wettstein in Wehrmacht in Stadtkampf particularly pointed out that the Germans had problems with the long range of the Soviet artillery arm.
might happen, but it depends on the success of the video etc. the whole artillery stuff takes quite more time than Panzers due to source situation, my prior knowledge and accessibility, similarly Panzer videos generally do better. So, every artillery video involves more investment and risk. The "ad" in the beginning was not a joke, but it seems like around 40 K people that watched it don't care at all or think it was a joke.
Even today Soviet artillery out ranges most NATO artillery.
In war, there are two kinds of people: artillerymen and targets!
I mean technically a handgun is just a very small artillery piece so you are right
"Feuerglocke" is also not noted here, or practically anywhere outside of smaller wartime documents, maps, etc.
It is in original map sketcheand a manual dated 1942 for "reconnaissance in the defense". It's a really weird term, in English it equates to "fire dome" or "fire bell".
It seems to have meant artillery fire that only covered the outermost 360 degrees perimeter of known enemy locations all the way around, thus preventing any escape in any direction, and/or resupply and reinforcement by nearby enemy troops.
If anyone has further information on this I am all ears. I found the term in "Biespiele für Aufklärungs und Sicherungsdienst und Unternehmungen in der Verteidigung" published 1942 and republished in 1944.
I think I read that somewhere but somewhere different, there is also "Feuersack" and/or "Panzersack".
I'd love to see a "Military History Visualized"-Quality video about the Soviet Manchuria offensive against Japan.
Amazing video. Keep up the support
In general the tactical employment of artillery nowadays has been classified as: PREPARATIVE (massed fire against defensive structures, trenches, obstacles etc. prior to an attack to disrupt and degrade them), SUPPRESSIVE (massed fire against enemy defences during an attack, as described in this video), PROPHYLACTIC (covering gaps in defences, blocking enemy advances and manoeuvres, or covering a retreat etc.), COUNTER BATTERY (as described in the video, taking out or suppressing enemy heavy artillery batteries in the rear, usually using the largest calibre heavy artillery.)
Finally an artillery video!! More German artillery theory please, this is great!
Interesting, the US doctrine had the mechanical time/super-quick fuse (same as the German dopplezunder) as the default fuse for all fire missions. In fact, the US 105mm came with a MT/SQ fuse installed. This type of fuse in really just a miniature mechanical clock that is robust enough to be shot out of a gun, yet accurate to a few milliseconds.
I like your work so I subscribed.
Seems fair
Do you think you could do a video on why German mortar fire was so effective? I always hear reports of allies moaning about how accurate it was. Love your channel and thanks for another great video :)
Mostly due to how Delayed Combat was a german speciality with time.
@@Zretgul_timerunner Hey, what do you mean by delayed combat?
@@rhysthomas623 Delayed combat-in-depth imo Fighting Retreat, the germans developed from an very offebsive force to an nearly fully defensive one, their weapons reflect that, as does their tactics. Delayed combat is essentially combat where your goal is to rather then stop the enemy you intend to delay their advance leading to them eventually grinding to either a halt or you breaking contact/getting defeated so you can set up an proper counter offensive. When the war turned against the Germans they made sure that the cost of such whould be exponentially much higher then then they where attacking.
Essentially Delayed combat is combat meant to tire out the opponent via attrition and constant fighting, coerincing them into overextending, or halting their offensive whichever the case whould be a success to the Germans.
@@Zretgul_timerunner Nice! Thanks for your response. I was aware that the Germans employed such tactics but id not heard the term delayed combat before :)
German mortars were also very accurate due to the planned use of field telephones. These had precise length cables brought in a straight line to the forward observer with one soldier whose only job was dealing with the cable.
By trigonometry, the forward observer could command much more precise mortar fire as the mortars were safely hidden while the forward observer could see the target.
This only seemed to be used for the 81mm mortars.
I love the sound of your voice tbh. It just sounds so good lol.
You guys really should google Vilho Nenonen and his work for artillery obversing devices. "during the Battle of Tali-Ihantala Finnish Army had 21 artillery battalions and one heavy battery, a total of 250 guns and mortars, focusing their fire on targets inside an area of 7 square kilometers, considered to be a world record at the time" All thanks to Nenonen's invention.
Exactly what i needed to know before i sleep
I think exploring German WWI artillery tactics especially under Büchmuller would be really interesting to see the contrast as he organized a far more centralized system of fire management and was actually very influential to Soviet artillery thought and why in the Soviet Army artillery was considered a combat arm not a supporting arm
Bruchmüller, I did a bit of that in my Artillery Combat video on WW1.
How someone could dislike the videos of this guy?
Obviously they are on the receiving end of the Feldhaubitze 18.
Modern artillery tactics underwent a drastic change with the invention of proximity fuses. The western allies basically had an force multiplier that the Soviets could only match by increasing tube density to 100 or more per kilometer of front. War end artillery was outrageously fearsome.
Nice video and in very detailed
Thank you!
wow. this was terrifyingly good :)
Very nice
5:02
You mean artillery *isn't* supposed to just shoot haphazardly at whatever way the gun happens to be facing? War Thunder says otherwise.
War thunder or gaijin do not know nothing they just know artillery shoot and the bullet explote in the ground and kill u with hull break in the wheel
I wonder how much damage you can do with the various cannons. In WWII 45mm was used against Infantry in buildings, but soon they switched to 75mm. Today, 30mm autocannons seem to be the weapon of choice for soft targets, whereas fortified structures are attacked with 120 and 155mm cannons.
From what I could gather the explosive cargo was:
75mm: 0.7kg
105mm: 1.75kg
122mm: 3.6kg
150mm: 8.6kg
My guess for 30mm would be 200-300g. 80mm mortars appear to have around 3kg and 120mm even 14kg, meaning that 80mm mortar equals a 122mm cannon and a 120mm mortar outclasses even a 150mm howitzer.
The numbers you mention for the mortars are the complete shell, not the filler. A 81mm mortar shell have around 750g of filler, or about the same as a 75mm field gun. A 12cm mortar have about as much filler as a 105mm field gun, at around 1,3kg. A 30mm shell got around 50g of explosive, the 3hg is the weight of the shell it self.
@@am17frans For the ones I couldnt find information on the ammount of filler, I assumed that 1/3rd of the weight would be the framework, but I guess they also considered the propellant part of the shell and not just the projectile...
@@edi9892 Framework? Do you mean the body of the shell? A quicke note of terminology, "shell" only referes to the projectile, if one included propellant, primer and (if any) case, then one speak of a "round".
@@am17frans I meant with framework everything of the projectile except the payload. The line is a bit blurred with mortar ammunition as they don't have the propellant in a case like other cartridges.
“So you don’t get a skin rash”
I lol’d.
Great video! Thank you for that. I would like however to point out that one of the main targets for a sensitive fuze is to hit foliage and therefore explode before hitting the ground so it explodes in the air and causes the best possible shrapnell pattern. Sensitive fuzes main disadvantege however is that it cannot be fired on cloudy or foggy weather as a hail could explode it midair. The artillery and fuzes are somewhat a complex topic on how to use them and on what especially to explain all of it on a 13min video. But just wanted to point that out.
are you sure that is correct for the Germans as well? Since, I can't remember anything being mentioned about foliage.
Excellent video, I'd love to see a similar one covering US artillery tactics!
Interesting to point out that parts (but not all) of German artillery doctrine were quickly coopted by the Soviets in WWII - which, combined with the sheer mass of artillery the Soviets eventually had (not to mention the even bigger mass of mortars), was a pretty deadly combination. The key, I think, is that German artillery doctrine was honed on the Western Front in WWI - and they had it figured out well from the start of WWII, while others (and Soviets in particular) still had a bit of learning to do. On the other hand, the Germans were working against material limitations (like in WWI, really) - while their enemies were practically swimming in artillery by the end of the war. And the nature of artillery warfare is such that in the end, the winner is the side with the most guns in the most batteries supplied with the most shells.
_And the nature of artillery warfare is such that in the end, the winner is the side with the most guns in the most batteries supplied with the most shells_
Napoleon, who was first an artillery officer, used to say that "God is on the side of the one with the best artillery".
0:50 can anybody tell me what is the size of german artillery regiment of ww2
Another great deep dive
Thank-you for this!
Artillery the god of war
Next Finnish artillery tactics with the correction converter included? :P
great video, my grandmother told me that her brother had gotten an ironcross as artelery gunner during ww1. Always wondered why they would give them to soldiers save behind the front , probably cause he managed to deplete all shells into the enemy and make krupp sell more ammo and get higher profit. to route out all evil just follow the money. maybe next time include costs of all weapons and amo mentioned in ure info videos , keep up the good work.
Artyllery barrage sound I dont know why but when I hear the artyllery barrage I feel so damm good.
while describing harassing fire, i imagined an artillery commander laughing maniacally as he hives the order exactly when he knows the enemy was just about to deliver letters
Modern US term for Notfeuer is Final Protective Fire- ordered to catch an enemy crossing an area in assault. I also note this disregards the critical importance of rifle grenades or 5cm Leichter Granatwerfer 36.
> I also note this disregards the critical importance of rifle grenades or 5cm Leichter Granatwerfer 36.
those are not weapons of the artillery arm, but infantry.
"Combat effectiveness over camouflage" make sense in the beginning of the war. But what about the end of the war when Allies had air superiority ?
By the way, amazing video !
A lot less effective. US Army had forward observers constantly observe the battlefield on light L-4 reconnaissance aircraft. Any movement by ground forces or firing of artillery will be instantly answered with concentrated counter-battery fire. Airborne observers called in more fire missions than ground observers. US Army forward observer and Fire Direction center procedure was simply the best in the war; German observers generally could only call on his division artillery or a battalion worth of guns; American ones could call on pratically every gun in range. Air superiority allows for this.
According to this link,
armyhistory.org/u-s-and-german-field-artillery-in-world-war-ii-a-comparison/
The L-4 observation aircraft could silence enemy artillery and ground force by merely showing up.
There is a recent monographic study of a US Major which lamented the loss of these skills from the current army. Current ground forces leaders first instinct is to call in helicopters and air strikes. Certain operations in recent years failed because artillery was not brought into play.
Great video!
2:54; I had to recycle three times to get past the accent, but German humor for the thumb!
That ”abpraller” with the delayed fuse is still a fireing command in the swedish artilleri, I kept asking for that command during my time with the 15,5cm howitzers, but the officers always answered - it doesn’t work, we have tried, the soil is too soft and uneven.
It is important to understand that German artillery tactics continued to evolve after 1942. Indeed, by mid-1943, German light artillery batteries on the Eastern Front began to assume a major role in direct-fire antitank combat, mostly because the infantry divisions were required to fight on over-extended defensive frontages and possessed relatively few dedicated antitank weapons. Accordingly, deployment of light artillery in defilade positions was often impossible, because the howitzers needed to shoot relatively flat-trajectory high-explosive antitank shells at long ranges to avoid close range firefights with packs of enemy tanks. Whenever possible, the Germans dug antitank ditches and laid antitank minefields behind the main battle line, but before and usually within about 1,000 meters of the light artillery gun positions, to confound enemy tanks and bring effective massed antitank fires to bear against them. While this tactic worked fairly well until mid-1944, the Soviets caught on and Red Army intelligence officers were able to use the information gleaned from previous battles to develop a clear picture of the locations of numerous German artillery positions BEFORE it commended the massive summer offensives of 1944 that destroyed most of Army Group Center, mauled Army Group North Ukraine, and virtually annihilated Army Group South Ukraine. In addition to hammering known German artillery positions with massed artillery fires, the Red Air Force often used regiments of IL-2 ground attack aircraft to pin down, disrupt, and often destroy German artillery systems. Give that most German artillery was horse drawn, the effect of near-continuous bombing and strafing runs shouldn't be underestimated.
source?
is alway great to listen about german tactics with a german friend
Nice video! Please make more.
Interessting my great grandfather was an artillerist in the 1. Gb.Jg Division 79th Gebirgs Artillerie
My father used to say that many of his battery's fire missions were "H&I" or harassment and interdiction; think about aiming at a crossroads or rail junctions and you get the idea. The other type that he mentioned was "TOT", or time on target where sometimes the entire battalion would fire simultaneously at a pre-selected target at a particular time without any prior registration; would this be "annihilation fire" in Bernhard's example?
Very good 👍
The question is: how many of the 1937-1939 regulations still were kept until the end of the war; probably many, but maybe not all of the ones showed here? Too bad there isn't more litterature, but maybe you'll come across another book some day :)
Anecdotally, it seems like direct fire from 88s was especially effective against dug-in positions. Did the Heer have 88mm guns or was that just the Luftwaffe?
Dug-in positions were especially effective against direct fire 88s. It's easier to counter smallish direct fire than heavier artillery showering you from afar.
Great video, a comparison of various nations will be very intresting.
oh boy if only we had somebody like you on barbarossa...
It’s impressive that way back then they could shoot artillery from Miles away and be accurate. I understand how today you could be really accurate but back then I feel like it’d be hard to hit anything
funfact:
Wenn man die automatische Übersetzung der Untertitel auf deutsch stellt,übersetzt er das englische Wort für Artillerie als "Terror"
Thanks for the info
MHV, did you find anything else on forward observers in WWII?
It’s very interesting to read on German Artillery in WWI where they use indirect fire, where the French and British use direct fire. And how are 105 (USA) is a direct descendent of the German 105.
👍, nice video with good information. Can you do a little bit more about the differences between the nations at the specific topic?
thank you, MHV, for taking your time with artillery. I love artillery so much. @MHV, have you read Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945 by Joachim Engelmann and Horst Scheibert? I think that book covers s already outdated and/or biased information.
yeah, I read parts of it, but was not particularly happy and thus went to the primary sources mostly.
Excellent, very interesting.