# @itsaihistory on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DQKiYsnDx_T
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/61744817-itsaihistory-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/06f9912ff5.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-10-23T20:11:35.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Parker Gordon (@itsaihistory) — https://gondola.cc/itsaihistory

## Caption

💣 WWI Howitzer | 1917, Western Front

What is a howitzer?
A field gun designed to fire shells on high arcs—between a cannon’s flat shot and a mortar’s steep drop. It hits targets hidden behind ridges and trenches.

Where does the word come from?
From Czech “houfnice” (“catapult”/“crowd-crusher”). German gunners rendered it “Haubitze”; English later adapted it to “howitzer.”

How big is the one shown?
British 6-inch 26-cwt howitzer. Projectile: ~100 lb (45 kg). Max range: ≈9 km (5.5 mi). Crew: about 10.

What does “26-cwt” mean?
It’s the barrel and breech weight: 26 hundredweight (≈2,912 lb / 1,321 kg).

How did the British use it?
Wire-cutting, trench-busting, counter-battery fire. Before assaults, crews fired timed barrages at the Somme, Arras, and Passchendaele.

How did the Germans use theirs?
15 cm sFH 13 and 21 cm Mrs 16 filled the same role. German batteries coordinated with forward observers by field telephone; their “drumfire” barrages pulverized positions.

How was a shot prepared?
Fuze set (delay or instantaneous) on the projectile; shell first; propellant charge bags behind; breech closed; primer set; command to fire; recoil system returned the barrel to battery—repeat.

What were the biggest howitzers?
🇩🇪 “Big Bertha” (42 cm M-Gerät): 43-ton siege piece, 1-ton shells to ≈9 km.
🇦🇹 Škoda 305 mm Mörser: fortress-killer in Belgium, Serbia, Italy.
🇫🇷 155 mm Schneider: French workhorse adopted by the U.S. Army.

Why did they dominate?
Artillery caused roughly 60–70% of WWI casualties. Indirect fire + recoil systems let howitzers deliver heavy explosives accurately from cover.

Legacy
By 1918, map-based gunnery, sound-ranging, and rapid crew drills turned howitzers into the template for modern artillery.

#history #itsaihistory #aihistory #ww1 #artillery #britisharmy #germanarmy #germany #france #england #westernfront #militaryhistory

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- **Views:** 37,644
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## Tags

history, ww1, militaryhistory, itsaihistory, england, germany, germanarmy, westernfront, france, artillery, aihistory, britisharmy

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