Well I'm far from an expert on artillery pieces. However, I do think the American artillery pieces were far more advanced compared to their European counterparts.
I am hoping for a special episode on the US' artillery specifically. What I've read about it beggars belief. An entire decade's worth of geographic data and meticulous research on the impact of wind, weather, temperature, as well as various states of disrepair led to the creation of remarkably accurate maps and firing tables that could be used to deliver a devastating barrage within 10 meters of where it was requested in under 3 minutes in ideal conditions. The ubiquity of radio meant that the mathematics of artillery operations could also be centralized - artillery no longer strictly needed an experienced officer in the field (although this was ideal/preferred) - in the case that experienced artillerymen were somehow wiped out, a regular soldier could be substituted and walked through the process from their FDC provided they did not lose radio contact.
Spent 11 years as a 13F....a forward observer, compant and troop fire support NCO, etc...there was always more to learn about tactical fire direction, artillery tactics, and integrating fire support into the Combined Arms Team.
My favorite part of A Bridge Too Far was that opening scene with the 25 pounders' creeping barrage. The sound of the breech opening and the shell ejecting was perfect.
If a somewhat modified version with muzzle brake.I had a distantcousin who was in the Irish Guards who was killed in that initial breakout from Neerpelt.
I collect movie memorabilia, and have several original movie cells of those scenes. Excellent movie. I collect film stills, production and press photos. My absolute favorite photo of all the ones I have, is with Sir Connery aiming his .45 at the German soldier peeking through the window. I'd like to find one of James Caan doing the same thing-only to that Army surgeon who refused to see to his captain; claiming he was dead already.
Artillery is called the KIng of Battle for a reason. As a former US Army artillery officer, thank you for covering this. Still to this day (including the Ukraine-Russia conflict) tubed artillery is still almost always the number one killer on the battlefield. Aircraft can be pwoerful in their own way, but have significant drawbacks that artillery doesn't suffer from. It has been that way since tubed artillery was first used. When you examine the actual battle reports for what has killed what, you generally see a similar pattern across all nations in the last several major wars. Ground targets killed by aircraft is almost always greatly overestimated. Ground targets killed by infantry and armor is usually pretty spot on. Targets killed by artillery is always much higher than anticipated by those outside of actual artillery/ground operational awareness. Artillery doesn't get Hollywood's attention very often because it doesn't make for good cinema as a primary military unit. Artillery also scales terrifyingly well with technological advances, and benefits from technological development in almost all areas. Finally... US artillery isn't given anywhere near enough credit as it should. While the British are known for making very good field guns, the overall US artillery system (and overall destructive capability) was the most terrifying of any ground force in WWII.
Thank you, a lot of folks gloss over or ignore US indirect fire doctrine developed and refined throughout WWII. The ability to coordinate accurate timed massed fires by US artillery was unmatched by the end of WWII.
Hollywood is not good at presenting the awesome power of big guns in general naval or land based. If you go to older movies from the 50's and 60's and also include Soviet and German war movies the representation improves because they're using actual surplus equipment from the war. Anyway thank you for your service. If I were to join the army and was given a choice I'd go with Artillery any day.
In WWII, America's enemies were often greatly confounded by the vast numbers of radios and the sophisticated organization of artillery support and targeting communication. The enemy knew if they were spotted by anyone with a radio, artillery could come raining down in minutes and be quickly adjusted on target.
My Great Grandfather Denman H. Ayres ran the 155 howitzer in the 69th infantry, 724th field artillery made it to 1st lieutenant and got the bronze star ⭐️ Long live the memory of the greatest generation and their sacrifice!
A lot of people think that tanks and planes were the deciding weapons in ww2. But according to postwar US army studies artillery was responsible for upwards of 70% of US casualties in Europe during ww2. The Soviets also came to a similar realization. And even now in the present day artillery is still the King of Battle -Napoleon. Or God of War if you're a Stalin quotes fan.
Something can be the deciding weapon without causing the majority of casualties, though. If you wanna take the airplane, for example, it was the destruction of the luftwaffe that kept German panzer divisions from counter attacking after D-Day (by forcing them to hide during day hours). And if your planes can take out their artillery unmolested, it opens up the way for your infantry to attack (although you'll still run into machine guns, ofc). TLDR: in modern war, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts 🙃
It is the planes and tanks that allow the artillery to operate, though. Without tanks and specially planes, the artillery will just be suppressed. In a nutshell: combined arms are what allow the artillery to do its thing: causing casualties.
@@shotsfired_dk I understand the concept. My point being that artillery had a significant role in all aspects. After all the deadliest thing to tanks wasn't other tanks or even planes. Majority of tank losses where due to anti tank guns and regular artillery. And even in the air flak was a significant source of losses. I would imagine if the Germans had figured out proximity shells it would have been even worse. I'm not saying artillery will win alone. However far too many focus on silly concepts of what particular weapon is the best. While completely forgetting about the 800 pound gorilla that artillery was to all sides.
@@MrNicoJacwhat kept the German panzers from attacking the D-day beaches wasn’t airpower, it was Hitler. He refused to give Rommel control of those divisions believing that D-day was a diversionary landing meant to draw in troops
One thing to note is that soviet artillery doctrine, that developed during the war, called for a concentration and centralization of artillery, rather than distributing it through all the divisions. Thus, even at the end of a war, typical soviet divisional artillery was the weakest of any warring countries (maybe except for Japan), but there were huge artillery-only units, up to a divisional strength, that were assigned to some units for a specific operation. They could be given directly to a divisional commander or assigned as an army's asset, and taken back after an operation is over
I watched a TH-cam lecture that claimed that Germany used more artillery shells on the eastern front that the soviets. But that the Germans still felt like the soviets could totally overpower them in artillery. Your comment about the concentration of fire would explain that seeming-paradox :)
@@MrNicoJac No chance that is true my friend. I'm sure the TH-cam lecturer meant well, but there's absolutely 0% chance the Germans used more Artillery shells on the Eastern front than the Soviets. The resource different alone would not allow that to happen.
@@astrategygamer1687 Do you have similar sources as an academic historian for that claim? Don't forget that the soviets lost basically their entire army in the first few months, and all that equipment got captured by the Germans - while the soviets had to railroad their factories beyond the Urals and set up shop there. He noted that most of the ammunition production inputs (like nitrates) were located in Ukraine and those areas were conquered by the Germans too. Iirc, the Battle for Moscow was fought with explosives that were only able to be made because of lend lease convoys from the Americans/British delivering those chemical components. Like, I'm not saying the above argument is correct - I have no way to verify those claims, just like I can't yours. But the Red Army only really got its act together after Stalingrad/Kursk. So I have no doubt that the soviets greatly outnumbered shell production in 1944-45, but that's not the same as 1939-1945... 🙃
@@MrNicoJac I did a quick search, and though I in no way consider my 'findings' conclusive, they do seem to support your claim. The USSR did outproduce the Germans by nearly 20% in volume of munitions (a disparity that becomes shockingly large when you realize a significant amount of small arms ammo were NOT produced in the USSR, but delivered through lend lease, and secondly, that the USSR could sustain such rhythms while massively outproducing the Germans in armor), however, the Germans fired nearly 50% more shells (by total tonnage). However, when you visit specific battles, day by day, you can see that at low points, the USSR fired about 1/3rd of the tonnage of shells the Germans did, a proportion that increased to 10 times the number of shells fired by the enemy for short bursts. This means that Soviet bombardments were both extremely massed and very unexpectedly brutal, as the troops were operating under the assumption of the enemy firepower being far, far lower than it actually was and thus often took lacking precautions on a tactical level.
My grandfather was in the 938th field artillery, firing its 155mm cannons at Salerno, Monte Cassino, Anzio, southern France, and eventually Germany. Though he passed away a few years before I was born, I’ve learned a lot about his battalion and artillery in general. Fire for Effect.
Excellent observation on the German reliance on HORSES! to move their artillery. Which hurt their ability to move it and supply it, and limited its size. One interesting fact is the volume of artillery used by the U.S. In the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge) the U.S. had an artillery battalion for every infantry battalion. AND an artillery battalion for every tank battalion. In other words, there were more artillery battalions than any other type of battalion in the army.
As you bring up the Battle of the Bulge, the US artillery fire was so heavy that it broke or disordered several German attacks by stripping the supporting infantry away from their armour. I remember the US artillery going through 10K rounds in a two day battle on the Eisenborn Ridge.
And every artillery battery had a light aircraft assigned to it for spotting… A Piper Cub was more feared by German forces than a B-17. The single Cub could drop more explosive (and more accurately) on them for longer than a squadron of B-17’s.
In most armies,there would have been one medium artillery battalion for every infantry regiment,and a divisional battalion of heavier calibre..Then several attached artillery battalions to each Corps,to be allotted per Corps commander.Probably not one per infantry battalion.
"Which hurt their ability to move it and supply it, and limited its size." That is nonsense. Motorized units had the same number of guns as normal divisions with horse drawn artillery. And if you understand that usually German units inflicted more losses than US units and most of the losses were caused by artillery then we get a different result, don't we?
@@olafkunert3714 US Artillery got a reputation of reconnaissance by fire - where the Germans would send infantry, the Americans would send artillery shells.
It is KING of battle for a reason. Even during the most recent Gulf War 1 and 2(Invasion of Iraq). Most losses by Iraq would be by Artillery. Yes, more Iraqi's died in less than 4 days in Gulf War #1 (1991) than 60 ish days of bombing beforehand. Same for both sides in the RU/UKe war that is still going on. Arty is the KING of battle, Infantry is the Queen.
If artillery is the king, then surely the machine gun is the queen. Infantry is more like the pawn, especially since most WW2 armies still used more bolt action rifles than semi automatic rifles.
Indy left out the artillery piece on which I served 50 years ago. The M114A1 155mm howitzer was the upgraded version of the M1 155mm howitzer from WW2. The M1 had electric (!) brakes, the M1A1 had air brakes. The M1A1 was used in WW2 and Korea, modernized to become the M114A1 and remains in service in some countries.
And contrary to Indys narration the US no longer used the 75mm howitzer. These were replaced with the m101 105mm howitzer. And the phrase "tot" is properly stated as "T oh T" for "time on target."
Both Iran and South Korea currently use upgraded variants of the M114 155-mm howitzer with a longer 39-calibre barrel (Iran's HM-41 and South Korea's KH-179).
The VT fuze definitely deserves mention even though it wasn't used in the land war until relatively late due to fear of Germans acquiring a dud and reverse engineering it. These proximity fuzes made an absolutely massive difference in anti-aircraft artillery and it was particularly pronounced in how well it worked in the defense of London and Antwerp against V-1 bombs and then in the Pacific against kamikazes. Once allowed to use them for land targets (where they could air burst instead of detonating on impact) the effect was amazing both in the South Pacific and then finally in Europe during the Battle of the Bulge. It was a great Christmas present to the troops in 1944.
"The King of Battle". My Uncle Jerry was with 3-16 Field Artillery in the ETO during World War II. He proudly wore a pin of the regimental coat of arms every time he left the house or had house guests. And he related his pride in being an artilleryman right up to the day he rejoined his 3-16th brothers in Heaven.
In 1968 we used the 105 mm AMX self propelled, lightly armored gun en we did use ammunition produced in 1944 :) During a 2 month refreshment course in 1973 we used towed 155 mm guns. Both gun and ammunition had been produced in 1944 :) That is why we have problems supplying Ukraine with artillery shells, we did run out of WW2 ammunition.
In 2007 I served with the German mountain armored artillery. We had modified M109 howitzers at the time. During an exercise there were problems with the shells for battlefield illumination. They had been manufactured around 1960 and the parachutes in them were almost all faulty, so the fireballs just fell to the ground. One of our NCOs was really upset about this: "Do we only have this ancient junk?" And the captain's answer was: "The ancient junk has to be used up first. We'll keep the good stuff for when the Russians come." Well, that phrase hasn't really aged well...
The Finns were also at the forefront with the "Time on Target" concept and on the eastern front they were the first nation to use it in battle. During the major Soviet offensive in Karelia in 1944, artillery played a key role in stopping the Soviets. One Finnish veteran later recounted how they were holding the line, and suddenly they heard a sound like a train was coming. Moments later the hills in front of them erupted in a firestorm as the shells landed at the same time. As the Soviets had recently advanced, they had no prepared defenses. There was no warning and no cover. Scores of men were just evaporated in seconds. And this scene was repeated many times, until finally the offensives had run out of steam, and Finland got the separate peace that it wanted.
Cool story bro. One finnish man said he killed 500+ soviet soldiers and received many awards on this. But soviet military documents do not confirm this.
Fun fact, one of the greatest artillery officer in history is Napoleon Bonaparte. Most people see him as a great strategist (which is true), but often forget that before he rose to prominence he was a trained artillery officer, and a good one at that. It just goes to show that artillery isn't the most popular weapon or service in wars, but it got the job done.
Artillery is the King of Battle, and Infantry is the Queen of Battle. And, of course, we all know what the King does to the Queen. - Saying I heard loads of in Basic Training at Ft. Sill, OK, home of Artillery.
It's a very pleasant suprise! According to Military History Visualised YT channel, artillery and mines are the most obscure and least studied arms of WW2. Thanks for the video!
I trained on the 25 pounder in the 1960s. It was a beautiful weapon. Astonisingly accurate, capable of great range and penetration on charge super plus, and comparatively easy to bring into action and to pack up and fuck off, as we put it.
No matter how good or bad a weapon is according to say, military records, asking someone who had to use it like yourself is infinitely more valuable to me, a non-combatant. I love even small tidbit comments like yours because it helps me, the younger generation, get a better picture.
quick correction on minuite 4:25 , APCBC are not discarting sabots, they don't split to reveal a dart or hardened core. They are simple AP shells which are capped and then have a balistic cap added on top. The first cap improves performance against steeper angles of armour, while the Ballistic Cap improves aerodynamics, hence A-P-C-B-C. Discarding sabot ammo is usually called APDS, or APFSDS, with the latter being fin stabilised discarding sabot. Much love to the team!
Ooooo amazing. Love all the photos, quotes and films you put it! Brings everything to life and it’s a cool way to bring sources into the video without a neon sign.
"They were typically designed with a conventional semi-automatic horizontal sliding breach block, hydro pneumatic recuperator and a mono block tube with a slotted cylindrical muzzle brake..." God, I love it when you talk dirty, Indy!!!
Two of the Grandfathers of modern British Comedy, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe, served in the Royal Artillery. Spike was a signaller with a heavy artillery 5.5 in battery, and Harry in a 25 pndr battery. They both served in 1st Army and they both recount their first meeting. Spike’s battery were in position on top of a rise, Harry’s at the bottom. One of the 5.5 in guns broke free, and thundered down the hill through the 25 pndr battery’s position. Spike recounts breathlessly asking a short, fat Welsh gunner “have you seen a big gun go past”, to which Harry (for it is he) replied “what colour is it?”. Both were tragically struck by Shell Shock, Spike being invalided out of the line in Italy. Spike Milligan’s memoirs are brilliant, filled with typically dark squaddie humour, insane events, and his description of his descent into depression caused by PTSD is heartbreaking.
After the war, Milligan organised a reunion for soldiers of both sides that had fought at Longstop Hill in Tunisia. He got talking to an Afrika Korps veteran - who was also artillery. Also a signaller, in an OP, on the same day. They worked out that they had actually fired at each other. It was then pointed out that their presence at this reunion showed they were both awful shots. The German vet signed Milligan's dinner menu with 'Dear Spike, sorry I missed!'
I've read, re-read, lost, lent out, bought, and borrowed all of those books over the years. I usually read the whole lot over the course of a week or so, every couple of years. Brilliant books, funny, sad, and have influenced a lot of my humour since I was young.
When I lived in the UK, I had a neighbor who had been a Major in the Artillery in both WWII and Korea. He had some great stories. He was actually from a family with a long martial history. On his living room wall there was a pair of swords used by one of his ancestors in the Crimea. Actually, his name was French, and he was probably descended from the Norman conquerors. One funny story, that was not related to artillery, concerned pheasant hunting in Korea. The British officers used elegant double barrel shotguns to hunt. Some of the American officers used their Thompson sub-machineguns.
Great story. The Germans also hunted with double-barrelled shotguns. I have a few images of them hunting with Drilling's shotguns. These were made for the Luftwaffe often pilfered from them somehow? as these were for fighter pilots who were shot down.
@@CarlEvans-t6h Drillings were common among hunters back then, both to have one gun do it all and to better take advantage of the possibility of bagging different game. The Luftwaffe saw their usefulness but they really had no other military role, and their makers weren't manufacturing guns or parts the military otherwise needed so it made good sense to use them in that role.
@@P_RO_ Thank you for further enlightening me on them. My knowledge is nil on them. I think I've 2-3 original snapshot photos of German officers using them.
In addition to the problems Indy mentioned artillery has to, esp. at long ranges, accommodate for air temp, curvature of the Earth, winds, and rotation of the Earth. Modern digital computers have helped a lot. They had look up tables but to precisely hit a target at range required people who were good at Maths. The Navy used electro-mechanical computers but add in rolling and pitching of a ship and it gets worse.
And another problem is wear, and even manufacturing tolerances. Like, even if you had the range perfect down to the cm, and did all the math required to get that accurate flawlessly, If your shells are of varying quality or your gun has already fired 1000 shells, you'll still miss....
Wish you could talk about those numbers they would call before artillery, like before fire missions, how they know those numbers and grids pretty quickly
For those wondering, at the beginning, Indy is quoting "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Tennyson. The poem is about the event of the same name that happened during the Crimean War.
A movie of that name and Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" are about that battle. Bruce Dickinson quoted a short snippet of the poem as an introduction to the song for example in the 2001 Rock in Rio live version.
Why a screwup was made into a heroic episode is beyond me. It simply was the failure of the Heavy Brigade to follow up the Light Brigade, and they got annihilated. Had they quickly sized up the situation and gotten the hell out of there, the British would still have a useful unit to carry on the war against the Russians.
@@MVC670 A preferable narrative for the folks at home. The Heavy Brigade had previously done their job, the Light Brigade charged down the wrong valley at the wrong guns. Sums up that particular conflict rather well in a lot of ways.
Good Video! Love these specials, nice to get to read in depth about something most people dont give much thought to. Maybe another special on rifles? They were one of the most mass produced things of the war so It could be interesting to see how they compared
Yes, yes, YES! Please do a long form vid, or a series, on artillery. My Dad was in the NJ National Guard from 1964-1984, and he retired as a Capt. "The Guards" always used hand-me-down equipment from the regular Army. His primary firearm was the M1 Garand, from basic training til he was commissioned as a 2Lt. As an officer, he carried the M1 Garand. I have ALWAYS been fascinated with artillery, and would love to see more videos, especially in your style!
Australian forces in New Guinea returned the favour by carrying twenty five pounder guns the opposite way over the Owen Stanley Range. These were specifically modified guns manufactured in Australia with shortened barrels to reduce weight. They were referred to as “Snorts”.
There is some dispute about who first developed the "time on target" approach, and quite likely that the same principles probably occurred to more than one army in parallel. For the British, it was put into practice just before El Alamein and during it, and went hand in hand with the "stonk" concept, whereby very large concentrations of fire could be be reliably brought to bear (because the differential calculations had been done in advance) to devastate a specific area at short notice. The other significant benefit of the ToT concept was that artillery didn't need to be in large groupings which were more vulnerable to counter-battery fire.The credit for this shouldn't really be given to Montgomery (although I'm sure he would have like it to have been) - but to one of his Divisional arty commanders who developed and implmented these concepts.
Ian V. Hogg wrote many fine books on the subject of Artillery used during the first half of the 20th Century, and did so in a quite entertaining "British" style.
Great report. My family settled a few miles from Ft Sill, Oklahoma in 1880. On static display, nearly every piece of artillery used since WWI. Inside the museum artillery dating from the first used in China and Europe. My favorite artillery on display artillery General Knox capture at Ft Ticonderoga on display. Oh yes. My family fought in the US Army, USMC and US Navy since the Battle of Cowpens and Kings Mountain. This also included the crusades and Battle of Sterling Bridge, Scotland.
British (and other Commonwealth) artillery did the same technique the Americans called 'time on target' as their routine method of employing artillery. The British would have all guns in a region 'surveyed in' so their relative locations were precisely known to all the levels of artillery HQ (division, corps, army). When a call for fire came in, while the Forward Observation Officer (FOO) was correcting the shot of their home battery, higher artillery HQs would be calculating what guns were available, depending on the priority (given by a code name like "Mike"), and when they'd need to fire to have all rounds hit at the same time, taking into account the different distances, when the FOO called in fire for effect. Same stuff as Indie has only the Americans doing, just the British didn't give it a special name because it was the normal practice. The best source for British/CW artillery for folk who aren't technical specialists is 'Guns of Normandy' by George Blackburn, a Canadian artillery officer, in Normandy. My father who was a gunner in 2nd Canadian Division during the war recommended it highly. BTW, a good general guide to WW2 artillery of all sides is the old Ballantine book 'The Guns' by Ian V Hogg.
I forget the one battle where this story came from. There was a time in WW2 when the USA artillery used Division Artillery fire for a breakthrough at night. It was daylight because of the amount of guns shooting at the Germans. I remember it was like 15 to 30 minutes of light from the shooting. Nothing was left under that barrage. I think it was on one of the pocket battles.
"It was like the starting bell of the apocalypse. Pictures fell off the walls of people's homes, books fell off shelves, their telephones start ringing for no reason. A cross hurdled to earth from a church steeple because of the vibrations. Windows and mirrors are shattering, lights are flickering, and everywhere, dogs are howling. There's a rumble like thunder in the distance. People could feel the very earth vibrating. It's like a warning cry of the Gods. It's like a telegram from Hell." - Dan Carlin's description of the opening barrage of the Battle of Seelow Heights, April 1945
My grandfather fought in an artillery regiment for the Wehrmacht, mostly stationed in the Baltics. I never found out if he was also involved in the siege of Leningrad, though it would make sense.
In 1954 Gen Giap had hundreds of artillery pieces broken down and carried up into the hills overlooking the French at Dien Bien Phu.He positioned them expertly and his artillery contributed much to the Vietnamese victory.(Martin Windrow.. The Last Valley.Highly recommended,about the 1953-54 Indochina War)
Thank you! Dad was an officer in a 105mm platoon (Pacific). In his final days with us, as his mind dimmed, he would still hum the classic a The Caissons Go Rolling Along: “Then it's hi! hi! hee! In the field artillery, Shout out your numbers loud and strong, For where'er you go, You will always know That the Caissons go rolling along.”
I remember a story from my family's relative when his unit assaulted the city of Aachen, the first German city that would be captured by the Allies, during the battle of the city, the Army sent up M12 155mm self propelled howitzer into the city with the infantry as the hammer to take down enemy occupied buildings, since a HE shot to the center of a building would knock it down completely. The Army got tired of taking shots from the buildings so they sent this big gun to knock it down rather than costly taking it room by room. Also during the Bulge his unit when possible would call the so-called "Big Shot" artillery strike, it's a synchronized artillery strike which we know today as Time on Target artillery strike, it literally dis-integrated German formations with 5 synchronized artillery shells that landed on target at nearly or at the same time.
The Flak 36 88mm,wasnt technically "Artillery".It was designed as an Anti-Aircraft cannon(Flugzeug Abwehr Kanone-FlaK).It was only when Rommel,in 1940 during the battle of Arras,when his force looked like it would be overrun by British tanks,that he ordered his Flak battery to fire upon the tanks,and it proved to be a effective AT gun also.
4:27 I dont think the 88 flak guns had discarding sabot, APCBC = armor piercing capped ballistic capped, nothing about sabot. It would have been strange of them to use a discarding sabot in the 1930s, as the 88 would have had ample penetration at the time. Discarding sabot is used to increase penetration, at the cost of explosive filler and potential damage. Maybe the later tigers got sabot?
This guy is a great Narrator and historian.. I like the 155mm howitzer.. 75-76mm guns seem to be the most favorite bore and most numerous. Not just with artillery but in tank guns also..
Thanks for putting together. BTW, be careful when using terms such as neutralization, destruction, and suppression as they have specific definitions in artillery employment...
First, the advantage of Time on Target is that the biggest killer is the first volley,, which catches the enemy by surprise moving around his position. By the time the second volley arrived, survivors dove into foxholes, bunkers etc, and required more volleys to match the casualties of the first volley. With TOT, you massed weapons at different locations, with different times of flight,, to all hit at the same time. I saw a reference to a US TOT involving 17 battalions, at 18 guns per battalion. Second, modern artillery normally fires at targets that cannot be seen, over the horizon, This requires accurate survey of the gun locations, and skillled forward observers who can map spot their own locations to within, hopefully, 50 meters. (Realistically, I was told that the locations on a 1:50,000 map which is US standard, are not guaranteed bay map makers to be more accurate due to printing issues, to be expected to support accurate map spotting of an intersection to within 90 meters, ) Those observers then have to further provide azimuth and distance estimates to the target, First volley accuracu is thus often off by hundreds of meters and has to be adjusted onto the target by the observers.
Always found the German 15cm sFH 18 using the rocket-booster shells to be a fascinating development from the war. A means of extending the range of an outdated gun (circa 1944) without having to manufacture an entirely new one.
“Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of hell, Rode the six hundred.” - Alfred Lord Tennyson, *Charge of the Light Brigade*
You may have the best men, best tanks, best firearms, best plans, best leaders, however all can be obliterated by artillery. Artillery was and is the main killer of war. From the beginnings of trebuchet, ballista, catapult, cannons, mortars, naval artillery, and modern artillery. As Joseph Stalin stated, "Artillery is the God of War."
Pretty sure the twenty-five pounder was 84 mm not seventy-five. When you asked soldiers from World War II about opposing armies they often said something like their infantry was unimaginative but their artillery was spot on. Artillery has traditionally been "professional".
I think you were a tiny bit unfair to the German 88mm when used as field artillery. While it couldn't be used in as many situations as a good howitzer, it could be devastating when fired line-of-sight with timed fuses. This was well illustrated in the Band of Brothers series. The shells arrived at supersonic speed and exploded up in the trees raining shrapnel down on everyone below. I'm a little surprised you didn't say anything about mortars. They were even effective in the jungle as they were easier to transport and their plunging fire was not blocked by the trees.
I've heard that one of the favourite tactics of soviets with artillery was the so called wall of fire, when artillery was hitting everything in in line front of attacking soviet troops, and this line was moving forward along with attackers. It devastated the area and helped to break through even well organised defensive positions. In memoirs of one of the army officers, enemy soldiers were dead even in miraculously undamaged by the wall of fire dugouts and other defensive constructions - of suffocation or internal bleeding caused by air pressure close to explosions.
I assume with higher levels of motorization of an army comes a high level of motorization of artillery. I like to see how armies like the Germans and the US repurposed even halftracks to carry artillery, or the way tanks were converted (even recycled for a better use!) into gun motor carriages or self-propelled guns.
The US was leaps and bounds above the Germans in this regard. The German army still relied heavily on horses to pull it's artillery up until the end of the war. Like it does today, the US Army doesn't make or have a gun without it's own assigned motor prime mover (even the airborne artillery... the pack howitzers could be pulled by jeep and dropped by glider)
The British Commonwealth was also pretty ahead of the Germans in this too. Most of the Ram tank chassis (an evolution of the M3 Lee/Grant chassis like the Sherman) produced by Canada that never end up seeing service as a tank (since the US just dumped out so many Shermans) were used as basis for the Sexton Self Propelled Gun. Enough Sextons were cranked out that some of them were “defrocked” (had their guns removed) and converted to Kangaroo Armoured Personnel Carriers to allow for infantry to be carried at the same speed of tanks to the fight while being very protected during the advance.
The British 25-Pounder was (still is - many remain in service to this day for ceremonial purposes) not 75mm, but 87.6mm. Incidentally, it was used in pretty large numbers by the US Army in WW2 as well, befre their own production of 105mm, etc., got really going.
In the awesome documentary series Battlefield Battle for Italy it does mention when going over the allied and axis weapons that the German mortars inflicted the most casualties.
I recently found a British 25 pounder shell in my garden. According to an army man who picked up the shell my garden is probably on top of an old depot 😂
What is your favourite piece of artillery?
7.5 cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18, exotic, used by the gebirgsjager, looks different from other classic artillery pieces.
The 88mm is the greatest piece of artillery ever devised.
Well I'm far from an expert on artillery pieces. However, I do think the American artillery pieces were far more advanced compared to their European counterparts.
25 pdr
I enjoy the American M5 76mm and the Pak 43 3/4 (the Pak 43 with the cross stand instead of the wheels)
Indy: "We could talk for hours about all the different types of guns and uses and terrain, etc, etc..."
Me grabbing popcorn: "Yes please, go on!"
For real, i would love long form content like that
I am hoping for a special episode on the US' artillery specifically. What I've read about it beggars belief. An entire decade's worth of geographic data and meticulous research on the impact of wind, weather, temperature, as well as various states of disrepair led to the creation of remarkably accurate maps and firing tables that could be used to deliver a devastating barrage within 10 meters of where it was requested in under 3 minutes in ideal conditions. The ubiquity of radio meant that the mathematics of artillery operations could also be centralized - artillery no longer strictly needed an experienced officer in the field (although this was ideal/preferred) - in the case that experienced artillerymen were somehow wiped out, a regular soldier could be substituted and walked through the process from their FDC provided they did not lose radio contact.
@@davidgeslani48 Same here but about Soviet artillery instead.
We appreciate the enthusiasm! Thanks for watching.
Spent 11 years as a 13F....a forward observer, compant and troop fire support NCO, etc...there was always more to learn about tactical fire direction, artillery tactics, and integrating fire support into the Combined Arms Team.
My favorite part of A Bridge Too Far was that opening scene with the 25 pounders' creeping barrage. The sound of the breech opening and the shell ejecting was perfect.
Loved that scene!
If a somewhat modified version with muzzle brake.I had a distantcousin who was in the Irish Guards who was killed in that initial breakout from Neerpelt.
The soundscape of that film is great. Thanks for watching!
I collect movie memorabilia, and have several original movie cells of those scenes. Excellent movie. I collect film stills, production and press photos. My absolute favorite photo of all the ones I have, is with Sir Connery aiming his .45 at the German soldier peeking through the window. I'd like to find one of James Caan doing the same thing-only to that Army surgeon who refused to see to his captain; claiming he was dead already.
@@CarlEvans-t6h You are to arrest this man and hold him for one minute, then tell him to go away and never come back.
Artillery is called the KIng of Battle for a reason. As a former US Army artillery officer, thank you for covering this. Still to this day (including the Ukraine-Russia conflict) tubed artillery is still almost always the number one killer on the battlefield. Aircraft can be pwoerful in their own way, but have significant drawbacks that artillery doesn't suffer from. It has been that way since tubed artillery was first used. When you examine the actual battle reports for what has killed what, you generally see a similar pattern across all nations in the last several major wars. Ground targets killed by aircraft is almost always greatly overestimated. Ground targets killed by infantry and armor is usually pretty spot on. Targets killed by artillery is always much higher than anticipated by those outside of actual artillery/ground operational awareness. Artillery doesn't get Hollywood's attention very often because it doesn't make for good cinema as a primary military unit. Artillery also scales terrifyingly well with technological advances, and benefits from technological development in almost all areas. Finally... US artillery isn't given anywhere near enough credit as it should. While the British are known for making very good field guns, the overall US artillery system (and overall destructive capability) was the most terrifying of any ground force in WWII.
Thank you, a lot of folks gloss over or ignore US indirect fire doctrine developed and refined throughout WWII. The ability to coordinate accurate timed massed fires by US artillery was unmatched by the end of WWII.
Reading ww2 daily reports really backs up your point.
"King of Battle" Mighty field artillery!
Hollywood is not good at presenting the awesome power of big guns in general naval or land based. If you go to older movies from the 50's and 60's and also include Soviet and German war movies the representation improves because they're using actual surplus equipment from the war. Anyway thank you for your service. If I were to join the army and was given a choice I'd go with Artillery any day.
In WWII, America's enemies were often greatly confounded by the vast numbers of radios and the sophisticated organization of artillery support and targeting communication. The enemy knew if they were spotted by anyone with a radio, artillery could come raining down in minutes and be quickly adjusted on target.
13:10
"Gunner, you see that Kraut Bunker?"
"Yes, sir?"
"I don't want to"
"Yes, sir."
"so, smoke rounds on target then"
Willie Pete
Love it
This is how America could get away with having such dinky tanks.
You see that general direction over there?
Sir all I see is caters!
Good work soldier
Artillery only?
The King of Battle
Superior firepower
Isorrowproductions?
Gravy Timmy?
@@dukosav This guy plays hoi4
My Great Grandfather Denman H. Ayres ran the 155 howitzer in the 69th infantry, 724th field artillery made it to 1st lieutenant and got the bronze star ⭐️
Long live the memory of the greatest generation and their sacrifice!
A lot of people think that tanks and planes were the deciding weapons in ww2. But according to postwar US army studies artillery was responsible for upwards of 70% of US casualties in Europe during ww2. The Soviets also came to a similar realization. And even now in the present day artillery is still the King of Battle -Napoleon. Or God of War if you're a Stalin quotes fan.
Something can be the deciding weapon without causing the majority of casualties, though.
If you wanna take the airplane, for example, it was the destruction of the luftwaffe that kept German panzer divisions from counter attacking after D-Day (by forcing them to hide during day hours).
And if your planes can take out their artillery unmolested, it opens up the way for your infantry to attack (although you'll still run into machine guns, ofc).
TLDR: in modern war, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts 🙃
It is the planes and tanks that allow the artillery to operate, though. Without tanks and specially planes, the artillery will just be suppressed.
In a nutshell: combined arms are what allow the artillery to do its thing: causing casualties.
@@shotsfired_dk I understand the concept. My point being that artillery had a significant role in all aspects. After all the deadliest thing to tanks wasn't other tanks or even planes. Majority of tank losses where due to anti tank guns and regular artillery. And even in the air flak was a significant source of losses. I would imagine if the Germans had figured out proximity shells it would have been even worse. I'm not saying artillery will win alone. However far too many focus on silly concepts of what particular weapon is the best. While completely forgetting about the 800 pound gorilla that artillery was to all sides.
@@MrNicoJacwhat kept the German panzers from attacking the D-day beaches wasn’t airpower, it was Hitler. He refused to give Rommel control of those divisions believing that D-day was a diversionary landing meant to draw in troops
Hasn't this been the same in almost all wars since the introduction of effective artillery? Artillery is the king of the battlefield.
Thank you for mentioning T.O.T. my 15:05 late father was involved with it A LOT, he was Sgt., Chief if Section, 9th Army, Europe.
Thank you for sharing and all the best to you.
-TimeGhost Ambassador
IDK about anyone else, but US FA does NOT pronounce TOT as a word. It's either spelled out "T. O. T." or spoken as a word "Time on Target."
The proximity fuse is without a doubt the most underrated invention of the war. A true Wunderwaffe.
One thing to note is that soviet artillery doctrine, that developed during the war, called for a concentration and centralization of artillery, rather than distributing it through all the divisions. Thus, even at the end of a war, typical soviet divisional artillery was the weakest of any warring countries (maybe except for Japan), but there were huge artillery-only units, up to a divisional strength, that were assigned to some units for a specific operation. They could be given directly to a divisional commander or assigned as an army's asset, and taken back after an operation is over
I watched a TH-cam lecture that claimed that Germany used more artillery shells on the eastern front that the soviets.
But that the Germans still felt like the soviets could totally overpower them in artillery.
Your comment about the concentration of fire would explain that seeming-paradox :)
@@MrNicoJac No chance that is true my friend. I'm sure the TH-cam lecturer meant well, but there's absolutely 0% chance the Germans used more Artillery shells on the Eastern front than the Soviets. The resource different alone would not allow that to happen.
@@astrategygamer1687
Do you have similar sources as an academic historian for that claim?
Don't forget that the soviets lost basically their entire army in the first few months, and all that equipment got captured by the Germans - while the soviets had to railroad their factories beyond the Urals and set up shop there.
He noted that most of the ammunition production inputs (like nitrates) were located in Ukraine and those areas were conquered by the Germans too.
Iirc, the Battle for Moscow was fought with explosives that were only able to be made because of lend lease convoys from the Americans/British delivering those chemical components.
Like, I'm not saying the above argument is correct - I have no way to verify those claims, just like I can't yours.
But the Red Army only really got its act together after Stalingrad/Kursk.
So I have no doubt that the soviets greatly outnumbered shell production in 1944-45, but that's not the same as 1939-1945... 🙃
@@MrNicoJac I did a quick search, and though I in no way consider my 'findings' conclusive, they do seem to support your claim. The USSR did outproduce the Germans by nearly 20% in volume of munitions (a disparity that becomes shockingly large when you realize a significant amount of small arms ammo were NOT produced in the USSR, but delivered through lend lease, and secondly, that the USSR could sustain such rhythms while massively outproducing the Germans in armor), however, the Germans fired nearly 50% more shells (by total tonnage). However, when you visit specific battles, day by day, you can see that at low points, the USSR fired about 1/3rd of the tonnage of shells the Germans did, a proportion that increased to 10 times the number of shells fired by the enemy for short bursts. This means that Soviet bombardments were both extremely massed and very unexpectedly brutal, as the troops were operating under the assumption of the enemy firepower being far, far lower than it actually was and thus often took lacking precautions on a tactical level.
@@khornateberzerker5439
Ooooh, what an insightful comment!
That's really cool to read ^^
Thanks for the quick search, and sharing it :)
Canons to the left of me, 🎶
Canons to the right, 🎶
Here I am stuck in a foxhole with you 🎶
Thank you Gerry Rafferty and the rest of Stealers Wheel
What's that? I can't hear you! Something seems to have happened to my ear.
Well done remake of the song.
My grandfather was in the 938th field artillery, firing its 155mm cannons at Salerno, Monte Cassino, Anzio, southern France, and eventually Germany. Though he passed away a few years before I was born, I’ve learned a lot about his battalion and artillery in general. Fire for Effect.
Really glad to see the return of more special episodes👍
We've got more on the way soon!
@@WorldWarTwo 🥳
Excellent observation on the German reliance on HORSES! to move their artillery. Which hurt their ability to move it and supply it, and limited its size. One interesting fact is the volume of artillery used by the U.S. In the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge) the U.S. had an artillery battalion for every infantry battalion. AND an artillery battalion for every tank battalion. In other words, there were more artillery battalions than any other type of battalion in the army.
As you bring up the Battle of the Bulge, the US artillery fire was so heavy that it broke or disordered several German attacks by stripping the supporting infantry away from their armour. I remember the US artillery going through 10K rounds in a two day battle on the Eisenborn Ridge.
And every artillery battery had a light aircraft assigned to it for spotting…
A Piper Cub was more feared by German forces than a B-17. The single Cub could drop more explosive (and more accurately) on them for longer than a squadron of B-17’s.
In most armies,there would have been one medium artillery battalion for every infantry regiment,and a divisional battalion of heavier calibre..Then several attached artillery battalions to each Corps,to be allotted per Corps commander.Probably not one per infantry battalion.
"Which hurt their ability to move it and supply it, and limited its size."
That is nonsense. Motorized units had the same number of guns as normal divisions with horse drawn artillery. And if you understand that usually German units inflicted more losses than US units and most of the losses were caused by artillery then we get a different result, don't we?
@@olafkunert3714 US Artillery got a reputation of reconnaissance by fire - where the Germans would send infantry, the Americans would send artillery shells.
It is KING of battle for a reason. Even during the most recent Gulf War 1 and 2(Invasion of Iraq). Most losses by Iraq would be by Artillery. Yes, more Iraqi's died in less than 4 days in Gulf War #1 (1991) than 60 ish days of bombing beforehand. Same for both sides in the RU/UKe war that is still going on. Arty is the KING of battle, Infantry is the Queen.
What is air support?
@@BoxStudioExecutiveair support
The Queen is Better than the King. The Rook is called Artillery
If artillery is the king, then surely the machine gun is the queen.
Infantry is more like the pawn, especially since most WW2 armies still used more bolt action rifles than semi automatic rifles.
@@BoxStudioExecutive flying artillery
Indy left out the artillery piece on which I served 50 years ago. The M114A1 155mm howitzer was the upgraded version of the M1 155mm howitzer from WW2. The M1 had electric (!) brakes, the M1A1 had air brakes. The M1A1 was used in WW2 and Korea, modernized to become the M114A1 and remains in service in some countries.
And contrary to Indys narration the US no longer used the 75mm howitzer. These were replaced with the m101 105mm howitzer. And the phrase "tot" is properly stated as "T oh T" for "time on target."
@@Freedomfred939 Airborne still used the 75mm Pack Howitzer.
Both Iran and South Korea currently use upgraded variants of the M114 155-mm howitzer with a longer 39-calibre barrel (Iran's HM-41 and South Korea's KH-179).
Electric brakes?? That’s pretty neat
It's incredible to hear from someone who actually served with this piece of history, thank you for sharing!
The VT fuze definitely deserves mention even though it wasn't used in the land war until relatively late due to fear of Germans acquiring a dud and reverse engineering it. These proximity fuzes made an absolutely massive difference in anti-aircraft artillery and it was particularly pronounced in how well it worked in the defense of London and Antwerp against V-1 bombs and then in the Pacific against kamikazes. Once allowed to use them for land targets (where they could air burst instead of detonating on impact) the effect was amazing both in the South Pacific and then finally in Europe during the Battle of the Bulge. It was a great Christmas present to the troops in 1944.
It quadruped the effectiveness of AA
At 10.45, you imply that the British 25pdr had a calibre of 75mm when it was actually 87.6mm.
Also the German 88mm didn't have APDS. However, Indie did state that APCBC was used, which is correct.
"The King of Battle". My Uncle Jerry was with 3-16 Field Artillery in the ETO during World War II. He proudly wore a pin of the regimental coat of arms every time he left the house or had house guests. And he related his pride in being an artilleryman right up to the day he rejoined his 3-16th brothers in Heaven.
Hell yeah.
Thanks for sharing with us, did you manage to keep the pin?
Those 240 mm M1 howitzers are still in service in Taiwan, and one is a gate guard of sorts at my base.
The black dragon.
In 1968 we used the 105 mm AMX self propelled, lightly armored gun en we did use ammunition produced in 1944 :)
During a 2 month refreshment course in 1973 we used towed 155 mm guns. Both gun and ammunition had been produced in 1944 :)
That is why we have problems supplying Ukraine with artillery shells, we did run out of WW2 ammunition.
That is so cool to hear about. Thx!!
In 2007 I served with the German mountain armored artillery. We had modified M109 howitzers at the time. During an exercise there were problems with the shells for battlefield illumination. They had been manufactured around 1960 and the parachutes in them were almost all faulty, so the fireballs just fell to the ground. One of our NCOs was really upset about this: "Do we only have this ancient junk?" And the captain's answer was: "The ancient junk has to be used up first. We'll keep the good stuff for when the Russians come." Well, that phrase hasn't really aged well...
The Finns were also at the forefront with the "Time on Target" concept and on the eastern front they were the first nation to use it in battle. During the major Soviet offensive in Karelia in 1944, artillery played a key role in stopping the Soviets. One Finnish veteran later recounted how they were holding the line, and suddenly they heard a sound like a train was coming. Moments later the hills in front of them erupted in a firestorm as the shells landed at the same time. As the Soviets had recently advanced, they had no prepared defenses. There was no warning and no cover. Scores of men were just evaporated in seconds. And this scene was repeated many times, until finally the offensives had run out of steam, and Finland got the separate peace that it wanted.
Cool story bro. One finnish man said he killed 500+ soviet soldiers and received many awards on this. But soviet military documents do not confirm this.
Yes they were. The Brits were second and the Yanks only third.
The Soviets won actually, the finns lost territory.
Fun fact, one of the greatest artillery officer in history is Napoleon Bonaparte. Most people see him as a great strategist (which is true), but often forget that before he rose to prominence he was a trained artillery officer, and a good one at that. It just goes to show that artillery isn't the most popular weapon or service in wars, but it got the job done.
I'd just like to point out that in metric the 25 pdr. was an 88mm not a 75mm.
Over hill, over dale,
We will hit the dusty trail,
And those Caissons go rolling along.
Was it high, was it low?
Where the hell did that one go?
And those Casisson go rolling along
(I really like that part 😁)
Artillery is the King of Battle, and Infantry is the Queen of Battle. And, of course, we all know what the King does to the Queen. - Saying I heard loads of in Basic Training at Ft. Sill, OK, home of Artillery.
Heard that all the time, OCS class 15-69, still hate a windy day.
It's a very pleasant suprise! According to Military History Visualised YT channel, artillery and mines are the most obscure and least studied arms of WW2. Thanks for the video!
I trained on the 25 pounder in the 1960s. It was a beautiful weapon. Astonisingly accurate, capable of great range and penetration on charge super plus, and comparatively easy to bring into action and to pack up and fuck off, as we put it.
No matter how good or bad a weapon is according to say, military records, asking someone who had to use it like yourself is infinitely more valuable to me, a non-combatant. I love even small tidbit comments like yours because it helps me, the younger generation, get a better picture.
Pretty good overview. As a retired Field Artillery officer, I was pleased.Great job!
Thank you for the comment and thanks for watching!
quick correction on minuite 4:25 , APCBC are not discarting sabots, they don't split to reveal a dart or hardened core. They are simple AP shells which are capped and then have a balistic cap added on top. The first cap improves performance against steeper angles of armour, while the Ballistic Cap improves aerodynamics, hence A-P-C-B-C. Discarding sabot ammo is usually called APDS, or APFSDS, with the latter being fin stabilised discarding sabot. Much love to the team!
Ooooo amazing.
Love all the photos, quotes and films you put it! Brings everything to life and it’s a cool way to bring sources into the video without a neon sign.
"They were typically designed with a conventional semi-automatic horizontal sliding breach block, hydro pneumatic recuperator and a mono block tube with a slotted cylindrical muzzle brake..." God, I love it when you talk dirty, Indy!!!
Two of the Grandfathers of modern British Comedy, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe, served in the Royal Artillery. Spike was a signaller with a heavy artillery 5.5 in battery, and Harry in a 25 pndr battery. They both served in 1st Army and they both recount their first meeting. Spike’s battery were in position on top of a rise, Harry’s at the bottom. One of the 5.5 in guns broke free, and thundered down the hill through the 25 pndr battery’s position. Spike recounts breathlessly asking a short, fat Welsh gunner “have you seen a big gun go past”, to which Harry (for it is he) replied “what colour is it?”. Both were tragically struck by Shell Shock, Spike being invalided out of the line in Italy. Spike Milligan’s memoirs are brilliant, filled with typically dark squaddie humour, insane events, and his description of his descent into depression caused by PTSD is heartbreaking.
After the war, Milligan organised a reunion for soldiers of both sides that had fought at Longstop Hill in Tunisia. He got talking to an Afrika Korps veteran - who was also artillery. Also a signaller, in an OP, on the same day. They worked out that they had actually fired at each other. It was then pointed out that their presence at this reunion showed they were both awful shots. The German vet signed Milligan's dinner menu with 'Dear Spike, sorry I missed!'
I've read, re-read, lost, lent out, bought, and borrowed all of those books over the years. I usually read the whole lot over the course of a week or so, every couple of years. Brilliant books, funny, sad, and have influenced a lot of my humour since I was young.
Congratulations for the video!!!
My favorite gun is the Zis 3, a simple and good gun.
Thanks for sharing and thanks for watching!
the Nebelwerfer - Katyusha rivalry would be a good follow up to this someday
The Ordnance QF 25-pdr was not a 75 mm calibre weapon, but rather 87.63 mm.
I just started following this channel and it's the best history channel I've ever watched in my opinion. Keep up the great work fellas!
Thanks for your kind words and enjoy the content.
-TimeGhost Ambassador
Much appreciated!
When I lived in the UK, I had a neighbor who had been a Major in the Artillery in both WWII and Korea. He had some great stories.
He was actually from a family with a long martial history. On his living room wall there was a pair of swords used by one of his ancestors in the Crimea. Actually, his name was French, and he was probably descended from the Norman conquerors.
One funny story, that was not related to artillery, concerned pheasant hunting in Korea. The British officers used elegant double barrel shotguns to hunt. Some of the American officers used their Thompson sub-machineguns.
Great story. The Germans also hunted with double-barrelled shotguns. I have a few images of them hunting with Drilling's shotguns. These were made for the Luftwaffe often pilfered from them somehow? as these were for fighter pilots who were shot down.
@@CarlEvans-t6h Drillings were common among hunters back then, both to have one gun do it all and to better take advantage of the possibility of bagging different game. The Luftwaffe saw their usefulness but they really had no other military role, and their makers weren't manufacturing guns or parts the military otherwise needed so it made good sense to use them in that role.
@@P_RO_ Thank you for further enlightening me on them. My knowledge is nil on them. I think I've 2-3 original snapshot photos of German officers using them.
In addition to the problems Indy mentioned artillery has to, esp. at long ranges, accommodate for air temp, curvature of the Earth, winds, and rotation of the Earth. Modern digital computers have helped a lot. They had look up tables but to precisely hit a target at range required people who were good at Maths. The Navy used electro-mechanical computers but add in rolling and pitching of a ship and it gets worse.
And another problem is wear, and even manufacturing tolerances.
Like, even if you had the range perfect down to the cm, and did all the math required to get that accurate flawlessly,
If your shells are of varying quality or your gun has already fired 1000 shells, you'll still miss....
@@MrNicoJac Indeed, I forgot to mention that. Like at Jutland where the British had problems with duds and partial detonation.
@@MrNicoJac I believe the US Navy computers had an input for barrel wear as well.
Wish you could talk about those numbers they would call before artillery, like before fire missions, how they know those numbers and grids pretty quickly
For those wondering, at the beginning, Indy is quoting "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Tennyson. The poem is about the event of the same name that happened during the Crimean War.
A movie of that name and Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" are about that battle. Bruce Dickinson quoted a short snippet of the poem as an introduction to the song for example in the 2001 Rock in Rio live version.
Why a screwup was made into a heroic episode is beyond me. It simply was the failure of the Heavy Brigade to follow up the Light Brigade, and they got annihilated.
Had they quickly sized up the situation and gotten the hell out of there, the British would still have a useful unit to carry on the war against the Russians.
@@MVC670 A preferable narrative for the folks at home.
The Heavy Brigade had previously done their job, the Light Brigade charged down the wrong valley at the wrong guns.
Sums up that particular conflict rather well in a lot of ways.
Good Video! Love these specials, nice to get to read in depth about something most people dont give much thought to.
Maybe another special on rifles? They were one of the most mass produced things of the war so It could be interesting to see how they compared
We did one on Marksman rifles a few years back!
Link: th-cam.com/video/H2luJ61WAgE/w-d-xo.html
Yes, yes, YES! Please do a long form vid, or a series, on artillery. My Dad was in the NJ National Guard from 1964-1984, and he retired as a Capt. "The Guards" always used hand-me-down equipment from the regular Army. His primary firearm was the M1 Garand, from basic training til he was commissioned as a 2Lt. As an officer, he carried the M1 Garand. I have ALWAYS been fascinated with artillery, and would love to see more videos, especially in your style!
Australian forces in New Guinea returned the favour by carrying twenty five pounder guns the opposite way over the Owen Stanley Range. These were specifically modified guns manufactured in Australia with shortened barrels to reduce weight. They were referred to as “Snorts”.
There is some dispute about who first developed the "time on target" approach, and quite likely that the same principles probably occurred to more than one army in parallel. For the British, it was put into practice just before El Alamein and during it, and went hand in hand with the "stonk" concept, whereby very large concentrations of fire could be be reliably brought to bear (because the differential calculations had been done in advance) to devastate a specific area at short notice. The other significant benefit of the ToT concept was that artillery didn't need to be in large groupings which were more vulnerable to counter-battery fire.The credit for this shouldn't really be given to Montgomery (although I'm sure he would have like it to have been) - but to one of his Divisional arty commanders who developed and implmented these concepts.
Ian V. Hogg wrote many fine books on the subject of Artillery used during the first half of the 20th Century, and did so in a quite entertaining "British" style.
Agree you re the British feel. Viz Beevor & co. British voiceovers anytime. American commentary tracks are like watching CBS etc., News
Great report. My family settled a few miles from Ft Sill, Oklahoma in 1880. On static display, nearly every piece of artillery used since WWI. Inside the museum artillery dating from the first used in China and Europe. My favorite artillery on display artillery General Knox capture at Ft Ticonderoga on display. Oh yes. My family fought in the US Army, USMC and US Navy since the Battle of Cowpens and Kings Mountain. This also included the crusades and Battle of Sterling Bridge, Scotland.
After WW 2, an accidental detonation of German shell led to the discovery that German shrapnel not as lethal as originally believed... YP
Hi Indy
Superb special.
Carrying artillery over the hill by Japanese was unbelievable stuff.
More special please.
Thanks.
British (and other Commonwealth) artillery did the same technique the Americans called 'time on target' as their routine method of employing artillery. The British would have all guns in a region 'surveyed in' so their relative locations were precisely known to all the levels of artillery HQ (division, corps, army). When a call for fire came in, while the Forward Observation Officer (FOO) was correcting the shot of their home battery, higher artillery HQs would be calculating what guns were available, depending on the priority (given by a code name like "Mike"), and when they'd need to fire to have all rounds hit at the same time, taking into account the different distances, when the FOO called in fire for effect. Same stuff as Indie has only the Americans doing, just the British didn't give it a special name because it was the normal practice. The best source for British/CW artillery for folk who aren't technical specialists is 'Guns of Normandy' by George Blackburn, a Canadian artillery officer, in Normandy. My father who was a gunner in 2nd Canadian Division during the war recommended it highly. BTW, a good general guide to WW2 artillery of all sides is the old Ballantine book 'The Guns' by Ian V Hogg.
Happy Valentine's Day!! ❤ Keep up the good work!!
dreams do come true - I love military tech specials!
artillery only world conquest?
I forget the one battle where this story came from. There was a time in WW2 when the USA artillery used Division Artillery fire for a breakthrough at night. It was daylight because of the amount of guns shooting at the Germans. I remember it was like 15 to 30 minutes of light from the shooting. Nothing was left under that barrage. I think it was on one of the pocket battles.
I'm surprised that you didn't mention the M101 105 howitzer. One of the best guns of WW2 .
Except it was still the M2 back then.
"It was like the starting bell of the apocalypse. Pictures fell off the walls of people's homes, books fell off shelves, their telephones start ringing for no reason. A cross hurdled to earth from a church steeple because of the vibrations. Windows and mirrors are shattering, lights are flickering, and everywhere, dogs are howling. There's a rumble like thunder in the distance. People could feel the very earth vibrating. It's like a warning cry of the Gods. It's like a telegram from Hell." - Dan Carlin's description of the opening barrage of the Battle of Seelow Heights, April 1945
-Ah, artillery. Baldrick, if you would?
-Wot? Oh! Right. Ahem.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
BOOM BOOM BOOM
BOOOOOM BOOOOOM BOOOOOM BOOOOOM
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Wasnt that a quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, The Charge Of The Light Brigade.
My grandfather fought in an artillery regiment for the Wehrmacht, mostly stationed in the Baltics. I never found out if he was also involved in the siege of Leningrad, though it would make sense.
"YOU'VE GOT HORSES! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?"
In 1954 Gen Giap had hundreds of artillery pieces broken down and carried up into the hills overlooking the French at Dien Bien Phu.He positioned them expertly and his artillery contributed much to the Vietnamese victory.(Martin Windrow.. The Last Valley.Highly recommended,about the 1953-54 Indochina War)
"That target, gentlemen. I don't want to see it anymore."
Thank you!
Dad was an officer in a 105mm platoon (Pacific). In his final days with us, as his mind dimmed, he would still hum the classic a The Caissons Go Rolling Along:
“Then it's hi! hi! hee!
In the field artillery,
Shout out your numbers loud and strong,
For where'er you go,
You will always know
That the Caissons go rolling along.”
"we could talk for hours about......." If so I will be there thank you Indy.
I remember a story from my family's relative when his unit assaulted the city of Aachen, the first German city that would be captured by the Allies, during the battle of the city, the Army sent up M12 155mm self propelled howitzer into the city with the infantry as the hammer to take down enemy occupied buildings, since a HE shot to the center of a building would knock it down completely. The Army got tired of taking shots from the buildings so they sent this big gun to knock it down rather than costly taking it room by room. Also during the Bulge his unit when possible would call the so-called "Big Shot" artillery strike, it's a synchronized artillery strike which we know today as Time on Target artillery strike, it literally dis-integrated German formations with 5 synchronized artillery shells that landed on target at nearly or at the same time.
I'm starting a conspiracy that every time Indi puts his hand under the desk its to pet a secret dog sitting beside him
Thanks for covering the Artillery.
So essential but under reported
"For those about to rock! FIRE!! WE SALUTE YOU!!"
Rock and shells..?
Great video, lots of information without reaching maximum density!
The Schwere Infanterie Geschutz has a special place in my heart. If I was an artilleryman I'd want to see my work unfold before me.
I can't think of artillery without thinking of the 88mm. Also surprised youtube didn't censor this.
The Flak 36 88mm,wasnt technically "Artillery".It was designed as an Anti-Aircraft cannon(Flugzeug Abwehr Kanone-FlaK).It was only when Rommel,in 1940 during the battle of Arras,when his force looked like it would be overrun by British tanks,that he ordered his Flak battery to fire upon the tanks,and it proved to be a effective AT gun also.
@@j.4332became multi purpose.
Yay artillery! Duck and cover!
4:27 I dont think the 88 flak guns had discarding sabot, APCBC = armor piercing capped ballistic capped, nothing about sabot. It would have been strange of them to use a discarding sabot in the 1930s, as the 88 would have had ample penetration at the time. Discarding sabot is used to increase penetration, at the cost of explosive filler and potential damage. Maybe the later tigers got sabot?
Indy’s tie appears to have been hit by an artillery barrage from very small but highly accurate artillery pieces firing special tie- piercing shells!
Love these "quick and dirty" overviews, Indy! Keep them coming.
This is my favorite video from this series so far ! artillery is popular right now 👍
Today marks 80th anniversary of second great bombing raid of Helsinki. Heavy AA batteries fired 12,238 shots and light AA batteries fired 5,709 shots.
This guy is a great Narrator and historian.. I like the 155mm howitzer.. 75-76mm guns seem to be the most favorite bore and most numerous. Not just with artillery but in tank guns also..
Thanks for putting together. BTW, be careful when using terms such as neutralization, destruction, and suppression as they have specific definitions in artillery employment...
First, the advantage of Time on Target is that the biggest killer is the first volley,, which catches the enemy by surprise moving around his position. By the time the second volley arrived, survivors dove into foxholes, bunkers etc, and required more volleys to match the casualties of the first volley. With TOT, you massed weapons at different locations, with different times of flight,, to all hit at the same time. I saw a reference to a US TOT involving 17 battalions, at 18 guns per battalion.
Second, modern artillery normally fires at targets that cannot be seen, over the horizon, This requires accurate survey of the gun locations, and skillled forward observers who can map spot their own locations to within, hopefully, 50 meters. (Realistically, I was told that the locations on a 1:50,000 map which is US standard, are not guaranteed bay map makers to be more accurate due to printing issues, to be expected to support accurate map spotting of an intersection to within 90 meters, ) Those observers then have to further provide azimuth and distance estimates to the target, First volley accuracu is thus often off by hundreds of meters and has to be adjusted onto the target by the observers.
Artillery ONLY in 2024? Bless the isorrow
Always found the German 15cm sFH 18 using the rocket-booster shells to be a fascinating development from the war. A means of extending the range of an outdated gun (circa 1944) without having to manufacture an entirely new one.
Long Tom. Always my favorite.
“Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell, Rode the six hundred.”
- Alfred Lord Tennyson, *Charge of the Light Brigade*
Good to see you back, Indy!
I’ve always called WW1 as the GW since their first series
Ever watch WW2 in color? 80 percent of the shots are jist artillery being fired and i loveeeeeeeee it
You may have the best men, best tanks, best firearms, best plans, best leaders, however all can be obliterated by artillery. Artillery was and is the main killer of war. From the beginnings of trebuchet, ballista, catapult, cannons, mortars, naval artillery, and modern artillery. As Joseph Stalin stated, "Artillery is the God of War."
I could talk about artillery all day .
Small arms and planes next please!
I would love to see a breakdown off kinds of military equipment of the war.
Pretty sure the twenty-five pounder was 84 mm not seventy-five.
When you asked soldiers from World War II about opposing armies they often said something like their infantry was unimaginative but their artillery was spot on. Artillery has traditionally been "professional".
I think you were a tiny bit unfair to the German 88mm when used as field artillery. While it couldn't be used in as many situations as a good howitzer, it could be devastating when fired line-of-sight with timed fuses. This was well illustrated in the Band of Brothers series. The shells arrived at supersonic speed and exploded up in the trees raining shrapnel down on everyone below.
I'm a little surprised you didn't say anything about mortars. They were even effective in the jungle as they were easier to transport and their plunging fire was not blocked by the trees.
I've heard that one of the favourite tactics of soviets with artillery was the so called wall of fire, when artillery was hitting everything in in line front of attacking soviet troops, and this line was moving forward along with attackers. It devastated the area and helped to break through even well organised defensive positions. In memoirs of one of the army officers, enemy soldiers were dead even in miraculously undamaged by the wall of fire dugouts and other defensive constructions - of suffocation or internal bleeding caused by air pressure close to explosions.
Finns had French 155 K/77 (Model from year 1877).
You can't mention artillery without me remembering Good Morning Veitnam and giggling.
I assume with higher levels of motorization of an army comes a high level of motorization of artillery. I like to see how armies like the Germans and the US repurposed even halftracks to carry artillery, or the way tanks were converted (even recycled for a better use!) into gun motor carriages or self-propelled guns.
The US was leaps and bounds above the Germans in this regard. The German army still relied heavily on horses to pull it's artillery up until the end of the war. Like it does today, the US Army doesn't make or have a gun without it's own assigned motor prime mover (even the airborne artillery... the pack howitzers could be pulled by jeep and dropped by glider)
The British Commonwealth was also pretty ahead of the Germans in this too. Most of the Ram tank chassis (an evolution of the M3 Lee/Grant chassis like the Sherman) produced by Canada that never end up seeing service as a tank (since the US just dumped out so many Shermans) were used as basis for the Sexton Self Propelled Gun.
Enough Sextons were cranked out that some of them were “defrocked” (had their guns removed) and converted to Kangaroo Armoured Personnel Carriers to allow for infantry to be carried at the same speed of tanks to the fight while being very protected during the advance.
The British 25-Pounder was (still is - many remain in service to this day for ceremonial purposes) not 75mm, but 87.6mm.
Incidentally, it was used in pretty large numbers by the US Army in WW2 as well, befre their own production of 105mm, etc., got really going.
In the awesome documentary series Battlefield Battle for Italy it does mention when going over the allied and axis weapons that the German mortars inflicted the most casualties.
Какие именно модели? Granatenwerfer 42?
I recently found a British 25 pounder shell in my garden. According to an army man who picked up the shell my garden is probably on top of an old depot 😂