German Artillery in Combat

by Bob Carruthers

  14. Operational Use Against Ground Targets

  a. General

  The basic principle of German combat methods has been said to be a clever adaptation of fire to movement, with fire power increasing directly in proportion to the resistance encountered. Movement is normally from one piece of advantageous terrain to another, with maximum fire applied during the movement. Both fire and movement are applied with one basic purpose in view: to attain the objective of the unit. This principle is applicable to the offensive combat of all German units, from squads to armies.

  In defense the German commander chooses the most suitable ground for combined action by infantry, machine guns, antitank guns, artillery, and tanks. In such depth as resources permit, he will usually construct a series of defense areas capable of all-around defense against any form of attack. The artillery of all types will be placed where it can support either the defense area, or the tanks if these are launched in a counterattack. In withdrawals, after skillfully thinning our most of the transport facilities and battle impedimenta, the German commander will usually launch some form of feint action to cover the withdrawal of the remainder of the force. This feint action often takes place in the evening; during the night the whole force withdraws, leaving only reconnaissance elements supported by a few guns to hold up hostile forces. In any of the above general situations, full use in roles against ground targets can be expected to be made of any AA guns not specifically required for use in an AA role.

  b. 88-mm Dual-Purpose Gun

  (1) In antitank roles.—Using both HE and AP ammunition, the 88-mm Flak gun has been used on all fronts with deadly effect against medium and heavy tanks. Its worth as an AT weapon was proved in the Polish and French campaigns; since the beginning of the Russian Campaign, when it was used with much success against large Russian tanks the armor of which proved invulnerable to the then standard German 37-mm AT gun, the 88-mm gun has been considered by the Germans to be their heavy AT weapon.

  Wherever balanced AT support is considered necessary, it is now considered usual for German task-force commanders to allot a certain proportion of 88-mm guns for purely AT roles. This is especially true since the weapon has made its appearance on the new 12-ton half-track vehicle, which is armored in front and carries a small supply of ammunition. When mounted on this self-propelled mount, the gun is used only for engaging ground targets, necessary AA protection being furnished from other sources. It should be remembered, however, that the gun can also be used in an AT role when mounted on the special trailer (No. 201), which is fitted with pneumatic tires and is drawn by a half-track vehicle carrying the gun crew and a small supply of ammunition. Such ground targets as tanks can be engaged while the gun is in this traveling position.

  (2) In other roles.—Since German military commanders are trained to utilize all available weapons to a maximum degree, it is not at all surprising that this gun has been used in other than AA and AT roles. Thus, in the battle for Sevastopol in the Russian Campaign, the German command was confronted with a narrow front barricaded completely with concrete, steel, and guns. In view of the mobility of the 88-mm Flak gun, an AA combat detachment manning one of these guns was ordered to support a local infantry attack. At short ranges and over open sights, this gun engaged pillboxes and other enemy centers of resistance which the infantry could not overcome, thus assisting the infantry in carrying out its mission.

  In many sectors, this gun has been used in normal field artillery roles. It has been used against fortified bunkers as well as against personnel. In the crossing of the Albert Canal in the Western Campaign, it was used in a ground role to cover the bridging operations being carried on by engineers.

  (3) Fire-control methods.—For use against armored vehicles, and for field artillery tasks, the following four methods of fire control have been used: direct fire, using a telescopic sight; director control; fire directed from an observation post; and air burst HE.

  (a) Direct fire.—This has been the most successful method employed against armored vehicles. Apart from the extreme mobility of the gun, the efficient telescopic sight has contributed largely to the success of the 88-mm gun in an AT role. The latest mark of telescopic sight used is the ZF 20-E, which has already been described.

  (b) Director control.—With director control, the data for the first round is calculated in the same manner as for an air target. Corrections for direction, range, and fuze range are made from observation of fire and arbitrarily set into the director. This method has not proved very satisfactory.

  (c) Fire directed from an OP.—When the target is below the horizontal, or at ranges greater than 10,340 yards (i.e., beyond the limit of the telescopic sight), fire may be directed from an observation post. The OP officer takes azimuth, range, and elevation from his fire-control map. From these, he calculates the firing data with a range table and transmits the data to the gun position by telephone. A director is sometimes used for giving the initial direction to the guns. Corrections are ordered from observation of fire and are applied at the guns.

  (d) Air-burst HE.—Fire for effect with time-fuze air-burst HE against troops in the open, and against battery positions, has also been reported. Ranging is carried out with a low height of burst. Fire for effect follows with the fuze range being adjusted to obtain the most effective height of burst. It is believed that this method is not used very often.

  c. Light and Medium Flak Guns

  (1) In an antitank role.—The light- and medium-caliber Flak guns (20-mm and 37-mm) have had less outstanding success against tanks and armored vehicles than has the 88-mm, owing undoubtedly to the fact that the smaller caliber somewhat limits their use. However, there is no question that with their extreme mobility and high rate of fire, and the penetrating effect of their AP shells, the smaller guns will continue to be used extensively in AT roles, particularly in emergencies.

  (2) In other roles.—Aside from AT roles, light flak weapons, particularly the 20-mm, have been used for many different purposes against ground targets. They have been used against hostile machinegun nests, and bunkers have been neutralized by using these weapons for attacks on the openings. They have been employed in occupied villages and towns to overcome scattered resistance, and, like the 88-mm guns, they have also given ground support to engineers engaged in bridging operations.

  (3) General.—Fire control for all the above uses is by normal or telescopic sight, with observation of the tracer.

  15. Establishment of Gun Positions

  a. Heavy AA Guns

  (1) For primary AA role.—In the normal battery of four heavy AA guns, the pieces are disposed roughly in a square of approximately 70 yards. A fully equipped battery position will have two command posts, but this may vary in accordance with the importance of the locality and the availability of fire-control equipment. There are also several types of six-gun layouts.

  (2) For other roles.—Emplacement of the 88-mm gun when being used primarily against tanks or in a role other than AA depends partly upon the terrain and partly upon certain rules laid down for the selection of a firing position, as follows: the angle of impact should not be greater than 60 degrees; the range should generally not exceed 2,000 yards; the gun level should slope downward (since the gun level varies from -3° to +15° from the horizontal of the muzzle); the position should be concealed, and as near to the target as possible in order to insure maximum accuracy and surprise in opening fire; the lanes of approach and withdrawal must be as firm, level, and wide as possible.

  As both the four- and six-gun layouts used in forward areas do not differ materially from those prescribed for AA guns engaged in the defense of Germany and in other static rear-area positions, attention is invited to the discussion of this subject appearing in Section IV of this study.

  b. Light and Medium AA Guns

  Light and medium Flak guns are normally disposed in platoons of three. A triangular layout is common but not unchangeable, with the guns anywhere from 75 to 150 yards apart. These light g
uns are seldom deployed singly; however, in other than AA roles their use may depend primarily on emergency conditions, with consequent deviations from normal methods of disposition.

  16. Deception and Concealment

  Common German practice in all types of military operations, as enunciated in their field service regulations, calls for the maximum use of surprise, which in turn involves secrecy, deception, and speed of execution. During the early European campaigns of the present war, because of overwhelming initial aerial superiority, the Germans did not pay too much attention to the camouflage of AA positions and to other passive defense practices. In later and present campaigns, however, the Germans have not always had definite air superiority, and they have used many passive means of deception and concealment, such as camouflage and erection of dummy gun positions and objectives, to protect themselves from aerial observation and to assist in maintaining the secrecy of their dispositions and operations. In the Libyan Desert, much ingenuity has been shown in concealing AA weapons, especially through dummy gun positions. Vehicles as well as guns are camouflaged with nets and local material, and resort is had to as much dispersion as possible under the tactical circumstances. In one operation in July of 1941, German guns were located among abandoned Italian artillery which had been left there from previous battles. These guns were not noticed until they opened fire.6

  SECTION IV. USE OF AA IN DEFENSE OF GERMANY AND REAR AREAS

  17. Historical Background

  In the years immediately prior to Germany's entry into World War II, the Germans conducted many experiments and tests designed to produce satisfactory AA weapons. Even after the experiments conducted during the Spanish Civil War, and the consequent determination to commence extensive manufacture of dual-purpose AA/AT guns, the primary AA purpose of these guns was never lost sight of. The German press gave much publicity to the importance of AA guns in the defense of Germany, and the Government simultaneously proceeded to provide for the activation and equipping of AA units in unprecedented numbers. Since plans for employment of these AA units in defense presupposed close cooperation with aviation, the rapidly growing AA forces were made an organic part of the German Air Force. With the outbreak of war, the formation of new AA units for local defense as well as for field service proceeded apace.

  18. General Organization of AA Defenses

  a. Responsibility

  In addition to his other duties, the Chief of the German Air Force is responsible for the defense of territorial Germany and of important installations and cities of the occupied countries. An inspector for each separate arm of the Luftwaffe (similar to our former chiefs of branches) functions directly under the Chief of the Air Force and is responsible directly to the Chief for the state of training and efficiency of the separate elements comprising the rear-area defenses.

  b. Defense Districts

  For the purpose of home defense as well as for other needs, Germany and the important occupied territories are divided into air territorial areas known as Luftgaue. In 1939, 15 of these air territorial districts lay within the borders of Germany. In addition, there were two separate air territories established for areas especially open to hostile air attacks. These comprised the Air Defense Zone, West, which was almost identical with the area covered by the West Wall fortifications, and the Air Defense Zone, Sea, which covered in general the North Sea coastal and island area. Following the French Campaign, the first zone was eliminated. Other Luftgaue were organized within the occupied countries, however, to tie in with the general scheme of defense against air attacks.

  The commander of a Luftgau is subordinate to the Chief of Air Forces alone. Even though his Luftgau may correspond in extent and nomenclature to a geographical army corps area, he is in no way subordinate to the army corps area commander. The Luftgau commander may have been originally an air officer or an AA artillery officer, or even an air signal officer. There is no rule on the matter other than that he must be an Air Force officer.

  Luftgaue coordinate their defenses with each other, in accordance with regulations published by the Chief of the Air Force. The commander of the individual Luftgau has specialists who act respectively as commanders of the interception, pursuit, and other aviation; commanders of all AA artillery of the district, including searchlights; and commanders of the signal service employing warning and communication facilities. Other specialists, functioning directly under the district commander, include the commanders of barrage balloon units and of units responsible for carrying out so-called passive-defense measures. The operating units function under the specialist commanders both on direct orders from these commanders, and, when occasion demands, upon the initiative of the unit commander. In actual operations, in most cases the commands above the actual operating units act mainly in a coordinating capacity, feeding information to the operating units who act in turn on their own initiative in accordance with prescribed standing operating procedure.

  Within certain of the air districts there are special air defense commands. These cover regions of vital importance whose defense must be insured with a maximum of defense facilities. In these defense commands, of which the cities of Berlin and Hamburg, and the Ruhr district, are typical examples, there are concentrated under a single command sufficient defense facilities of all kinds to prevent the attacking hostile air forces from carrying out their mission.

  c. Component Arms

  The AA guns are considered the backbone of the static defense, but the operation of the system calls for close cooperation with friendly aircraft, especially fighter planes. Searchlight units as a part of Flak proper play a very important part in the German scheme of air defense, and in certain areas barrage balloons are used quite extensively. The Aircraft Warning Service is a part of the Air Force, and as such has the mission of providing adequate warning of hostile aircraft. Certain passive measures form a very important part of the defense system as a whole; these measures must be considered a definite though intangible weapon, so closely tied in with the entire defense system that they must be considered in this discussion.

  19. The AA Command in an Air District

  a. Groups and Sub-Groups

  The Flak, or AA, command in an air district is divided into "Groups" known as Flakgruppen. The Groups in turn are divided into "Sub-Groups" called Flakuntergruppen. These types are ordinarily territorial divisions. For example, one of the large industrial cities of Germany is divided into two Groups known as the North and South Groups, and each of these in turn has two Sub-Groups. In addition, there is a Sub-Group for outlying territory east of this town, and one for the northwest approaches.

  b. Control Centers

  The control center of the Flak defenses is the Group. The Group operates downward through sector controls, which in most cases are the Sub-Groups. These sector controls are the operational headquarters for various purposes—such as, for example, for fire control involving the ordering of barrage fire. The sector control is also used as a communication center. Close liaison is maintained between the Flak organizations and the warning service, and between Flak and air fighter-interception units.

  c. Operational Units

  Operational units are the battalions, regiments, and higher units. Organization of the individual units above the battalion is not uniform, the exact composition of the unit depending upon the part which it is expected to play in the defense scheme. Thus regiments may be found which consist entirely of searchlight units, entirely of gun units, or even of two mixed gun battalions and one searchlight battalion (the pre-war standard). Even batteries may vary in organization, as in the case of gun batteries where the fire unit is composed of six instead of four guns. Although the battalion (Abteilung) is considered the basic unit, the necessity of deploying batteries makes it impossible in most cases for the battalion commander to exercise detailed control, and the heavy gun battery is normally the fire unit.

  20. Employment of AA Guns

  a. Static Guns (fig. 16)

  Guns emplaced on
permanent mounts or in static positions are generally used throughout the air defense system. The emplacements are usually well prepared, with living quarters for the crews. Calibers of these static guns range from the light 20-mm to the heavy 150-mm guns, most of the latter being permanently emplaced in readiness for both AA and coast defense roles. It is known that the light- and medium-caliber guns are also mounted on the tops of high building's and factories.

  Figure 16.—German 88-mm gun in static position. (Note protection provided for gun crew.)

  b. Use of Towers

  Guns engaged in a static role are also emplaced in towers of various kinds. For example, in Berlin there are at least two concrete towers 250 feet square and over 100 feet high. Each of these has a "satellite" tower, a smaller rectangular structure about 350 yards distant. The larger towers each have four heavy AA guns, one being mounted on each corner; the smaller towers each have four light AA guns and what appears to be a radio-location instrument. It is believed that these towers are also used in the control system.

  c. Use of Mobile Guns

  Mobile guns include those on railway mounts. In some areas a proportion of the gun defenses are mobile so that guns and gun positions may be altered on short notice. In order to achieve the maximum effect, the Germans believe that the system of AA defense should be extremely flexible, and the active means of defense are therefore closely coordinated with the means for deception. Under this system, different positions can be taken by mobile units at different times. For example, if system "A" is used tonight, the mobile force will take position in area 1; if system "B" is selected, they will be installed in area 2, etc. These systems of antiaircraft defense are changed frequently in order to meet changes in the tactics of enemy aviation. The net result theoretically operates to produce confusion in the mind of any hostile aviator who might attempt to orient himself through locations of a series of gun positions based on past experience. Guns emplaced in these positions are nearly always countersunk to permit continuous firing throughout an air raid with maximum protection to the crews.