ABOUT CODA BOOKS
Most Coda books are edited and endorsed by Emmy Award winning film maker and military historian Bob Carruthers, producer of Discovery Channel’s Line of Fire and Weapons of War and BBC’s Both Sides of the Line. Long experience and strong editorial control gives the military history enthusiast the ability to buy with confidence.
The series advisor is David McWhinnie, producer of the acclaimed Battlefield series for Discovery Channel. David and Bob have co-produced books and films with a wide variety of the UK’s leading historians including Professor John Erickson and Dr David Chandler. Where possible the books draw on rare primary sources to give the military enthusiast new insights into a fascinating subject.
For more information, visit codabooks.com
1 The Fla "battalion" is ordinarily referred to in German military usage as Bataillon rather than by the more customary term Abteilung (see below).
2 The German practice is to designate gun types in terms of centimeters rather than millimeters, and in all references made hereafter, the German style will be followed in the paragraphs concerned with descriptions of particular weapons.
3 Pak is an abbreviation of "Panzerabwehrkanone" which means "anti-tank gun."
4 The data is from German sources and cannot be adequately verified.
5 The German fuze scale reads from 0 to 350, the numerals being reference numbers which indicate definite times of flight.
6 A further treatment of this subject may be found in the discussion of passive means of defense appearing in the following section.
7 Some reconnaissance units have two armored car companies.
8 It is believed that Volkswagen have been substituted for the motorcycles, which are unsuited for desert terrain. The Volkswagen as modified for army use is similar to the U.S. "peep." The Volkswagen weighs about 1,400 pounds and develops about 25 horsepower.
9 The gun mechanism alone weighs 698 pounds.
10 Kraftwagen Kanone, tank gun.
11 Panzer Kraftwagen, armored vehicle, tank.
12 Type B. UA2.
13 This conforms with modern German tactical doctrine. In "Tactical Handbook for the Troop Commander" by General Friedrich von Cochenhausen, the general doctrine on artillery and infantry cooperation is stated: "The infantry must seize and hold the terrain most suitable for artillery observation posts. The movable artillery observation posts accompanying foremost infantry units are the only guarantee for intimate cooperation."
14 British troop is equivalent to U.S. battery.
15 The German Mark IV tank weighs 22 tons and carries 5 men. It has a maximum speed of 31 mph and is armed with one 75-mm gun and two light machine guns. Recent reports indicate that the Germans are modifying the design of this tank by fitting it with an improved 75-mm (2.95-inch) gun known as the "Kw. 40" and by adding hollow frontal armor. The Mark IV has hitherto been equipped with a low velocity 75-mm gun, and the tendency has therefore been to employ this tank as a close-support weapon. As a consequence of the mounting of an antitank gun--and the possible fitting of hollow frontal armor--it is to be expected that the Mark IV will in the future be, and may already have been, more boldly employed as a striking force in tank-versus-tank engagements. The German designation of this new equipment is Sturmgeschütz lange 7.5-cm Kanone (Stu. G. lg. 7.5-cm K).
16 The use of slit trenches is universal among all forces in the desert.
17 The 6-pounder is a new 57-mm. gun which is scheduled to replace the 2-pounder because of the latter's inadequate range.
18 The 18-pounder is an old type gun.
19 One observer reported that not a single case was known of dismounting an antitank gun during the period November 17 to 30, 1941, which was the intensive opening phase of the British 2d offensive. Firing portee has become increasing unpopular, however, and is no longer recommended.
20 800 yards against Mark III, 500 yards against Mark IV.
21 Neutralization by high explosive is used, of course, when the approximate positions of these guns are known.
22 Leichte Feldhaubitze--light field howitzer
23 Abbreviation for Mundungbremse meaning "muzzle brake"
24 In this connection: (1) the number, caliber, and effective range of batteries available; (2) the time necessary for preparation of fire; (3) the amount and kind of ammunition available; (4) the type of targets adapted to artillery fire.
25 U.S. soldiers in Sicily promptly nicknamed the Nebelwerfer 41 the "Screaming Mimi."
26 Length of bore
27 Traverse is limited to 20 degrees
28 The April 1942 document states that a battery has 7 guns, the extra gun being "for the battery commander."
29 According to the April 1942 document, the issue is only 10 percent smoke. It is probable that the ammunition issue depends on the particular operations involved.
30 The April 1942 document states that "an assault gun battery well forward in the advance guard may ensure the rapid crushing of enemy resistance." It does not specify whether this is applicable to operations with infantry or with armored elements.
31 15 percent according to the April 1942 document.
German Artillery in Combat Page 19
