
Best,
Nezar
Authority could be passed down. As Sheldrake states normally it was with the troop commander. If he wasn't at the OP his junior could be given the authority by their commanding officer. Neutralising the target was more important than the rank of the person at the OP. If senior officers at regimental, divisional or even higher levels considered the OP that has selected a target of importance they would command heavier guns to come under the OPs control as well as those he was authorised to call in to action.yantaylor wrote:Hi Clive, I am afraid that the Colonel is "hedging his bets" [LOL] and said that he can find no evidence in that link to suggest that low ranking officers could order such a concentration.
Yan.
There is the argument that both were a crutch (e.g. baby walkers/stabiliser wheels/comfort blankets) to comfort the infantry who did not entirely trust the divisional artillery and wanted some entirely of their own. All their own; that no one could take away from them and they did not need to share with anyone else. Its why they liked short ranged guns that could not cover the divisional area.yantaylor wrote:I don't think Britain ever adopted the Infantry gun, at least not in WW2. Maybe they found that it was not worth the effort.
Many nations did though, most just called them battalion guns.
Would you class the American cannon Company as an Infantry gun unit? It was held at Regimental just like the German 13th Company and were utilized primary to support the Infantry battalions in that Regiment.
Yan.
Hi Yanyantaylor wrote:I don't think the Germans, Russians and Japanese ever dropped the infantry guns, the battalion gun concept was certainly in use until the wars end.
Guns like 65/17 Modello 13, 70mm Type 92 and 76mm M1927, certainly saw some action.
But would you also call the 47mm guns used by many as infantry guns?
The Böhler was used in this role as well as a anti-tank gun by quite a few nations.
Clive, was the 95mm you refer to, this gun?
https://www.quartermastersection.com/br ... dnanceQFMk
Yan.
They would have been better off modifying the 25 pounder into a lighter infantry gun.Clive Mortimore wrote:The British went and spent a lot of money and time on developing and making the 95mm Infantry Howitzer. It had problems but none more than any other cobbled together mid war weapon of any of the combat nations. Its biggest obstacle was the Infantry them selves. Adding yet another weapon to their armoury was not welcomed as it would have meant a reduction in bayonet strength.