Thread: Werhmacht Artillery

German army organisation WW2:

Infantry division:
1 x 150mm how bn
3 x 105mm how bn

Panzer division:
1 x self propelled arty bn
1 x 105mm bn (towed)
1 x 150mm bn (towed)

Mountain division:
2 x 75mm how bn's
1 x 105mm how bn
1 x 150mm how bn

Panzer-grenadier divsion:
1 x self propelled arty bn
1 x 105mm bn (towed)
1 x 150mm bn (towed)

and although not applicable to Stalingrad, to complet the picture:

Volks-grenadier division:
1 x 75mm how bn
2 x 105mm how bn's
1 x 150mm how bn

Just happen to be reading a book comparing US Army/Germany Army ORBAT and doctrine at the moment....

I'll get my anorak on and go now...

There is a quite useful book by Joachim Engelmann - German Artillery in World War II 1939 to 1945

This has lots of photos - including some of Artillery Regiments 96 and 97, the Divisional artillery of 44th Division, one of the 6th Army units that fought in Stalingrad. It also has some useful data about German Artillery production. During 1941 artillery consumption outran production and in 1942 production barely kept pace.

This book also has artillery orbat showing the assignments of artillery Regiments/ abteilung and batterien to Divisions , Korps or Army troops.

Originally Posted by Poppy_Travel

1. The Germans seem to have been able to carry out most of the clever field artillery techniques that the Brits and US armies did. However, the Germans didn't place anything like as much emphasis on indirect fire artillery as the Soviets or British. Blitzkreig was war on the cheap using panzertroops and airpower to force quick victories. The Germans didnlt invest in artillery or artillery ammunition to fight a long war of attrition. This hurt them badly when they waged an attentional war in the Soviet union. (Source Jonathan Bailey DRA lecture to RUSI C 2003 ish) The Germans simply didn't have anything like as much artillery as the Soviets. When the Soviets attacked in November 1942 the Germans lacked the artillery to break up the Soviets attacks or to suppress the Soviet artillery with counter battery fire.

So the Ubertactic was undermined by Hitlers lack of Strategy? Can anyone enlighten me as to what the German generals were arguing for strategy-wise prior to becoming bogged down on the Eastern Front?

Originally Posted by CutLunchCommando

So the Ubertactic was undermined by Hitlers lack of Strategy? Can anyone enlighten me as to what the German generals were arguing for strategy-wise prior to becoming bogged down on the Eastern Front?

My guess is "Don't open an Eastern Front."

Originally Posted by AlienFTM

Originally Posted by CutLunchCommando

So the Ubertactic was undermined by Hitlers lack of Strategy? Can anyone enlighten me as to what the German generals were arguing for strategy-wise prior to becoming bogged down on the Eastern Front?

My guess is "Don't open an Eastern Front."

:D

Woksmuggler,

Try a google on Heinz Guderian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Guderian