Mörser

[cwbuff]

I found a reference in a German regimental history to "1 1/2 Mörser" I'm somewhat familiar with the 21cm Mörser, but I do not know what this is referring to. Any help would be appreciated. See the picture for the actually reference. Note "Mrs." is the abbreviation for Mörser.

Edited 12 February , 2014 by cwbuff

[mtaylor]

Is it perhaps not a calibre but the number of light batteries? One and a half batteries, half a battery and 2 field gun batteries?

[Latze]

It would be easier to make sense of that passage if you could show the lines above that but as far as I read it the reference is to the number of batteries as mtaylor already wrote. A Mörser battery had just 2 pieces so that would mean that three 21cm guns were involved. I have seen that fashion of addressing a single Mörser as a half-battery in other German period accounts to.

[SiegeGunner]

I agree that more context would be helpful. Following the 1 1/2 Mrs. there is a 1/2 on its own, and as you can't have half a weapon, it must refer to half a battery.

[cwbuff]

Here is more context:

[MLW]

That looks like one and half mortar batteries. Now then, what calibre mortars were in the1.5 batteries. Any idea?

Regards,

Marc

[Cnock]

it is 1 and a half batterie 21 cm (Mörser)

the others referring to schwere Feld Haubitze and leichte Feld Haubitze which were of a lesser calibre.

regards,

Cnock

[cwbuff]

What does the "1/2 10 cm" refer to

Edited 14 February , 2014 by cwbuff

[Latze]

That would be a half battery of 10cm Kanone. These very dedicated guys have a nice write up of its development and use:

http://www.lovettartillery.com/Development%20of%20the%2010cm%20Kanone.html

A battery had 4 pieces so we are talking about two guns here.

[Jack Sheldon]

The size of batteries varied. It is a complicated subject but, generally speaking, the smaller calibres had more guns per battery than did the heavy artillery. In 1914 field artillery batteries had 6 guns, but this was quickly reduced to four - partly to enable more units to be created, but also because it simplified resupply and improved quantities of shells available per gun. However, in 1914, horse artillery batteries already had four guns, as did reserve field artillery batteries. Heavy artillery began the war with four weapons per battery, but over time there were several unit reorganisations and battery numbers dwindled in some cases to three and in others two. So, by summer 1917, heavy field howitzer and 100 mm gun batteries still had four weapons, 210 mm heavy howitzer and 130 mm gun batteries had three each. Two weapons per battery was the rule for 150mm, 170mm, 305 mm and 420 mm calibres. To count them in terms of 1/2 batteries was standard. Soden, writing in the hIstory of 26th Res Div, for example, describes the strength of 26th Res Fd Arty Bde on the eve of the Battle of the Somme as '28 1/2 field batteries (including 90mm batteries) and 10 1/2 heavy batteries - 39 altogether, complete with the corresponding [ammunition] columns.'

Jack

[cwbuff]

Thanks - this helps considerably.

[Latze]

I stand corrected concerning the two gun batteries for 21cm Mörser (see my post #3). In fact as Jack wrote the battery had 4 pieces. Why the confusion? I misremembered a passage in Schirmers book about the German heavy artillery. Sorry for any confusion that might have caused.