Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

198 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of field arTillery
when the units were seriously understrength, and eventually provided cadres for
ROK artillery units. 21
A call-up of the reserve components into active service furnished yet another
source of manpower. The majority of units called up from the Army Reserve and
Army National Guard replaced units in the United States that had been deployed
overseas or went to Europe. Units sent to Korea included two infantry divisions
from the National Guard, the 40th and 45th, each having the usual four field artillery
battalions. By the end of the war, thirty-three nondivisional field artillery battalions
had been called into federal service from the National Guard, of which twelve saw
action in Korea. Most of the field artillery support from the Army Reserve came
from individuals rather than from units, but thirteen reserve battalions were placed
on active duty, two of which served in Korea. 22
Field artillery weapons used in Korea included the standard calibers, with the
weapons of the divisional light and medium battalions furnishing most of the fire
against personnel and the corps artillery weapons concentrating primarily on materiel
targets. The speed, flexibility, and volume of 105-mm. howitzer fire were extremely
important in halting massed enemy attacks. The 155-mm. howitzer, the most versatile
weapon, could also deliver effective volume fire, and its range accuracy and
increased projectile weight fitted it for many destruction missions not requiring a
heavier caliber or longer range. The 155-mm. gun was the least popular and least
versatile field artillery piece used in Korea. Its longer range, however, somewhat
compen sated for its relative inaccuracies. It was an excellent field piece for use in
forcing back or pushing underground enemy supply points, bivouacs, and command
posts, which otherwise would have operated more freely aboveground and closer
to the front. The use of the proximity fuze, introduced in World War II, in creased
the effectiveness of the 155-mm. gun, as it also strengthened the effective ness of
the other field pieces. Although the 8-inch howitzer could destroy or neutralize
most fortified artillery positions, the exceptions were suffi cient reason to convert
two battalions to 240-mm. how itzer units, the 240-mm. howitzer having a heavier
and more powerful projectile. The 8-inch howitzer was a particularly good weapon
for observed counterbattery fire and was used extensively against enemy strongpoints.
The 240-mm. howitzer was employed only during the last three months of
the war, but it lived up to expectations through its ability to destroy or neutralize
strong bunkers and cave-type emplacements. There was a question, how ever, as to
whether it was economical to use such expensive equipment when it could deliver
only ninety rounds per day. 23
21 David C. Skaggs, “The KATUSA Experiment,” Military Affairs 38 (April 1974): 54–58; “A Study
of the Employment and Effectiveness of the Artillery With the Eighth Army During the Period October
1951–July 1953,” pp. 5–6, copy in CMH files.
22 “Induction and Release of Army National Guard Units, 1950–1956,” copy in CMH files; list of Army
Reserve units ordered into active military service during the Korean War, copy in CMH files. In 1952, the
term Army Reserve replaced the term Organized Reserve Corps and is used throughout the paragraph for
clarity. The two Army Reserve battalions were the 424th and 780th Field Artil lery Battalions.
23 “Employment and Effectiveness of the Artillery with the Eighth Army,” pp. 2–3, copy in
CMH files.