Company Officer's Handbook Of The German Army - Command and ...

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26 COMPANY OFFICER'S HANDBOOK slopes in order to fire on attacking infantry situated on or approaching another objective, and also to engage infantry coming over the sky line. The reverse-slope positions also prevented attacking infantry from discovering the machine-gun positions quickly and made it difficult for artillery to fire effectively on them. 13. INFANTRY HOWITZERS AND MORTARS a. Infantry Howitzers The German 75-mm and 150-mm infantry howitzers are regimental weapons, and their function is to accompany the infantry and fire on those targets which are too close to German troops to be engaged by field artillery. They also fire on targets of opportunity. In the attack, they are placed at the disposal of the assault battalion commander, and move with his battalion. They engage personnel, emplacements, and, using hollow-charge projectiles, armored vehicles. Both light and heavy infantry howitzers normally deliver indirect fire from covered positions, but in Tunisia they usually were used for direct fire, and their positions were changed frequently. In the hilly terrain of Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy, however, the Germans preferred the mortar as an accompanying weapon for infantry. In defense, infantry howitzers are also allocated to front-line battalions. Usually they are placed back of the main line of resistance. Their high-trajectory fire is utilized to deny likely covered approaches to the German main position. The 75,-mm howitzer can easily be manhandled by an individual soldier over fairly level ground. It has a very low silhouette. The 150-mm howitzer is much larger and heavier, and is int-e.nded primarily to engage strong centers of resistance. Because a small supply of ammunition is allowed for offensive purposes, it usually reserves its fire until moments of maximum effort. Infantry howitzers (especially the 75-mm) are well-adapted for inclusion in rear guards or advanced guards for the destruction of road blocks and the dispersal of covering forces and unarmored or light armored vehicles.
EMPLOYMENT OF SUPPORT WEAPONS 27 b. Mortars The 50-mm mortar is usually sited by the Germans to fire immediately forward of the main line of resistance against an enemy who is using covered approaches and cannot be reached by machinegun fire. When held in a reserve platoon, this weapon is sited to participate in defensive fire as well as to support counterattacks. In recent operations the Germans have tended to depart from their previous practice of employing 81-mm mortars by individual sections (two mortars in a section), or assigning them singly to companies and smaller units. They prefer to concentrate these weapons, placing emphasis on the devastating effect of surprise concentrations. The fire unit is the section. When a number of sections are concentrated, the senior officer will be forward in a main observation post. This officer may direct the fire by giving a target designation to a section within shouting distance. This section will indicate the target to other sections by ranging with one mortar. The use of this method, however, does not mean that normal means of indicating targets and directing fire are not used. Available information on the German 120-mm mortar indicates not only that it has been introduced in mountain rifle regiments and panzer-grenadier regiments but that 120-mm mortar battalions, motorized and under control of GHQ, have been created as a result of new concepts on the employment of this weapon. The Germans have based their technical and tactical employment of this weapon on a combination of artillery methods and techniques for the employment of the infantry gun and the 81-mm mortar. The following is an excerpt from a German document concerning the employment of the 120-mm mortar: "As the mortars use only high-angle fire, it is necessary to find positions from which all crests can be cleared. The fire unit is the platoon, the tactical unit the company. To obtain an especially effective concentration of fire, the battalion can be employed en masse under the fire control of the battalion commander. Splitting up the battalion into units smaller than a company dissipates and reduces the effectiveness of the fire."
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