The Skoda 7.5 cm Gebirgskanone M. 15 was a mountain gun used by

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In German service, it was known as the 7.5 cm GebK 15. The Italians designated them as the Obice da 75/13 and the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

would designate captured guns as 7.5 cm GebK 259(i) after the

surrender of Italy The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

in 1943.

History

Its development was quite prolonged, as the Austrians couldn't decide on the specifications that they wanted. Initially, they wanted a gun that could be broken down into no more than five pack-animal loads to replace the various 7 cm mountain guns in service, but prolonged trials proved that the 7.5 cm M. 12 prototype to be the best gun. However, the commander-in-chief of

Bosnia-Hercegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

believe it to be too heavy and demanded a return to the 7 cm caliber to save weight. Skoda dutifully built enough guns for a test battery in the smaller caliber and tested them during the spring of 1914 where they were judged inferior to the 7.5 cm guns. This cost the Austrians heavily as the 7.5 cm guns began to be delivered in April 1915 instead of the planned date of April 1914.Ortner, pp. 332-335 German anti-tank gun & crew October 1918 AWM H13453

German anti-tank gun & crew October 1918 AWM H13453

For transport, the gun could be dismantled into six parts, generally carried in four loads. In addition, there was a Gun shield fitted on some (perhaps many) such guns. A revised version of this gun was released as the

Skoda 75 mm Model 1928 The Skoda 75 mm Model 1928 (75 mm M.28) was a mountain gun manufactured by Skoda Works and exported to Yugoslavia. It was a modernized version of the Skoda 75 mm Model 15. The gun typically had a 75 mm barrel; however, it could be ...

. The Germans bought some guns during World War I, but used them as

infantry gun Infantry support guns or battalion guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase the firepower of the infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. They typical ...

s in direct support of the infantry, as their light weight would allow them to move with the infantry. They complained that the guns were too fragile and didn't have a high enough muzzle velocity to act as an anti-tank gun. Considering that the guns were designed to be disassembled, it is not too surprising that they couldn't stand the abuse moving through the shell-pocketed front lines on the Western Front.

Surviving examples

Skoda Cannon at Tuamarina Cemetery - panoramio

Serial number 1399
(manufactured 1917) is displayed in

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

, Queensland, having been gifted to that city as a war trophy, in 1921, by the Australian Government. Another, also repatriated in the 1920s, serves as a memorial to the men and women of the armed forces in

Tuamarina Cemetery Tuamarina Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in the Marlborough Region of New Zealand. The cemetery predates Omaka Cemetery and has been open to the public for burials since 1866, notwithstanding the burials of twenty two men there in 1843. ...

, Marlborough, New Zealand.

Notes

References

* Englemann, Joachim and Scheibert, Horst. ''Deutsche Artillerie 1934-1945: Eine Dokumentation in Text, Skizzen und Bildern: Ausrüstung, Gliderung, Ausbildung, Führung, Einsatz''. Limburg/Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke, 1974 * Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. ''Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945''. New York: Doubleday, 1979 * Hogg, Ian. ''Twentieth-Century Artillery''. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000 * Jäger, Herbert. ''German Artillery of World War One''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001 * Ortner, M. Christian. ''The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics''. Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007

External links

GebK M. 15 on Landships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skoda 75 Mm Model 15 World War I mountain artillery World War II mountain artillery Artillery of Czechoslovakia World War II artillery of Italy 75 mm artillery World War I artillery of Austria-Hungary