Heavy Field Howitzers (XII)

Armies of the First World War

Schneider heavy field howitzer of the type delivered to Belgium in 1914

The Belgian Army began the war with twelve 149mm heavy field howitzers.  Purchased in 1911, these had been built to a recent Krupp design by the Belgian branch of that enterprise and bore a close resemblance to the model of heavy field howitzer that would be adopted by the German Army in 1913.

Soon after the start of the war, the Belgian Army obtained twelve additional heavy field howitzers.¹ Manufactured by Krupp’s most important competitor in the land artillery trade, the French firm of Schneider et Compagnie, these 150mm pieces were of a type adopted by the Romanian Army in 1912.²

Thanks to the presence of these pieces, the heavy field howitzers employed by the Belgian Army during the first year of the First World War were much more modern than their French or British counterparts.

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Heavy Field Howitzers

1. Particulars of this weapon can be found on the (reliably excellent) Bulgarian Artillery website. A shorter description can be found in this catalog published by Schneider et Compagnie in 1914.

2. The twelve 150mm heavy field howitzers sent to Belgium in 1914 belonged to a lot of weapons that had been manufactured for the Romanian Army. However, as soon as the war began, the French government convinced the Romanian authorities to cancel their order, thereby making the weapons available for sale to Belgium. Pontus, “L’Artillerie Issue de la Guerre” Bulletin Belge des Sciences Militaires, June 1921, page 126.