howitzer

Howitzer is a type of artillery designed for indirect fire at relatively high trajectories. It typically has a shorter barrel than a gun and fires shells on a steep arc, enabling fire over terrain and into fortifications. Howitzers are usually breech-loaded and mounted on wheeled or tracked carriages; many are towed, while others are self-propelled.

The term derives from the German Haubitze, and the concept appeared in early modern Europe as a compromise between long-range guns and mortars. Early howitzers used smoothbores and separate loading; improvements in metallurgy and recoil systems in the 18th and 19th centuries increased mobility and rate of fire. Standardization and advances in breech loading and hydraulic recoil expanded their indirect-fire role into the 20th century, with postwar designs emphasizing mobility and compatibility with modern ammunition.

Howitzers come in two main forms: towed and self-propelled. Common calibers include 105 mm and 155 mm in Western armies. They fire a range of munitions, from high-explosive and smoke to illumination and, increasingly, guided rounds and rocket-assisted shells. Elevation and traverse mechanisms allow indirect fire at targets not in direct line of sight.

Notable examples include the towed 155 mm M777 and M198, the FH70, and self-propelled systems such as the CAESAR and PzH 2000. Nations typically field a mix of towed and SP howitzers to provide mobile indirect-fire support.

Today howitzers provide artillery fire support for maneuver, counter-battery operations, and shaping effects in combined arms. They balance range, mobility, and rate of fire, complementing guns with flatter trajectories and mortars with higher-angle fire.