It became necessary late in September to conserve artillery ammunition and to reduce ammunition expenditures to some extent for the time-being. Reconnaissance parties from Corps Artillery, Ordnance, and G-4 sections were sent out all over France to locate weapons, sights, spare parts, and ammunition of foreign manufacture. It was hoped that German, French, Russian or Italian guns and ammunition captured from the Germans could be found and utilized.
This search was successful. The guns were located, as well as complete rounds of ammunition to match. The weapons were brought to the 537th Ordnance Company (Heavy Maintenance, Field Artillery) which, in conjunction with a XX Corps Artillery team, thoroughly repaired, services, checked and test-fired each weapon. The ammunition was carefully checked by the same Ordnance – Artillery team. The final result of this effort produced and turned over to the Corps Artillery: (10) German 88 mm guns, four (4) Russian 76.2 mm guns, two (2) Russian 122 mm guns, six (6) German 105 mm howitzers, three (3) French 155 mm howitzers (Schneider), six (6) German 150 mm Infantry howitzers, eight (8) 100 mm French fort guns, turret mounted, in Fort Guentrauge.
The 100 mm Fort guns were of German design and had been mounted in about 1900. Improvements had been made on the fort by the Germans, the French, and again the Germans. The guns were mounted on a pedestal mount, each in a hand-powered armored turret. Ammunition was prepared in rooms below the guns and hoisted by hand-powered conveyors to the turrets. Projectiles were fuzzed in the turret with delay, quick, or super-quick fuzzes. Ammunition was separate loading, employing a re-usable cartridge case. Propelling charges were made up in small sacked increments and primers were of the percussion type designed to screw into the vase of the cartridge case. No firing tables were available, so it was necessary to determine a range-elevation relationship by firing. The 241st 105mm, Field Artillery Battalion (XX Corps, 416th Field Artillery Group) conducted extensive firing with the guns against German positions on the east side of the Moselle and in the German held portions of Thoinville. These guns were in action for approximately one month and fired 7,142 rounds with excellent effort.
The principle difficulty encountered with using the captured guns was a lack of sights. There were practically no German sights or sight mounts available, the Germans having removed or destroyed most of the, whereupon Ordnance instrument personnel modified spare American sight brackets and mounts to fit the captured equipment. Spare parts were obtained from damaged guns that littered the roadsides and with much improvisation and ingenuity; Ordnance armament men were able to keep the guns in constant operation.
Firing tables were a problem as the only ones obtainable at first were abbreviated 88 mm Tables. Range elevation tables for the different type guns were worked out from firing results. The weapons then were used very satisfactorily against targets of opportunity and for harassing and interdiction missions. It was not deemed advisable to use them on close-support millions. On several occasions the guns were massed, along with American artillery. To fire TOT’s on German positions. Results of the massing were very good.
The 949th 155 mm, Field Artillery Battalion (193rd Field Artillery Group) commander felt certain that the French 155 mm howitzer (Schneider) powder and projectiles could be used satisfactorily in his American 155 mm (M-1) howitzers, and on approval of the Corps Artillery Commander, the Battalion with the assistance of the Corps Ordnance Officer conducted a series of tests. These proved very successful, whereupon the battalion shot out corrections and build up range tables for Schneider ammunition fired in American 155 mm howitzers. All Corps medium howitzers thereafter fired some captured Schneider ammunition. The Graphical Firing Tales with appropriate corrections were used.
The captured weapons were in action for a little more than a month. On November 14th the weapons were turned over to the 244th Field Artillery Battalion of III Corps Artillery. The Artillery with the XX Corps was then heavily engaged in supporting the final attack on Metz. The following total amounts of ammunition were fired in the captured weapons during period 15th September to 15th October:
100mm Fortress Guns | 7,142 |
88mm Guns | 8,469 |
76.2mm Guns | 6,763 |
122mm Guns | 313 |
105mm Howitzer | 8,160 |
155mm Howitzer (Schneider) | 9,337 |
150mm Infantry Howitzers | 1,818 |
Total | 42,002 |
The use of the captured guns, and captured ammunition assisted in keeping the enemy off balance and under constant harassment during the period of the build-up for the final attack on Metz. The application of ingenuity, cooperation, technical knowledge and hard work on the part of all concerned contributed greatly to this end.