75 mm mountain gun M15

The auto-Hungarian military leadership paid special attention to the development of mountain artillery. The reason for this was the peculiarities of the geographical location of the country , a significant part of which were mountains and rugged terrain. Due to the fact that the mountainous regions were located to a large extent in the border regions of the empire, the likelihood of hostilities in this area was great. This alignment required the presence of mountain infantry units , for the support of which mountain artillery was urgently needed.

The first example of Austrian mountain artillery was the 66-mm M75 gun developed at the Skoda factory ( German 7 cm Gebirgskanone M 75 ). The gun was small-sized and light, but already at the time of adoption in 1875 it was obsolete, as it had a bronze barrel and did not have a recoil device. ^[3]

The M75 was replaced by a M 99 gun of 72.5 mm caliber, equipped with a spring-loaded recoil brake in the frame. However, the design was ineffective and did not provide reliable stabilization of the gun at the firing position. Nevertheless, by the beginning of World War I, the M 99 was the main type of weapon in the imperial-royal mountain artillery and was armed with twenty batteries. ^[four]

Attempts to modernize the M99 did not yield positive results, and the M12 gun, developed as part of a competition for a mountain gun for the Russian army , although it was an export success, was too heavy (it took 7 horses to transport it in packs ^{[4] [3]} .

At the beginning of 1914, the Skoda plant began developing a new mountain gun, subsequently put into service under the designation 7.5 cm Gebirgskanone M 15. The production of guns began in 1915, but initially was carried out at a leisurely pace - by the end of the year only 250 units were delivered, which delayed the rearmament parts of the Austro-Hungarian mining artillery until mid-1916 ^[4] . . The guns were made at the Skoda factory in Pilsen , later a branch of this company in the Hungarian city of Gyor was connected to it. Until November 1918, the Pilsen factory produced 2044 guns of 7.5 cm Gebirgskanone M 15 (324 - in 1915, 620 - in 1916, 860 - in 1917, 240 - in 1918), a total of 220 guns were delivered by the factory in Gyor. ^[4] .

The gun was actively delivered abroad: 144 guns were delivered to Turkey , 124 - to Bulgaria . Germany acquired several dozens of M15s , using cannons in an unusual role for them as an infantry gun , equipping them with 17 batteries ^[4] .

At the German service, the guns did not deserve flattering reviews because of their fragility. The reason for this was the transportation of horse-drawn guns, which the Austrians considered only as a backup, because of which a collapsible 6-piece gun was quickly developed and required repair. The guns that survived the First World War were then used by the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht . After 1938, the GebK 15 fleet was replenished by Austrian cannons and Czechoslovak cannons and grew to a total of 254 units ^[4] . Previously owned by the Austrian army guns were designated GebK 15 (ö), and Czech - GebK 15 (t). In 1941, they were joined by guns captured from the Yugoslav army, designated GebK 259 (j), and in 1943 - Italian GebK 259 (i). The last GebK 15, which became the trophies of the Germans, were several dozen guns of the Slovak army captured after the suppression of the Slovak national uprising in 1944. ^[four]

One of the most active users of the M15 was Italy , which captured 392 such guns during the First World War, and received 258 guns and 55 barrels as reparations. In addition, in 1938, Italy bought another 96 such cannons of Czechoslovak production. ^[4] In the Italian army, these guns were designated Obice da 75/13 Modello 15. ^[5] After the armistice between Italy and the Allied forces, the 75/13 guns were armed with both parts of the army of the Italian Social Republic and those remaining loyal to the king of Italian troops fighting on the side of the allies. After the war, 203 guns underwent repairs in the Turin arsenal and entered service with the Alpine brigades, and were withdrawn from service only in 1964. ^[four]

For transportation in packs, which was taken as the main method of delivery of guns, the gun was made with the ability to be disassembled into 6 parts. ^[5] To further reduce the weight of the packs, the gun barrel was made detachable - it consisted of an inner tube and a thick-walled casing fastened with a bayonet fitting. ^[4] Shutter - semi-automatic horizontal wedge.

The design of the carriage provided a large elevation angle - up to 56 degrees, necessary for military operations in mountainous areas. In addition, the large aiming angle made it possible to use the gun as a light howitzer. ^{[5] [6]} Separate loading contributed to the expansion of the tactical capabilities of the gun (four variable charges were included in the ammunition load). ^[four]

Single -beam box carriage, riveted construction. For transportation in packs, it was disassembled into two parts - the front (140 kg) and the rear (130 kg). The front of the carriage also contained a wheel axle and guidance mechanisms. Guidance mechanisms were equipped with locking devices used in transporting tools on wheels. To the left of the aiming mechanism was mounted panoramic sight M 8 Geschützaufsatz, taken from a mountain howitzer M 8/10. On the sides of the front carriage there were two seats for the gunner and the castle. The rear carriage is equipped with a powerful opener. The wheels with a diameter of 800 mm and a mass of about 24 kg had a mixed design: the hub and tire were made of metal, the remaining parts were made of hardwood. ^[four]

To protect the calculation from splinters, the gun could be equipped with a removable armored shield 4.2 mm thick and 1.28 × 1.40 m in size, protecting from rifle bullets (from a distance of at least 100 m), as well as shrapnel and fragments. ^[four]

M15 was actively used during battles on the Italian front , where it proved to be excellent. The small size and weight are perfect for mountain conditions. Ammunition striking agents were also considered quite acceptable.

In early 1918, to conduct military operations in Romania , several mountain artillery regiments were disbanded, and their divisions became part of the infantry divisions. There, the M15 was used as an instrument of direct support for infantry. ^{[4] [3]}

In the Wehrmacht, the GebK 15s were armed with mining divisions, whose artillery regiment included four divisions, two of which (two batteries each) were equipped with 75 mm mountain cannons. The artillery regiments of light infantry (since 1942 jaeger) divisions had a similar organization. In addition, GebK 15 entered the airborne units. Over time, they were replaced by more advanced and compact recoilless guns from there, and they were reequipped into the mountain jäger and jäger divisions with the new 75 mm GebG 36 mountain guns. GebK 15 guns were used by the 1st mountain jäger division in the Polish campaign and during a blitzkrieg in the West the 1st and 3rd divisions during the occupation of Norway , as well as the 5th and 6th mountain divisions during the battles in Greece and the landing on Crete in the spring of 1941. ^[four]

The Italians actively used the Obice 75/13 Mod. 1915 during the war with Abyssinia , where a total of 394 guns were involved. In addition, the battery of these guns participated in the Spanish Civil War . During World War II 608 Оbice 75/13 Mod. 1915 took part in hostilities against Greece , and 72 guns, being part of the artillery units of the alpine divisions Julia , Tridentina and Kunense , fell on the Eastern Front . ^[four]

In significant quantities, GebK 15 became part of the armies of countries formed after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . So, in Austria, these guns were equipped not only with the mountain artillery divisions, but also with some of the units of conventional field artillery.

Czechoslovakia , in the territory of which remained the factory-manufacturer GebK 15, adopted these guns for service under the designation 7.5cm horský kanon vz. 15. By inheritance from the imperial - royal army, Czechoslovakians got 58 guns, which were then supplemented by another 240 produced at Skoda in 1921-1924. ^[4] These guns were used in battles against the neighbors of the newborn republic - Poles and Hungarians . The Brno, Bratislava, and General Stefanik armored trains were equipped with mountain guns. In the spring of 1920, Czechoslovakians acquired two gunboats - OMd 1 and OMd 2, the main armament of which consisted of two vz guns. 15 on pedestal installations (without shields). ^[4] In the era of Interbellum , vz. 15 were the main artillery system, armed with 12 mountain artillery divisions (each had two batteries of such guns). By the autumn of 1938, the Czechoslovak army had 235 vz cannons. 15. ^[4]

After the occupation of the Czech Republic and the declaration of independence of Slovakia, the latter received at its disposal 112 guns from the Czechoslovak army vz. 15, 13 of them were immediately handed over to the Germans and another 96 were sent to storage depots. The Rapid Brigade ( Slovak: Rýchla brigáda ), created on June 25, 1941 to participate in Operation Barbarossa , received one four-gun battery vz. 15. Then, already as part of the Slovak security division, which served in Ukraine and Belarus, a division of such cannons appeared - 12 guns. In total, as of April 1944, 55 vz guns were sent to the Eastern Front. 15, of which 28 are lost. ^[four]

•   Austria-Hungary
•   Republic of Austria - 36 pcs.
•   Kingdom of Hungary - under the designation 75 mm Hegyi ágyú 15M; upgraded guns were designated as 7.5 cm Hegyi ágyú 15 / 31M.
•   Czechoslovakia - 235 pcs. by 1938 ^[4]
•   The first Slovak Republic - 112 guns fell into the hands of the Slovaks after the dissolution of the Czechoslovak army.
•   Bulgaria - 124 pcs. ^[5] Local designation is 7.5 cm D / 15 Planinsko orudie Skoda mod. 1915 g.
•   Albania - obtained from Italy. ^[four]
•   Italy - 660 guns ^[5] ; captured, made at the Naples arsenal and bought from the Czechs; local name Obice da 75/13 Modello 15
•   Romania - 75 mm Hegyi ágyú 15 m; received from reparations. ^[four]
•   Turkey - 144 guns purchased from Austria-Hungary. In the Turkish army it was designated as Skoda 75mm L15.4. ^[five]
•   Kingdom of Yugoslavia - 12 guns under the name Brdski 75 mm. M-15.

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• Ortner, M. Christian. The Austro-Hungarian Artillery From 1867 to 1918: Technology, Organization, and Tactics . Vienna, Verlag Militaria, 2007 ISBN 978-3-902526-13-7