10.5cm leFH 18

The 10.5cm leFH (leichte Feldhaubitze, or "light field howitzer") was the standard field artillery piece of the German Empire during WW2. It was an extremely well manufactured weapon, perhaps more capable than most of its contemporaries. However, it was also heavier, which was assumed to not be a problem as German planning envisioned a fully motorised force. When this did not come to be at the outbreak of WW2, and German artillery batteries were being drawn by horse, the 10.5cm leFH 18 found itself severely limited in mobility. As the war progressed the weapon found itself fully motorised, and even mechanised when placed in armoured carriages. German artillery batteries in the mid-1960s still use heavily modernised variants of the 10.5cm leFH 18, though trials have been authorised for a replacement.