Mountain guns - what are they?

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Mountain guns - what are they?

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> The War Room >> Mountain guns - what are they?

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Mountain guns - what are they? - 2/27/2010 11:39:58 AM

moose1999

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Joined: 10/26/2006
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Been wondering about this.

The game is full of mountain gun artillry units.
I don't suppose they serve any special purpose in the game apart from being artillery units, but what were they historically?
Just artillery units stationed in mountainous areas?
Or did they have some special equipment/capabilities?

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regards,

Briny

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RE: Mountain guns - what are they? - 2/27/2010 12:01:56 PM

sprior

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Joined: 6/18/2002
From: Portsmouth, UK
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Mountain guns tended to be shorter range with shorter barrels and lighter carriages so they could be partially disassembled and put on mules or towed by jeeps, or even man handled into rough and mountainous terrain.

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(in reply to moose1999)

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RE: Mountain guns - what are they? - 2/27/2010 12:04:27 PM

andydb

Posts: 5
Joined: 11/17/2009
From: Somerset, England
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Hi,

While not an artillery expert I have experience of other world war II wargames. My understanding is that the emphasis is on portability. They can be easily disassembled and assembled for transport on the backs of mules or other pack animals.
Other artillery requires motorised towing, although the Soviet and German armies still made substantial use of horses to tow artillery, but these would need substantial numbers of horses and specialised towing equipment (limbers etc).
Because the mountain artillery is more portable it is better for use in mountainous areas where pack animals can go but motorised equipment or horses cannot; hence the name.
The downside was that the guns tended to have shorter barrels than their towed counterparts and hence range and accuracy was often reduced.

(in reply to moose1999)

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RE: Mountain guns - what are they? - 2/27/2010 3:05:57 PM

Nemo121

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Joined: 2/6/2004
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They're also usually air-transportable which makes them priceless. There's nothing nicer than taking a base and flying in a few artillery Bns/regiments which your opponent doesn't expect you to have.

They're not as effective as ordinary howitzers etc but they're still artillery.

(in reply to andydb)

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RE: Mountain guns - what are they? - 3/1/2010 6:13:47 AM

wdolson

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From: Near Portland, OR
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One of the US guns of this type was called the Pack Howitzer because it was designed to be portable by pack animal. The Chindits used them as did airborne units and a lot of other special forces.

Bill

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RE: Mountain guns - what are they? - 3/1/2010 3:23:58 PM

WITPPL

Posts: 290
Joined: 8/5/2009
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NICE ONE! Thanks!

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nemo121

They're also usually air-transportable which makes them priceless. There's nothing nicer than taking a base and flying in a few artillery Bns/regiments which your opponent doesn't expect you to have.

They're not as effective as ordinary howitzers etc but they're still artillery.

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