There were three basic types of artillery used by American forces in WWII. Guns or cannons were low trajectory, high velocity weapons that were used for direct fire. Tanks were armed with them. Mortars were used to lob small shells.. Howitzers, like in the picture, were high trajectory, medium velocity weapons used for either direct or indirect fire. Each infantry division was had three batteries (each battery had 12 pieces) of 105 mm and one battery of 155 mm (called “Long Toms”). The 105’s had a six-man crew and the 155’s had an eleven-man crew. They could fire a variety of shells: high explosive, anti-tank, white phosphorus, and illumination rounds. Both types of howitzers used forward observers to plot the target. Sometimes those observers were in Piper Cub airplanes. A Long Tom could accurately hit a target thirteen miles away. Artillery caused more than half the casualties inflicted by American forces in the war.
https://www.historyonthenet.com/ww2-artillery
https://armyhistory.org/u-s-and-german-field-artillery-in-world-war-ii-a-comparison/
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Artillery-Innovations-in-WWII
WWII howitzer in action
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