The underrated genius gun  World War II artillery lessons
learned pointed at four desirable main improvements: + all-round
fire capability on short notice + anti-tank self-defence
capability + ability to shoot in the upper angle group* (43-70°
elevation) + more range  A greater shell weight was not
emphasised much; 149-155 mm was identified as practical calibre
limit for standard artillery. 87-105 mm howitzers had proved
their effectiveness. Soviet 122 mm howitzers had proved to be an
excellent compromise between the 10* and 15* main calibres. The
bigger howitzer calibres (149-155 mm) justified their existence
primarily with test results that showed a greater overhead cover
penetration in firing missions against entrenched troops. It was
proved again and again in both world wars that such firing
missions were slow, expensive in terms of ammunition and in
effect usually inferior to a smarter artillery use with
suppressive and surprise fires. You can bombard entrenched
troops into oblivion, but operationally yo