Romanian howitzers in WW1

Hi!
I'm new for this Forum. I'm Italian and I'm interestd in 19th and 20th century Balkan history. I'm workit at a database of artillery of Balkan Armies during WW1 and I have some problem with Romanian howitzer.
AFIK in 1916 Romania had 32 x 120mm howitzers not qickfiring and 120 x 105mm quickfiring howitzers. The QF ones were from France (Schneider M. 10) and from Germany (Krupp M. 12/16). I'm expecially in Krupp howitzers. How many of these howitzers did Romania buy? and when? Seeing the model (M.12/16), it seems that they were bought after the beginning of WW1 (I think that M.12/16 means that the howitzer was made in 1912 and updated in 1916). But this is strange.
I would like to know anything about heavy howitzers in Romanian service (150mm Krupp, I think). Can anybody help me?
Thanks

From what I know, until its entering into the war Romania used the Krupp model 1912 105 mm quick-firing howitzer, imported starting with 1912 until the beginning of WW 1. The gun was modified by the Krupp manufacturer following the requests of a Romanian military commission, the gun also being known in the era as “the Romanian quick-firing howitzer”. I do not know how many guns were purchased; with some of them were created 5 light howitzers divisions (“divizioane”, in Romanian), subordinated to the 5 existing army corps, and the rest were used to arm the Romanian fortification system (the forts around Bucharest, the FNG line and Cernavoda bridgehead). During the Romanian neutrality period (1914-1916), the forts have been stripped off of most of their artillery. Some 60 Krupp 105 mm guns have been recovered and used for transforming the 5 light howitzers divisions into regiments.

Also, in 1914 the Romanian army had two or three heavy artillery divisions (probably subordinated to each army), armed with mod. 1901 Krupp 120 mm “accelerated-firing” (“tragere accelerata”, in Romanian) guns (which have seen action during the Second Balkan War), and with mod. 1912 Schneider-Creusot 150 mm quick-firing guns. This Schneider-Creusot guns and a couple of dozens of mountain guns (75 mm) of the same manufacturer were, until 1914, the only French guns which armed the Romanian field artillery. However, the Romanian forts were armed with at least 30 155 mm de Bagne guns (and also with at least 40 Krupp 205 mm heavy howitzers).

After February 1915, Romania imported from France 12 long and 12 short de Bagne 120 mm guns; if for the long ones I know they were not quick-firing (as found on the internet), I haven’t find anything about de Bagne short ones.

Until the summer of 1916, the Romanian military organized 4 heavy artillery regiments (2 brigades), subordinated to the army HQ. The guns had calibers varying between 105 and 210 mm, the majority being quick-firing models.

Wonder why they have seen so little action during the first year of campaign…?

This post has been edited by Agarici on March 01, 2006 09:37 am

More to the realitty were named "cu tragere repede" then "tragere accelerata".

Iama

Iama, Iama, is your first name Toma (Thomas)? Or you simply want to help me to reach, by the number of posts, the noble rank of “plutonier”?

“Artileria a avut in compunere tunuri de câmp de 75 mm (T.R) sistem Krupp românesc, model 1904, obuziere Krupp de 105 mm (T.R.) şi de 120 (T.Acc.). "[“The artillery was armed with Krupp 75 mm (quick-firing) Romanian system/model field guns, and Krupp 105 mm (quick-firing) and 120 mm (accelerated-firing) howitzers”]. Now if the T.Acc abbreviation doesn’t stand for “tragere accelerată”, I’m waiting for suggestions…

Source: the same Istoria militară a poporului roman, vol. V, Ed. Militară, 1988, p. 290 (the chapter dedicated to the Second Balkan War), quoting from a report sent by the ministry of war gen. C. N. Herjeu to king Carol in July 1913.[I]

This post has been edited by Agarici on March 08, 2006 05:34 pm

I hope your not upset. I just say only what i finded in most of the writings about artillery.

In two weeks, i will add some data to this topic. (most part of my documentation are back, at home).

Iama

Of course I'm not upset, Iama. On the other hand, I'm looking forward for any new info which might be available for you in the future.

Thanks for the quick reply.

It is quite possible that the "16" in "12/16" refers to the length of the barrel of the howitzer in question.

The arms makers of the early twentieth century usually used three features to designate the various models of artillery pieces that they produced - date, caliber (in millimeters), date of introduction and length of barrel (as expressed in "calibers"). Thus, a "75/30 Model 1904" would be a 75mm gun with a barrel with length that was thirty times the caliber,( i.e. 75mm x 30 = 2.225 meters) that was introduced in 1904.

As a rule, the arms makers wanted their pieces to seem as "up-to-date" as possible. Thus, when an older model was modified, it was usually given an entirely new model number.