File:German 77mm M1896 field gun (24659337677).jpg

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A standard German army Field Gun in service before and throughout the First World War. This gun is an early 20th Century improved version of the original 19th Century weapon. The type remained in service with the armies of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Ottoman Empire until the 1930s.

Known in the Geman imperial anny as the 7».7 cm Fe/dkanone 96 (‘77 mm = 7.7 cm Field Cannon Model of 1896’), this gun was one of several types in service before and throughout the First World War. The original 19th Century weapon lacked an integrated recoil mechanism, and used a crude spade brake on its trail to counter violent recoil, so reared up when fired. This gun is a 96 n.A (neuer Art, ‘new Model’) as introduced from 1904, with a recoil mechanism and a splinter shield to protect the crew plus other technical improvements.

Drawn by horses and operated by a crew of five, the gun and carriage weighed 998 kg (2,200 lb). lt could fire a variety of shells and projectiles, including high explosive, shrapnel, anti-tank, smoke- producing, illuminating star and poison gas. Firing a typical 6.8 kg (15 lb) shell, the gun had an effective range up to 5,486 m (6,000 yds), and a maximum range of 8,413 m (9,200 yds). its mobility was an advantage for the Germans early during the First World War.

However, after the Westem Front became static, based on trench warfare, it was outclassed by the French Canon de 75 with a faster rate of fire, and by the British Quick Firing 18 Pounder with a heavier shell The 96 n A was also used by the armies of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Ottoman Empire, and some remained in service until the 1930s.

This particular gun was acquired by the Imperial War Museum in poor condition from a private owner in