152 Mm Howitzer M1938 (M-10) - Organization and Employment

Organization and Employment

Under the organization of 1939, each rifle division had a howitzer regiment with a 152-mm howitzers battalion (12 pieces). In July 1941 these regiment were cancelled. Same fate befell 152-mm howitzers battalions of motorized and armored divisions.

In 1944, rifle corps of the Red Army had one artillery regiment each. Those regiment consisted of five batteries (totaling 20 pieces), equipped with 152-mm howitzers, 122-mm or 107-mm guns.

Reserve of the Main Command included howitzer regiments (48 pieces) and heavy howitzer brigades (32 pieces). Those could be merged to form artillery divisions.

On 1 June 1941 the RKKA possessed more than thousand M-10s. Many were lost in the early phase of the war, combined with a decision to stop the production it meant only limited quantity remained in service; these remaining guns in dwindling numbers were used for the remainder of World War II. The M-10 was used against personnel, fortifications and key objects in the rear.

Many guns were captured by the Wehrmacht early in the war, and adopted as 15,2 cm sFH 443(r). The Finnish Army captured 45 pieces and further 57 were purchased from Germany in 1944. In Finland the howitzer, designated 152 H 38, was issued to five heavy artillery battalions and actively used in battle. Finns rather liked the gun, but considered it somewhat heavy. After the end of the hostilities, the M-10 remained in the Finnish service; in 1980s there were some considerations of modernizing it, but the idea was dropped; the guns were stored in the army depots until 2000 and then they were finally retired.

The surviving M-10 howitzers can be seen in various military museums and war memorials, for example in the Museum of Artillery and Engineering Forces, Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the Brest Fortress, in the US Army Ordnance Museum, in Helsinki Military Museum and Hämeenlinna Finnish Artillery Museum.