Howitzer groups called batteries. The English word ""howitzer"" comes from the Czech word ""houfnice"", from "houf", "crowd", and "houf" is in turn a borrowing from the Middle High German word "Hūfe" or "Houfe" (modern German "Haufen"), meaning "heap". "Haufen", sometimes in the compound "Gewalthaufen", also designated a pike square formation in German. In the Hussite Wars of the 1420s and 1430s, the Czechs used short barreled ""houfnice"" cannons to fire at short distances into crowds of infantry, or into charging heavy cavalry, to make horses shy away. The word was rendered into German as "aufeniz" in the earliest attested use in
Field gun competition Winners Plate 3 Winners: Least Penalty Points Trophy: Fastest Run RNRMC (Brickwood's) Field Gun - Current Crews: Field Gun Associations: Other External Links: Field gun competition The Royal Navy's field gun competition is a contest between teams from various Royal Navy commands, in which teams of sailors compete to transport a field gun and its equipment over and through a series of obstacles in the shortest time. The competition evolved during the early years of the 20th century. The "Command" format, negotiating walls and a chasm, was held annually at the Royal Tournament in London from 1907 until 1999, apart