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
Type 10 120 mm AA gun Type 10 120 mm AA gun The Type 10 or 12 cm/45 10th Year Type naval gun was a Japanese 120 mm calibre dual purpose anti-aircraft and coastal defense gun used during the Second World War. It was derived from the 12 cm/45 3rd Year Type naval gun. The Type 10 number was designated for the year the gun was accepted,the 10th year of Emperor Taishō's reign, 1927 in the Gregorian calendar. The weapon was originally designed for ship use and was produced in large numbers during 1944. The gun was adapted for land use as a dual-purpose gun. The