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
Czech word order Speakers choose the word order according to the communication aim and the emotional state. That principle is called functional sentence perspective. Basic word order is SVO (subject – verb – object) in Czech sentences. It is used in neutral messages: Definite and indefinite articles are not used in Czech. A sentence usually begins with facts, already known from a preceding sentence or context (theme). New and important facts (rheme) are usually placed in the final position: The new facts can be emphasized by their initial place in emotive messages: The subject may be omitted in a Czech sentence if it