After trials, the field howitzer was officially introduced into Wehrmacht service on 26 July 1935 and replaced the leFH 16 in artillery battalions beginning in 1937. Important operational units, like the Panzer Divisions, were given priority in the reequipping. It became the standard divisional field howitzer used by the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. There were a total of 1,023 horse-drawn light field artillery battalions in the Wehrmacht and 62 motorized light artillery battalions in the Panzer and Panzergrenadier divisions, as well as GHQ artillery. The leFH 18 had a superior caliber compared to its opponents early in the war and performed well as the supporting arm of the panzer divisions.